Hiring the right candidate goes far beyond matching technical skills. Studies indicate lack of cultural fit is one of the leading causes of employee turnover. Therefore, assessing character and personality is important in an interview. Fun interview questions give hiring managers insight into more than just the typical exchange of qualifications, such as the candidate’s creativity, adaptability, and personality.  Such questions provide a view into how they may fit within a team and company culture.

The fun interview questions differ in the sense that they test how one thinks, as opposed to merely what a person may know. These character-revealing interview questions allow candidates to break out of their premeditated answers and show their character through candid, natural dialogue. Some examples of such questions are: “If you could be any animal in the world, what would you choose?”.  This question projects something about a person’s self-concept and values, or “Sell me this pen,” which projects something about problem-solving abilities and adaptiveness.

The benefits accruing from such creative interview questions are important. To the hiring manager, they can reveal a view into the personality and soft skills of the candidate. Questions such as “If you could have any superpower, what would it be?” depict how candidates approach hypothetical challenges. Therefore, managers can make approaches to problem-solving and creativity. To candidates, these revealing personality interview questions make them more relaxed and allow candidates an opportunity to bring out their real personalities and thus more genuine insights.

In this article, we will consider the following unique categories of interview questions: behavioral, situational, and icebreaker. We also give some advice on how to use these properly and lawfully. At the end, you will have a toolkit of insightful interview questions for you to make more informed hiring decisions.

What Makes a “Fun” Interview Question?

By nature, fun interview questions are created to dig deeper than the surface to get at personality, creativity, and adaptability. Unlike straightforward “yes” or “no” questions, great unconventional interview questions are open-ended. They call for a candidate to reflect deeply, express themselves, and disclose character traits. These open-ended questions help the hiring manager not only to assess the candidates’ communicative skills but also allow the candidates space to explain how they deal with unique challenges. A question like, “If you could have dinner with any historical figure, who would it be?” invites the candidate to discuss his or her intellectual interests and values. It also gives an insight into his or her personality and mindset. What makes creative interview questions effective yet appropriate is a delicate balance between humor and professionalism. As much as these questions should be engaging, they need to respect the bounds of professionalism. This will help in creating a relaxed environment where candidates can just be themselves without feeling belittled. A question like, “What is the most fun thing you’ve done this year?

This tells candidates to share a little bit of their personality while still being professional. It is the kind of question that is light but relevant and that may help candidates open up and be themselves. To be really effective, fun interview questions also need to have a direct tie-in with the job and the culture of your company.  Questions tailored to your team’s unique values, show you how well a candidate might fit in.

If teamwork is a core value, asking a question like, “If you were a crayon, what color would you be, and why?” may seem fanciful, but it shows how candidates view themselves in a team setting and their approach to collaboration. can be used to ascertain a candidate’s problem-solving ability creatively.

Examples of “Fun” Questions and What They Reveal

Here are some questions that assess character which hiring managers can use to obtain deeper insights:

“If you were a tree, what kind of tree would you be?” This question gives an insight into the self-awareness and creativity of a candidate, showing him how he perceives his strengths and growth potential.

And then, for example, one of the questions could be: “Tell me about a time you had fun at work. What did it look like?” It uncovers the candidate’s values around workplace culture and engagement. “If you didn’t have to work, why would you still come to the office?” It investigates the motivational elements of the candidates and their sense of purpose.

“What was your high school superlative?” Since it’s a light-hearted question, the response can reveal what feelings others had about the candidate in general and give some idea of humor and level of confidence.

Legal issues play an important role when framing these questions. Do not touch on topics regarding protected personal information.  For example, avoid questions that may give a glimpse into a candidate’s family or personal background. The intent should be job-oriented and character-based to maintain a non-discriminatory comfort zone in the interview.

Fun interview questions are ultimately supposed to get a real answer. When candidates can safely respond with candor, that gives hiring managers a better view of personality, work ethic, and values, thereby laying a more significant foundation for a cultural fit assessment.

Categories and Examples of Fun Interview Questions

More diversified aspects of the candidate’s experience, personality, and values can be found out by a hiring manager when using fun interview questions. Ranging from behavioral and situational interview questions to those assessing soft skills and questions about cultural fit, these give a greater degree of insight into a candidate and make the interview more interactive. For your inspiration, let’s take a closer look at some effective categories and examples to hire. 

Icebreaker Questions

Icebreaker questions are ways to break the ice and provide comfort. They open up a discussion on a note of lightness whereby the candidates can loosen up and be themselves. Questions such as, “What was the most fun thing you’ve done this year?” not only allow the candidate to settle down but may even suggest that they keep a very positive and fun-loving attitude. In turn, a question like “What is your go-to karaoke song?” will say something about a candidate’s sense of humor and how non-apologetic they are toward themselves-a thing that says something about personality and openness.

Examples: 

• “Where is the next place you’d like to go and why?”
• “What’s the most interesting thing you’ve learned recently?”

Behavioral Questions

Behavioral interview questions explore how candidates have reacted to real-life situations and give a reliable look into future performance. For example, “Tell me about a time you had to deal with a difficult coworker” will show a candidate’s approach to conflict resolution and his interpersonal skills. Questions like “Can you share with me an embarrassing moment where you were able to laugh at yourself?” show humility, which is a positive quality in any kind of team setting. 

Examples:

• “What would your family say is the most unique thing about you?”
• “Describe a time you missed a deadline. How did you handle it?”

