Curveball questions

[Vicky]

Hello!

I'm currently preparing for an interview and I read online that they tend to ask curveball questions that force you to think on your feet.

For example: "How would you explain Britney Spears to an alien” or “how would you explain your favourite sport to an alien”?

What's a good answer to those questions specifically?

Do you have any tips for responding to curveball questions in general?

Thank you so much!

 

[jess889]

Hello!

I'm currently preparing for an interview and I read online that they tend to ask curveball questions that force you to think on your feet.

For example: "How would you explain Britney Spears to an alien” or “how would you explain your favourite sport to an alien”?

What's a good answer to those questions specifically?

Do you have any tips for responding to curveball questions in general?

Thank you so much!

I'm not sure these both count as curveballs but i've had : "How many mobile phones would you estimate there to be in London?", and "If you were an employer and had to choose between two new hires. One being male in his early 20s and one being female in her late 20s, who was planning to have children soon, who would you hire and why?"

I think it's all about showing how you think rather than getting the right question. So you can show the interviewer you have a logical mindest. For example, I remember reading onine after that first interview question about the mobile phones, and they recommended I first worked out the population of the UK, then accounted for the fact that children won't have one and worked my way from there.

 

[Coralin96]

Hello!

I'm currently preparing for an interview and I read online that they tend to ask curveball questions that force you to think on your feet.

For example: "How would you explain Britney Spears to an alien” or “how would you explain your favourite sport to an alien”?

What's a good answer to those questions specifically?

Do you have any tips for responding to curveball questions in general?

Thank you so much!

I think the question is testing - can you explain a complex subject to someone with no knowledge of that topic.

With an alien, that makes it very hard because they really have no knowledge of that topic and surrounding topics. If I were to explain Britney Spears to an alien (which is an amusing question by the way!) I would start really basic and simple, like "humans can make a sound from their mouth in such a way that people enjoy listening to it. Even to gather in big groups and pay money to hear it". After explaining what singing is, I would then start to explain who Britney Spears is.

Does that make sense?

 

[NAremu]

Hello!

I'm currently preparing for an interview and I read online that they tend to ask curveball questions that force you to think on your feet.

For example: "How would you explain Britney Spears to an alien” or “how would you explain your favourite sport to an alien”?

What's a good answer to those questions specifically?

Do you have any tips for responding to curveball questions in general?

Thank you so much!

I've had questions that force you to think on your feet. They weren't so much in the format you mentioned, but more "brainteaser" type questions. For general curveball questions, I would remember - they're a test of how you think, so you want to show that you can stay calm and that you can clearly articulate your thoughts.

A lot of them won't seem easy to answer at first, so talk through all the information/evidence you have. Describe this out loud so the interviewer can see your thought process. Think - what can I infer from that information? What information do I need to know? The interviewer may then introduce new information. Even if you get stuck there, at least you've made progress on the answer.

What I did was found examples of these kinds of questions online and practised how I would answer them. Practice helps a lot because you get better at describing your thoughts in a logical manner.