How to Answer the 5 Weirdest Interview Questions

How to Answer the 5 Weirdest Interview Questions “If you were a candy bar, what kind would you be?” As useless as this question sounds,  don’t be surprised if you get asked something like this during a job interview. Though  you have no control over the questions you’ll be asked during the interview, you have  complete control over how you answer them. Some interview questions will be strange simply because the interviewer looked them up  on the internet a few minutes before you arrived. Others will be strange, but have a  purpose behind them, and if you answer them well, the interviewer will be impressed. Here are some of the craziest questions you could be asked at a job interview and how to  answer them. 1. “If you were a survivor on a deserted island, what one person would you like to have  with you?” This question is one of the oldest in the book, and it’s asked during “get-to-know-you  activities” and “trust building exercises” about as often as in job interviews. It’s generally  asked in an attempt to gauge your problem-solving skills. For example, if you say you’d  like to have Justin Bieber with you, you’re in for some great entertainment, but will  probably be on the island for a while. However, if you were to say Benjamin Franklin, that would send a different message to  your employers. It lets them know that you recognize the value of an independent thinker  who isn’t afraid to work his inventive magic to get the job done, despite ridicule. When  you’re asked this question at a job interview, be thinking of a true problem-solver you  admire and the reasons you admire them. 2. “Which superhero could defeat any other superhero?” The value of this question is that it allows the employer an opportunity to assess your  personality, which can be an important factor in any work environment. The answer  largely depends on where you’re working. If you’re looking for an upbeat, relaxed  environment, it’s okay to get a little competitive and say, “Batman, he has the coolest  toys so he will win every time.” If you’re working in a more serious, uptight environment, it’s still okay to show your fun  side. However, keep the answer more rooted in logic such as, “According to science, the  Hulk would have to win because he is virtually indestructible.” If you’re not sure, go for a diplomatic approach such as, “I like to think that true  superheroes would never go into battle against their own. In the end, they would all end  up fighting for the same cause.” Furthermore, remember that it’s often appropriate to ask questions of clarification before  answering a question like this one. Questions might include: “Where is the fight taking place?” “Is kryptonite fair game?” “Do they have special weapons?” This shows that you are actively considering the question and working through all your  options to determine the most probable outcome. It ultimately shows that you have  problem-solving aptitude. 3. “What’s your opinion on rubber ducks?” You may not believe it, but similar questions have often been asked at job interviews. It’s  a random question thrown into the mix to test your sense of humor, even in a serious  situation. Companies who often deal with high-end clients need employees who can keep  the mood light, even in formal meetings. Be thinking of a clever response that will catch  an employer’s attention, and maybe even spark a laugh such as, “I’ve never cared one  quack about them.” A ridiculous answer, but effective. 4. “If you could be any animal, what would you be?” This question comes with a variety of different objects in place of “animal,” but  employers who use any variation of the curious query are all looking for the same thing:  logical reasoning. You can pick pretty much any animal, as long as you have a sound  reasoning behind it that works with the job you’re considering. For example, if you’re applying for a graphic design position, you most likely want to  show off both creativity and an ability to meet deadlines. You could say that you would  like to be a butterfly because every butterfly has a unique and striking pattern, and they  migrate every winter like clockwork. 5. “How would you title your autobiography?” Everybody likes a creative, team player, and this question can tell an employer more  about those two things than you might think. The titles of autobiographies range from  mundane to intriguing, and some are more arrogant than others. For example, if you say the title should be “How I Made My Millions,” it will make you  look a lot more arrogant and unoriginal than if you choose the more humble and creative  â€œAre We There Yet?” which shows a humility and creativity most employers want in  their interviewees. Essentially, the key to mastering the strangest of interview questions is getting to the  heart of each question and understanding exactly what the interviewer wants you to say.  Each answer should aim to show your strengths, even when it seems ridiculous. Author:  Larry Alton is an independent business consultant specializing in social media trends, business, and entrepreneurship. Follow him on Twitter  and LinkedIn.

