How many golf balls does it take to fill a 747?

By Matthew Guerriero, Campus Representative, University of Pittsburgh

Employers are constantly trying to find the most qualified candidates for their respective companies. Most of the recruitment efforts are focused on interviews because that is the most likely scenario where the employer and the candidate will get to know each other. Having said this, it is becoming more common for the people conducting the interview to ask strange questions to get the candidate to think outside of the box and use their problem solving skills. Susan Heathfield wrote an article about how unusual interview questions help select the best candidates.

Interviewers use unusual job interview questions to assess how well the candidate responds to an unexpected question or scenario. Most unusual job interview questions do not have right or wrong answers. These job interview questions provide the candidate with the opportunity, according to Lynne Sarikas (director of the MBA Career Center at the Northeastern Business School), "to demonstrate quick thinking, poise, creativity, and even a sense of humor.

This is an extremely important concept for students to understand because there is a good chance that unusual questions will be asked during an interview such as, “How many golf balls does it take to fill a 747? Why is a manhole cover round?” The business school at the University of Pittsburgh conducts mock interviews every year and the interviewers test out ability to answer questions similar to the ones previously listed. I would recommend that all students practice their interviewing skills, especially with questions that will really test them and make them think in creative ways.