Situational Questions

Situational interview questions provide hypothetical situations that are intended to test problem-solving ability and critical thinking. A question such as, “Imagine that you’re managing a project that is running behind schedule. What actions would you take?” shows the leadership style of a candidate and how they come to decisions. Such questions would force candidates to be creative and show adaptability.

Examples:

• “If your manager asked you to do an impossible task, what would you do?”
• “How many balloons do you think could fit in this room?

Soft Skills Assessment Questions

Soft Skills Assessment questions are used to bring out those soft skills characteristics that have proven valuable in any good-to-great role. Here are examples that test self-awareness and honesty: “What’s something you haven’t told us but that we’d find out after working with you?” Sell me this pen is an excellent question for sales as it tests the persuasion and adaptability skills required of successful salespeople. 

Examples: 

• “How do you handle criticism?
• “Team/Individual work: Which one do you prefer? Why?”

Cultural Fit Questions

The cultural fit questions can help the company understand and assess whether the candidates will blend in with the company’s values and thrive in the company atmosphere. Questions like, “If you were a pizza delivery person, how would you benefit from scissors?” are out-of-the-box questions that catch one off guard to bring out creativity and any candid way of handling unexpected challenges. Another example might be, “What’s the weirdest food you’ve ever tried and enjoyed?“-this tries to understand openness to new experiences, valuable in a team setting. 

Examples:

• “What makes you want to work in this industry?”
• “Describe a scenario where you had fun working productively.”

Hiring managers can extract all-around information about candidates by categorizing fun interview questions as an icebreaker, behavioral, situational, soft skills, and cultural fit questions. This gives depth to the interview, thereby helping you make informed and balanced decisions while hiring.

Tips for Using Fun Interview Questions Effectively

It can mean the world to understand a candidate’s personality, adaptability, and cultural fit by implementing fun interview questions into your process. However, how you ask fun interview questions will make all the difference. Below are critical tips on how to make the most of unconventional interview questions without compromising professionalism.

Don’t Overdo It

While creative questions bring a unique dimension to an interview, one should have strategic use of them. The tendency to overload the interview with fun questions can make it light and might overshadow the prime focus of the candidate’s assessment regarding their skill and experience. Keep in mind, that you want to use these questions to complement your standard interview questions. Balance ensures that you get to know the candidate without crossing into gimmicky territory.

Setting the Scene

Rephrasing each fun question with a little bit of context has the effect of putting candidates at ease and eliciting more natural responses. Let them know these are opportunities to get to know them beyond their resume. For example, framing a question like this: “We like to include a few light-hearted questions to understand how you think on your feet,” tells them you’re interested in the process, not just the answer. This type of framing will make candidates feel much less ‘off-guard’ and more willing to play along with the question.

Active Listening

The whole effectiveness of using out-of-the-box interview questions relies on active listening. Of course, the content of the response is important, but don’t neglect the tone, behaviors, and enthusiasm that the candidate applies to his or her answer. For instance, if a candidate answers a question while maintaining eye contact and engages in enthusiastic discourse, they are showing good communication skills and a sense of confidence. Sometimes, the tiniest non-verbal hints may signal huge implications for a candidate’s interpersonal abilities, strength over adversity, and how well they respond under pressure.

Be Consistent

Such fun interview questions have to be conducted in a manner that ensures consistency for a fair comparison among candidates. A simple way of ensuring fairness and equity is by asking all the candidates for a particular position the same fun questions so that you can ensure that biases have been eliminated and each candidate has been graded on a level playing field. When some candidates get tougher questions than others, it may distort perceptions of their abilities. Consistency ensures fairness and helps you make an informed decision based on comparable data.

Not Judging by Fun Questions Alone 

While fun interview questions provide good insight into personality and soft skills, they should be just one piece of the hiring puzzle. Supplementing the assessment of skills, experience, and qualifications, these questions are not meant to be a replacement. Your final decision needs consideration of the complete profile that the candidate has presented through their resume, responses to traditional interview questions, and assessments of skills, potentially including their references. This will surely help you hire a candidate who will be able to fulfill the requirements of the role as well as the cultural requirements of your team.

Additional Considerations

Choose questions that best fit your company’s culture and the specific position you are hiring for. Make the atmosphere light, yet still professional, avoiding any questions that could border on inappropriate or discriminatory. In this way, with these tips, a hiring manager will be able to get the full benefits of fun interview questions without all sacrificing well-rounded, informed hiring decisions.

Conclusion

Adding character-revealing interview questions to the hiring process can make the interview experience much more interactive and informative. Such creative questions will do so much more than test the hard skills of your candidates-they will let you glimpse into the personality, adaptability, and cultural fit the candidate could have in your organization. With a few such well-placed questions, you allow them to relax while still having the chance to be authentic about themselves. This is not only to the candidate’s advantage but also reinforces your employer’s brand: even though they will not be hired, candidates go away with a positive view of your company.

Adding insightful interview questions to your process ensures better hiring decisions. They serve as a great complement to standard questions in order to assess creativity, problem-solving skills, and other traits reflective of the candidate’s way of approaching challenges. Those questions help candidates think on their feet and show quality that otherwise would not stand out from a resume.

Great interview questions to start testing a few personality-revealing questions with leaders and hiring managers, try introducing one or two icebreaker questions as starters, or maybe a question designed to get at that demand related specifically to the role you’ll see, these fun interview questions can tell you a lot about this person and allow you to be smarter in your decision-making. What are some of your favorite fun interview questions? Share your thoughts in the comments below and learn more about how to improve the interview process.

---

FAQs