Are these questions worth asking?

Tricky interview questions that have no one right or correct answer, but are designed to provoke a unique response. Are these types of questions worth the time in asking? To help us understand, we've sketched out the two sides of this debate for you: "Who would win in a fight between The Hulk and Superman?"

Uncovering unique insights into your retail candidate...

If you ask a candidate a question like "who would win in a fight between The Hulk and Superman?", the purpose is to get an insight into how they think, prioritise different information and come to a logical conclusion. In the retail environment, there will always be times when your employees need to make on-the-spot decisions, based on two valid alternatives. If you're recruiting for a role where quick thinking is the name of the game, then we dub that it is worth throwing in a question requiring the candidate to think.

While there are many businesses that swear by the value of a truly left-field interview question, many also believe that these questions don't actually add much to the recruitment process. According to research from San Francisco State University, questions like this can be seen as unfair and unrelated to the position someone is applying for. 

Will asking a tricky question really give you a better interview?

The suggested approach is to focus on what you plan to achieve out of the interview process, the questions you'll ask to achieve this and why.  Not only is this good practise for deciding whether or not to ask a brainteaser, but also when drafting the entire list of questions.

If being able to think quickly on the spot is important, then asking tricky questions to test a candidate's abilities may be worthwhile, just remember to ask plenty of questions that are focussed specifically on the job also!