ShortList is supported by you, our amazing readers. When you click through the links on our site and make a purchase we may earn a commission. Learn more

Revealed: the 10 toughest job interview questions

Some of these might make you angry

Revealed: the 10 toughest job interview questions
23 November 2015

Ever nervously sat through a job interview and been flummoxed by a question so leftfield that the only reasonable response is to immediately hurl yourself through the window?

You're not alone. Employers, it seems, are responding to the increasingly competitive jobs market by doing away with traditional questions and instead asking candidates the sort of conundrums you’d usually expect to hear from psychiatrists, and your best friend after several pints of beer and two tequila shots.

And, of course, you attempt to blunder through an answer anyway, all the while wondering why the HR gatekeepers have decided upon such a ridiculously tricky question for which there technically is no right or wrong answer. So what if we could see those questions coming? Wouldn't that be swell?

Well, now Glassdoor - effectively the Trip Advisor of the employment sector – has revealed the 10 toughest questions asked by British companies, which we've listed for you below.

[Via: The Independent]

[Images: Shutterstock, Rex, Wiki Commons, Allstar]

"Can you calculate how many tennis balls are used during the course of Wimbledon?”

Asked at Accenture, Analyst candidate (London, England)


“Estimate the total number of cars in the UK.”

Asked at Barclays Capital, Trading Analyst candidate (location unknown).


“How many calories are in a grocery store?”

Asked at Google, Product Manager candidate (London, England).


“How would you sell a fridge to an Eskimo?”

Asked at Harrods, Temporary Sales Associate candidate (London, England).


“What would you take to a lonely island with you and why?”

Asked at Urban Outfitters, Sales Assistant candidate (London, England).


“Is Batman a superhero?"

Asked at AlphaSights, Support Engineer candidate (location unknown).



“What cartoon character would you be and why?”

Asked at ASDA, Administrative Assistant candidate (Bristol, England).


“What is the wildest thing that you have done?”

Asked at Metro Bank, Teller candidate (London, England).


“What was your opinion of the film Blair Witch Project?”

Asked at Jefferies & Company, Data Analyst candidate (London, England).