Go beyond standard job interview questions to get deeper insights into a candidate’s mindset and attitudes.

One of a manager’s toughest jobs is hiring the right person—the person with both the right skills and mindset who will also fit in with your team. Standard questions will likely result in standard answers. To discover more about your candidates, try the following three unique interview approaches.

The coffee cup test

One CEO of an accounting firm uses a coffee cup test to determine if prospective candidates will fit in at his company. During the interview, he walks the candidate to the kitchen and provides them with a drink. At the end of the interview, only folks who want to return the empty cup back to the kitchen make the cut, as this signals an attitude that aligns the company’s “wash your cup” ethos.

Discover who has empathy

Some interviewers glean insights into characteristics such as empathy with a pen-drop test. Sometime during the interview, the interviewer “accidentally” drops a pen on the floor between themselves and the candidate. Those candidates with the instinct to bend down and pick up the pen stay in the running. It’s hard to fake empathy! Discover more unusual interview techniques according to Recruitee.

Ask an unexpected question

Some of the most valuable interview questions don’t have a right or wrong answer. Instead, they elicit answers that reflect the candidate’s problem-solving skills and how they make decisions. For example, “How would you design a spice rack for the blind?” Check out Hubspot’s fun, weird and unusual interview questions.

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