Whenever the human resources department displays a job posting on the internet, they may not know what to expect, but they can try to diversify the group’s applications.
This can be achieved in multiple ways, but managers may be able to let the company’s HR software solution do a lot of the heavy lifting. If the goal is to find creative workers, have the program pick out which applications had creative responses to the business’ pre-screening questions.
Recruiters may ask uncanny questions during the face-to-face interview, but this method can be applied during the early stages as well. It may throw the job seeker off at first, but their responses can get them to the next phase of interviews.
The trend to do this began at companies like Google, but now businesses across many sectors are utilizing this strategy, according to Fast Company.
“It’s to test a job candidate’s critical thinking skills, see how they think through a problem out loud, solve through a problem and come up with the best solution, not always the right solution, but the best solution,” Scott Dobroski, Glassdoor’s community expert, told the source.
Ranging from “What was the last gift you gave someone,” at Gallup to “Are you more of a hunter or gatherer,” at Dell, these questions may not directly correlate to the position, but may provide insight on how well they can think outside of the box, which could enhance a workplace’s environment.
The HR software can identify which answers were the most common and decide if it is worth looking into those who went with similar approaches or job seekers who diverted from the beaten path. In some cases, these responses could provide more information on their capabilities and how they would handle the position, without them even noticing it.