Why panellists ask jobseekers bizarre questions

A job interview: Sometimes interviewers ask bizarre questions to understand your thought process. PHOTO | FILE 

By SCOTT BELLOWS

In Summary

• Some global firms, especially IT companies and investment banks, famously try to stump interviewees with random difficult questions.
• You must ask yourself if you really desire to work for a firm that intentionally tries to provide as much discomfort as possible for you in the interview stage.

Over the eight week job hunting mini-series in Business Talk, Nyavula perfected her CV and lined up some impressive interviews. She landed an acceptable position with a mature established firm.

However, prior to starting the work, she received an interview invitation with a famous upstart organisation in Western Kenya. Comfortable that she had secured at least a backup position, she confirmed her availability for the new interview.

On the day of the interview, Nyavula turned on her laptop. The innovative entity desired to interview her via Skype. Finally the familiar Skype ring tone broke the silence and Nyavula picked up the video chat call.

She initially liked the high-tech feel and efficiency of the interview. However, in less than five minutes the organisation started peppering Nyavula with ridiculous questions seemingly unrelated to the job. The interviewers asked her “how many maize stalks grow in Kakamega County?”

Mustered her wits

Baffled, Nyavula really had no basis to answer such a question. So, she mustered her wits and replied politely that despite her extensive education and deep reading on a variety of subjects, she never encountered an answer to such a question.

Nyavula seemed pleased with how she handled her ignorance regarding the topic. Unfortunately, the startup firm never contacted her back for a second interview, so Nyavula proceeded to start work for the mature established firm.

As a Business Daily reader, you also may experience a strange interview question or two. As reported by several USIU alumni seeking positions in the job market, some have reported that a few employers ask bizarre questions such as “how many Sh20 coins could fit into a Toyota Prado?” and “if people held hands and formed a circle, how many people would it take to encircle all of Nairobi?”

Some global firms, especially IT companies and investment banks, famously try to stump interviewees with random difficult questions.

In Kenya, several startups or newer NGOs formed by young founders that receive plaudits in Western media, and typically hire majority expatriate staff for too high a percentage of the jobs, often extend their hubris to harassment during the interview process.

So, you must ask yourself if you really desire to work for such a firm that intentionally tries to provide as much discomfort as possible for you in the interview stage.

How much worse would life be like working in such an arrogant firm devoid of benevolence towards employees?

Google, once famous for destabilising questions during recruitment, later banned such harassment. Firms that forbid such practices feel that the questions present unfair situations for respondents, foster organisational arrogance, and create disdain in the market by jilted job candidates.

However, perhaps you still desire employment with such a firm. If you do, you must understand why the company or NGO pursues such inquiries.

First, when entities create a difficult barrier to entry that interviewees perceive as tough to enter, then it cultivates their loyalty once inside the organisation because they and their co-workers feel special that they went passed a hard process.

So, future team cohesion over difficult entry requirements presents one reason for interview hazing.

Second, interviewers desire to see how you respond with your body language, verbal tone, and confidence. Do you handle the inquiry professionally?

Do you get angry? Do you dismiss the question as irrelevant and therefore insult the interviewer? The interview panel desires to see a professional and cool-headed response.

Your thought process

Third, the interrogators want to see your thought process. Do you give up easily or do you actively try to apply logic? Usually, the interviewers themselves have no idea about the answer.

Inasmuch, they do not care about your answer, they care about your thought journey in order to reach the answer.
So, take the question “how many Sh20 coins could fit into a Toyota Prado?” for instance. A plausible answer could include, “I could roll 50 coins into a bank coin wrapper and I could fit five wrappers in my hand, so my hand could hold 250 coins.

I think I could fit 300 of my hands with coin wrappers inside a Toyota Prado, so therefore I believe that 75,000 Sh20 coins could fit snugly.” Such an answer, whether right or wrong, provides some basis for your logic to answer a seemingly impossible question.

A good job candidate will, therefore, enter an interview prepared to answer difficult questions utilising demonstrable logic instead of giving up on questions.

Next, some firms may send you on insane assignments prior to deciding on a candidate. A few Kenyan firms have been known to send job interviewees on scavenger hunts, make public relations videos, and role play scenarios.

However, the actual tasks often contain little to know direct relationship to prospective job duties.

Once again, do you honestly want to work for an organisation that blatantly will waste your time without remuneration before employment? How much worse might it be working on the inside of the firm?

If you choose to subject yourself to pre-employment assignments then realise that the firm is testing your logical process too, what do you do?

Stick out as red flags

Do you accomplish the assignment with humour, with passion, with creativity? They desire a match with their organisational culture.

So, as you conclude your job search, watch out for bizarre points that stick out as red flags warning you that the employment situation may fall as an outlier among standard expectations in normal employment.

Even this week on credible Kenyan job websites, one may observe seemingly upstanding organisations advertising for untraditional arrangements.

Usually interns fill junior positions. But peruse the job sites and find some advertisements for an intern or volunteer for CEO posts or other senior positions that start obtaining a salary following six-months with the entity if “there is a good fit”.

You must ask yourself, why does the organisation desire to exploit your skills for free?

Investigate the real motivation behind the employers. Next week Business Talk shifts gears to investigate trends in the consulting industry in East Africa.

Discuss bizarre job recruitment experiences with other Business Daily readers on Twitter through #KenyaJobs.

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Prof Scott serves as the Director of the New Economy Venture Accelerator (NEVA) at USIU’s Chandaria School of Business, www.ScottProfessor.com, and may be reached on: info@scottprofessor.com or follow on Twitter: @ScottProfessor.