Unusual Hiring Tactics

Unusual Hiring Tactics Number 10’s special adviser Dominic Cummings was in the news recently for declaring he wanted to hire an unusual set of people with different skills and backgrounds to work with the Civil Service. It was not a conventional job advertisement in terms of the language used and didn’t promote flexible working or healthy work-life balance. Hiring an innovative team depends on finding people who think differently. We all know about the dangers of hiring in our own image, the dangers of group thinking, and unconscious bias. If you want people who are innovative, creative and good problem-solvers then you need to hire those with different perspectives. To be successful, an enterprise needs as many different perspectives as possible to find the best solutions. Diversity and inclusion is a mainstream business issue that speaks to a firm’s culture and conduct. Christopher Woolard of the FCA puts it neatly: “Diversity matters commercially because robust decision-making comes from challenge, and to get challenge you have to have different voices around the table.” Diversity in hiring LinkedIn found that 82% of employers think diversity is crucial to their hiring process (Global Recruiting Trends Report for 2018). Staffing your team with different skills and backgrounds can lead to: creative problem-solvinga better corporate culturean appealing employer brand To succeed in an environment of evolving complexity and constant challenge, we need to be able to react, respond and make bold choices. Effective leadership taps into the collective creativity of the workforce, encouraging new ways of thinking, enabling proactive exploration that unleashes the potential we all have to be creative. Creativity at work Gerard Puccio of Buffalo State College in New York stresses the importance of creative thinking skills: “It’s no longer a luxury. It’s about survival”. This is not to suggest that you should hire weirdos and misfits since Puccio points out that successful creativity involves ensuring ideas are practical and convincing “creativity is not a license to be bizarre”. However, it may mean rethinking ideas around cultivating creativity and what constitutes failure. If you want creativity, you need to encourage people to ignore convention and hierarchy, to argue the case for their ideas and you may find that you start rewarding failure, not just success; the greatest stumbling block in seeking innovation is inaction! At 10Eighty some key traits we encourage are curiosity and an inclination towards continuous learning. Business needs people who are agile in the face of uncertainty and unpredictability, who can navigate complexity and ambiguity so as to conjure up new strategies then communicate and implement them in inspirational ways. Relying on standard practices may be comfortable but can also be a dead weight if there’s a need to react quickly with new ways of managing and providing services. New perspectives We all know that the truism about people being ‘our important asset’ is more honored in the breach than the observance, but it is their ideas, experience, knowledge, perspectives, and abilities that add real value in a competitive marketplace. By recruiting people from diverse backgrounds, the enterprise imports the fresh ideas, creativity, and experience needed to encourage innovation, manage change and exploit new opportunities. It’s a question of being open to new ideas and entertaining a new perspective on the environment, sometimes using non-traditional methods. Organizations need to be aware of how biases affect talent management practices, and to appreciate the business-based benefits of diversity practices diverse companies are more competitive, they better reflect the composition of their customer base and enhance their employer brand.

Transform Dark Days into Opportunity - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career

