14 Interview Questions That Are Designed To Trick You

By Jacquelyn Smith

Savvy hiring managers have honed their ability to ask the least amount of questions yielding the greatest depth of information. One way they do this is by asking seemingly simple questions that get you to reveal information you may have been trying to conceal. In other words: questions designed to trick you.

"To uncover areas that may reflect inconsistencies, hiring managers sometimes ask these tricky questions," says Tina Nicolai, executive career coach and founder of Resume Writers' Ink.

Lynn Taylor, a national workplace expert and the author of "Tame Your Terrible Office Tyrant: How to Manage Childish Boss Behavior and Thrive in Your Job," says they use these queries to break through the "traditional interview noise and clutter," and to get to the "raw you."

"While some of these questions may seem as if they're designed to put you on the defensive, the intent is usually to evaluate candidate responses on multiple levels - not just at face value," Taylor explains. "Hiring managers can discern a great deal about job seekers with thought-provoking, challenging questions. If they cross the line by being too tricky, unfair, or irrelevant, they can easily lose excellent talent."