10 weirdest job interview questions

It's easier to get a job
It's easier to get a job

You're in a serious job interview. Things are going well. Then you're asked, "Who would win in a fight between Spiderman and Batman?"

Your first thought may be, "Oh, c'mon, seriously?"

Still, no matter how weird a question seems during a job interview, take a deep breath and give it a go.

Sure, some jerk could be messing with you. But chances are the company is trying to see how you respond under pressure, how you think through a problem and whether you'd fit in at the company.

Here are 10 of the most oddball questions that job site Glassdoor collected from candidates who've recently gone on interviews.

1. "Who would win in a fight between Spiderman and Batman?" -- Stanford University medical simulationist job candidate

Righto ...

This may be one of those questions where the smart approach is to ask a few questions for context before answering, said Susan Underwood, Glassdoor's director of talent acquisition.

For instance, where's the fight? Are they scaling a building? Do they have any special weapons?

glassdoor spiderman batman 2

2. "What's your favorite '90s jam?" -- Squarespace customer care job candidate

The intention here may just be to get a sense of your personality. But as with all interview questions, it helps to relate your answer to the main characteristics of the job you're applying for, Underwood suggested.

Can't recall a specific '90s song? Pick another favorite and explain why you love it.

3. "If you woke up and had 2,000 unread emails and could only answer 300 of them, how would you choose which ones to answer?" -- Dropbox Rotation Program job candidate

Most employers will want to know how you prioritize work and triage in a crunch. But technology companies especially may be interested to see how you handle an avalanche of demands, since deadlines are tight and emergencies pertaining to a product or clients can come up a lot.

4. "Describe the color yellow to somebody who's blind." -- Spirit Airlines flight attendant job candidate

Perhaps not coincidentally, yellow appears to be Spirit's company color.

Related: How to explain that gap in your resume

But Underwood thinks the question is meant to get at a candidate's ability to be sensitive. So you might approach the question by saying you'd ask the blind person how he feels in the sun. And whatever his response (e.g. "warm"), you can note that that's one way to describe yellow.

5. "If you had a machine that produced $100 for life, what would you be willing to pay for it today?" -- Aksia research analyst job candidate

Since Aksia offers advice to institutional investors, this question doesn't seem completely off-base: How would you assess the value of an investment?

But Underwood wonders what's meant by "$100 for life." So you might ask whether that's $100 a year? Every month? Every day? Would the $100 be inflation-adjusted?

You might also want to ask about competition. Is the machine patented? How many other companies have a similar product?

6. "What did you have for breakfast?" -- Banana Republic sales associate job candidate

Really no idea what's behind this one. Underwood suggests saying you ate something healthy because you like to be ready to go for the day.

7. "What would you do if you were the one survivor in a plane crash?" -- Airbnb trust and safety investigator job candidate

This question may be an attempt to tease out how you'd tackle an unknown situation, said Underwood.

How to ace a job interview
How to ace a job interview

Her recommendation: Give an answer that lets the interviewer know that you're someone who double checks facts and supports those around you. For instance, you may say that you'd check to see whether there really are no other survivors.

"If there are and information was miscommunicated to you, you've saved a life," Underwood said.

Or you could say you'd first try to get yourself to safety, call for help and later volunteer to help notify family members if that's needed.

8. "If you were asked to unload a 747 full of jellybeans, what would you do?" -- Bose IT support manager job candidate

It's a big job, and apparently you have to do it. So ask for more information before presenting your plan. For instance, what resources are available to you? How much time do you have to unload the plane? How are the jellybeans packaged?

9. "How many people flew out of Chicago last year?" -- Redbox software engineer II job candidate

Your task here is to demonstrate how you think, and specifically how you arrive at a reasonable estimate without much initial knowledge. Let the interviewer know what data you think you'll need to come up with the answer. You might even ask if it's okay to look things up online.

In any case, "it's important to listen to the interviewer's response to your questions, which will help guide you," Underwood said.

10. "What's your favorite Disney Princess?" -- Cold Stone Creamery crew member job candidate

If you're applying for a service job, Cinderella might be a good answer, since she works hard, faces challenges and is well-liked, Underwood said.

Don't have a thing for princesses? You might choose a hard-working, likeable prince or superhero instead.

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