Transform Dark Days into Opportunity - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career Your reaction to particularly awful days can make or break future success. The better action to take is to remain as calm as possible. Take quiet time to analyze how far you have come. Think about the twists and turns, and what currently has you stopped in your tracks. Numerous conversations revealed that many almost quit their current endeavors. But one common factor as to why they did not quit helped them to prevail: They enjoy what they do too much! Ironically, it has become their way of life. Embrace the joy in your life to find true reward As uncertainty hits, follow these two suggestions: Take the time needed to uncover the better route. Convert a negative frame of mind into a positive. Reframe the Situation One sales technique referred to as “Reframing” applies very well in difficult situations. Whether personal or trying to work with a client, the first step is to figure out where the discontent originates. Upon recognizing the misstep, it becomes easier to work together to find the better solution. By asking a series of questions such as, “What if…” the improved path begins to reveal itself. On the personal side, moving from negative to positive thought is the beginning step for improvement. The change in attitude makes an enormous difference in providing increased opportunity to save the day. The day that you find you are doubting yourself, take private time to consider “the why” that is. Most likely, one of your peers will have had a similar experience. Have a conversation about how they dealt with it and ask for recommendations on how to handle. Their insights won’t necessarily apply or even matter. It’s more about the conversation itself. Just by unleashing the dilemma is all it takes to get back to full steam ahead.  As others see you meeting negativity and obstacles head on, they come to admire your steadfast personal brand. Top Performing Habits Examine the best and the worst in place Tweak the best and discard the worst Revitalize the motivation to move forward Balance Some people attempt to work around the clock. In order to perform best, it’s important to relax and enjoy life, too. Are you taking time off to be with family, friends, or to exercise and explore the world around you? The outside interests tend to provide further ideas and motivation to continue moving forward in the journey. Sales Tips: When negativity hits, stop to examine the origin. Decide whether changes need to be made. Should changes be in order, decide whether they are minor or major. Begin the process by eliminating the no longer needed. Create a list of what needs to be fixed. Prioritize the list in order of immediate need. Add new trends to those venues you wish to maintain. Continually stay abreast of new trends to be ahead of the curve. Re-energize yourself and business by communicating your news. Talk about the newfound insights with followings and peers to further build business. Following these guidelines will lead you to the Smooth Sale!

Sports Leagues Should Embrace Active Employees on Twitter - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career

Sports Leagues Should Embrace Active Employees on Twitter - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career The best brands invite engagement. They showcase authenticity and reply to criticism, instead of deleting it. They also harness the power of their most credible marketers â€" their employees. Because of social media, employees now have personal brands of their own and can be quite influential. When you think of the personal brands of professional athletes â€" “Employees” and their leagues/teams â€" “Companies”, the influence is exponential. You can see the changes first hand outside of professional sports. Companies are evolving with the times with fewer trying to block social media (31% of companies prohibit all access down from 54% in 2009). Instead they are working within their established or updated social media policy. The key here is creating a policy that works with the company ethos. What works for Zappos, CEO Tony Hsieh has only one sentence for their policy “Be real and use [their] best judgment”, may not work for many companies. Company policy should be reflective of their company culture, and the personal brands of their employees. Coca-Cola for instance acknowledges their employees will be active in social media and has set policy guidelines placing the responsibility on the employee with statements such as “Be conscious of mixing your business and personal lives” and “You are responsible for your actions.” In sports, where recently the storyline has been players versus league, the league and/or owners being the villain, there is a lot to be learned about harnessing the power of your “employees”. This is especially true when your average “employee” is one with an established personal brand and has in the tens of thousands of Twitter followers. Quite a few players now are closer to 1M+. Now imagine if 60+% of employees at a company were on twitter posting several times a day with a followings like I just mentioned. (NFL has approx. 1000 active athletes on Twitter â€" that doesn’t take into account athletes who have retired) That is one hell of a marketing vehicle. Most leagues recently adjusted (NFL, NBA) or just established (NHL) their social media policies this year. Maria Ortiz recently wrote a great overview on all league policies. Those that have them tend to concentrate on blackout time periods â€" X minutes before the game, during the game, and until post-game media obligations are finished. In my opinion, the leagues should take some cues from successful businesses with social media policies. Within the sporting world, the Olympics are the most progressive. Their 2012 policy encourages athletes to engage in social media practices in first person, diary format. The policy acknowledges that Olympic athletes are some of the most marketable in the world. It’s the personalities and personal stories that increase viewership and fan base and also bring new stars to light. With the Olympics, those that shine have truly executed personal branding at its best on the worlds biggest stage. Three things sports leagues should do to improve their social media policies and to harness the personal branding power of their athletes through social media: Acknowledge the league reality Like Coca-Cola, acknowledge that the athletes have their own personal brands and that many will have an active social media presence. Then it is up to the leagues and teams to guide them appropriately and punish those that don’t abide by the policy. Seek out your most prominent social media players Find out which athletes have the greatest social presence, and influence. These are those who have spent time developing their personal brands and fan base. Make sure these athletes are overly educated in issues and topics of the league so that they can be either an ambassador or intelligent critic. Initiate Feedback Generation/Focus Group Teams should encourage the active athlete to be an ear for positive and negative feedback. This can be about the league, team or game experience. There should be someone for them the pass this information off to that will provide the proper customer service dialog with the fan. By utilizing the influence power at the fingertips of the league, the reach and quality of communication with fans can infinitely improve. Author: Katie Marston is the CEO and founder of DYME Branding, a personal and lifestyle branding company focusing on professional athletes. Follow her on twitter at @ktmarston or learn more at dymebranding.com.

