Crazy Answers To Interview Questions (That Got People Jobs)

"Always act enthusiastic during the interview." "Never badmouth a previous employer." These are the standard tips that career coaches give, but many people violate all kinds of common-sense rules in answering interview questions -- and get hired anyway. A recent thread on Quora, the question-and-answer website popular with Silicon Valley execs, provides plenty of examples. The question that kicked off the thread was, "What is the craziest thing you've said at a job interview -- and got the job anyway?" It prompted a long list of funny anecdotes -- all of which suggests that sometimes acting off-the-wall pays off.

Say You Don't Want The Job
Gil Yehuda, a Yahoo employee, said that during a job interview he once asked the chief technology officer for the most important responsibility of the five duties listed in the job description. The answer he gave was contradicted by several other execs he spoke to. So when the recruiter later offered him the job, he turned her down, saying, "I can't take a job if the company doesn't know what they are looking for. You need to figure out what you want before you make an offer." She pushed him to take the job and explained to him why his reluctance was enticing. "I was the first candidate to realize they did not have a consensus view of what they were trying to hire," Yehuda wrote. He got the job.