ODDBALL

INTERVIEW
QUESTIONS
Compiled By Milton Segura
 1. WHAT WOULD YOU DO IF YOU WERE
THE ONE SURVIVOR IN A PLANE
CRASH?
--Asked by Airbnb for a trust and safety investigator
job

Compiled By Milton Segura

•My first goal would be to make sure I was
healthy and alert and the second goal
would be to verify that there were no
other survivors. I would want to make sure
there wasn’t anyone else I could help.

Compiled By Milton Segura

 2. WHAT’S YOUR FAVORITE ‘90S
JAM??

--Asked by Squarespace for a customer care job

Compiled By Milton Segura

•“Allstar” by Smash Mouth. The song
reminds me that I have to keep reaching
for the stars and that we’re all stars on our
own path. Hint: Pick a song that lets you
draw a parallel between a positive
aspect of your personality and the way
you’d approach a job.

Compiled By Milton Segura

 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?
--Asked by Dropbox for a rotation program job

Compiled By Milton Segura

•First I would take a moment to assess
what’s most pressing in my job at the
moment and what my short-term goals
are. I’d read the subject lines and answer
the ones that have to do with my goals.

Compiled By Milton Segura

 4. WHO WOULD WIN IN A FIGHT
BETWEEN SPIDERMAN AND BATMAN?

--Asked by Stanford University for a medical

simulationist job

Compiled By Milton Segura

•Ask where the superheroes are located. If
they’re in a cave at night then Batman
would likely win but if they’re at the top of
a tall building, Spiderman would prevail.

Compiled By Milton Segura

 5. IF YOU HAD A MACHINE THAT
PRODUCED $100 FOR LIFE, WHAT
WOULD YOU BE WILLING TO PAY FOR IT
TODAY?
--Asked by Aksia for a research analyst job

Compiled By Milton Segura

• Ask whether the machine is being made
available to anyone else and if so, how much
money does that person or people have and
where are they located. If there’s no
competition, then you don’t need to pay
anything at all. Also ask about the risks of
owning such a machine. If you would be a
crime target, it’s possibly not worth buying.

Compiled By Milton Segura

 6. WHAT DID YOU HAVE FOR
BREAKFAST?

--Asked by Banana Republic for a sales associate

job

Compiled By Milton Segura

• Try not to be boring. Don’t just say “cereal.”
Come up with a humorous quip, like, “I had
Wheaties, the breakfast of champions.” Or
explain that you eat cottage cheese and
fruit because the protein gives you energy
and staves off hunger until lunchtime. If you
ate a Pop-Tart or a doughnut, say you get
your craving for sweets out of the way first
thing, so you can eat healthy the rest of the
day.

Compiled By Milton Segura

 7. DESCRIBE THE COLOR YELLOW
TO SOMEBODY WHO’S BLIND.

--Asked by Spirit Airlines for a flight attendant job

Compiled By Milton Segura

•Consider the emotion you feel when you
see the color. Ask the blind person what
makes her feel warm and loving on the
inside and tell her the color evokes those
feelings.

Compiled By Milton Segura

 8. IF YOU WERE ASKED TO UNLOAD A
747 FULL OF JELLYBEANS, WHAT
WOULD YOU DO?
--Asked by Bose for an IT support manager job

Compiled By Milton Segura

•First say that you wouldn’t want to lose or
compromise the taste or appearance of
the jellybeans. Ask what resources you
have, what is your budget, how fast do
you need the task to be completed? For
instance can you hire 10 people and
supply them with buckets?

Compiled By Milton Segura

 9. HOW MANY PEOPLE FLEW OUT
OF CHICAGO LAST YEAR?

--Asked by Redbox for a software engineer job.

Compiled By Milton Segura

•To calculate this, I would request statistics
from each of the Chicago airports, giving
them all the same 12-month period.

Compiled By Milton Segura

 10. WHAT’S YOUR FAVORITE
DISNEY PRINCESS?

--Asked by Coldstone Creamery for a crew member

job

Compiled By Milton Segura

•I admire Cinderella (or substitute
character here) because she works hard,
is well-liked and overcame daunting
challenges.

Compiled By Milton Segura