What is Personal Branding AND Why it is important

What is Personal Branding AND Why it is important http://www.head-hunters.com.au/what-we-can-do-for-you/what-is-your-personal-brand/In the previous post, I shared about how I got introduced to the idea of Personal Branding.Since this is a topic you hear a lot these days, I wanted to share further insights on Personal Branding.In this post, we will discuss what Personal Branding is, and what are some of the key benefits to you in developing a strong personal brand.evalWhat is PERSONAL BRANDING?It is the art or method of people marketing themselves and their careers as brands.Starbucks, Apple, Microsoft, Tesla â€" what do they all have in common. They are all formidable brands in their respective industries. They are not just another company in their industries, but they are “THE” company in their industries.Starbucks is not just another coffee shop â€" it is a chain where you know you will get higher quality coffee in an ambient environment greeted by the most friendly staff. That is their brand.In the technology space IBM has a brand of proven quality and demonstrated leadership. There is a saying in the IT industry “No one ever got fired for purchasing IBM products”. This denotes quality and reliability. That is their brand.In the same way, personal branding is about marketing yourself and your services in a similar way.evalMichael Jordan has a reputation of being one of the most successful athletes in history. When people think of Air Highness Jordan â€" they think of excellence, competitiveness and achievement. That is his brand. And his brand is worth more than a billion dollars today.Anthony Robbins has established a brand of being thought of as a peak performance coach. When people think of Tony â€" they think of someone who can help you reach your full potential. That is the reason elite athletes like Serena Williams, Andre Agassi have paid him millions of dollars annually for coaching.You don’t have to be a MVP or a multiple award-winning champion; to build a personal brand. The way the marke t â€" your employers, your colleagues, your customers perceive you â€" that is your current personal brand. And you can build on that , and significantly improve it.How do you want people to associate your name? When people think of you what is the first thing that comes to their mind? In what field do you want to be considered a subject matter expert?evalAsking similar questions â€" can help you establish a strong personal brand.BENEFITS of Personal Branding?Why is this important to you? Why should you even care?Building a personal brand helps open up professional opportunities.Build your Unique-ability . In a highly competitive marketplace, it is important for you to stand out. Once you understand your personal brand strongly â€" it will help you to position yourself as unique and one-of-a-kind.Better Job Opportunities â€" Hiring managers and Recruiters are inundated with the same type of candidates on a constant basis. If you have a strong brand you are automatically improving yo ur visibility in the marketplace. You are opening yourself to more opportunities than the average person.It helps you to clarify what your niche is. It is impossible to be everything for everyone. Name one elite athlete who has gained a reputation as champion in multiple sports. Very unlikely!! The same goes for you. Establishing a personal brand helps you identify your strengths â€" this provides you more clarity to build on your strengths.Let the clients come to you. If you are solopreneur,freelancer or a business owner â€" your personal brand becomes an extension to your business. People recognize who you are and they are more inclined to purchase from you.It makes you committed to your Personal Development. Once you have identified what your strong suit is â€" you are more likely to improve it. In other words, you will keep honing your skills and knowledge. This will help you to stick to a committed growth plan.Additional ReadingThe Complete Guide to building your Personal Brand The Business Benefits of Having a Strong Business Brand7 Benefits of personal branding for solopreneurs and self-employedTen Key Benefits to Personal BrandingWhat is your Personal Brand?In the next article in the Personal Branding series, I will introduce ideas and methods on how you can start building a strong personal brand for yourself.

Who Are You Hiding From and Why

Who Are You Hiding From and Why As I deliver workshops on managing your online reputation and how to use social networks to job search I hear people voice concerns about maintaining their privacy.   Is this a concern for you too? This Got Me Thinking The Power of Transparency on YouTern gets me thinking more and more about privacy. I hope you continue to evaluate your views and opinions on this as well.   The author, Greg Hertzke says you have three choices: Be completely private â€" stay off all the networks (or hide behind aliases) Be very calculated with what you share online (painfully obvious to detect for experienced recruiters managers) Just be yourself â€" don’t be afraid to share random thoughts on Twitter (have debates on Facebook and Google+ about topics you are passionate about, and chat about what you’ve learned while admitting when you have screwed up on your blog)  No Ones Information is Private (any more) I think I understand the fear and concern about having private information out on the interwebs.   But let me ask you thishave you Googled yourself lately?   Have you seen the stuff that comes up?   You didnt put it there (or did you?!). So rather than try and keep everything private, which is increasingly hard to do, can you push out (develop, share, publicize) the information you do want people to see? Being Invisible is Not the Same as Private Facebook has changed their privacy settings more than once and for a lot of people, this is unnerving.   I absolutely understand and agree.   BUT, with over X number of users, Facebook can and will do whatever is in their best interest.   You can chose to play there or not.   If you DO chose to, what can you do to ensure that the right information is portrayed?   Have you listed your interests? Tastes in politics or religion? What about previous employers? Do you lock it down so nothing is visible at all? What is the harm of locking it down you may ask.   I guess I would ask you this, what are you hiding? LinkedIn has made its own number of changes and it looks like another is on the way. There was the news about sharing your photo-image without your permission.   Now it seems that LinkedIn wants to protect your profile content.   Boolean Black Belt is a blog for recruiters.   In a recent post: LinkedIn Is Making Changes to Prevent Copying Profile Text they are reporting problems copying text from profiles.   I am not sure what is going to happen, but you may expect a message from LinkedIn. Were All Trying to Figure Social Out You, me, LinkedIn and other social sites are trying to figure out what feels right and what is legally right.   The world is changing so rapidly and each individual has preferences and opinions, some shaped by their generation, some shaped by society, some shaped by morals and values. Have you changed your thoughts on how you appear online through social networks, etc?

Resume Help - Tips To Get The Best Help For Your Resume

Resume Help - Tips To Get The Best Help For Your ResumeResume help can be found online in many places. It is very important to use these places to find the best help possible for your resume. Even if you are going to an online college, this can be used as a method of getting resume help. But there are a few things that need to be considered when using any place to get resume help.First of all, you will need to make sure that you understand what you are doing. Don't just take the first resume help that you come across. Learn the difference between some of the resume help that is available and the real thing. You will not be able to improve your resume by simply copying a resume help from one website to another. Use real resources, real information, and not what some person told you to do.Learning a language can also be helpful in getting resume help. When you study a language, you can use this knowledge in making a resume that is better than a person who has never studied the language . It is quite easy to learn a new language. Just by watching television or reading something, you can start to understand the language. You will be better prepared to use resume help because you will be learning the language.If you are looking to get resume help on a computer, you will need to look for things like Microsoft Word. In order to put it all together, you need to learn how to use it. There are many places on the internet that offer resume help. If you are willing to spend time learning how to use this software, you can learn more about how to put together a great resume.You may need to get resume help from somebody who has actually worked in the field you are trying to enter. If you have already had experience working in the industry you are trying to enter, this can be helpful in finding out where the companies that offer resume help gowrong. This can help you get the resume help that you need to get into the job you want.The best way to get resume help is to look for co mpanies that offer resume help. Companies that offer resume help will give you information on how to put together a resume that is better than the one you came up with. Most of the time, people are not prepared when they are applying for a job. This is where to resume help can help.These are just a few things that you need to consider when you are looking for resume help. There are a lot of places online that can give you resume help, but you need to make sure that you are taking advantage of the ones that offer the real information.