Hidden tests bosses use in interviews to ensure they find the perfect candidate

Some bosses use 'hidden' tests during job interviews which they believe can help determine an applicant's psyche in a bid to weed out candidates.

Yes, if interviews aren't hard enough, those conducting them have been using subtle techniques to assess interviewees beyond their experience and skills.

I guess you should just be happy to have received an interview in the first place - I remember when I was encouraged to take on more work to prepare for an internal role that was coming up with a company I was working for at the time, only to be told they had hired someone else without extending me the courtesy of an interview... ouch!

Fortunately, if you're on the receiving end of these subtle tests, it means you're in with a real chance of landing a job.

Job interviews can be tough (Getty Stock Image)

The irrelevant question

Depending on what role you're going for, you could be asked a whole host of questions, although they're often topical... occasionally, however, you might get thrown a curveball.

After answering multiple questions about why you are the perfect fit for the job you're going for, a number of people have been asked the same unrelated question - 'If you could be an animal, what would it be and why?'.

Well, resident career expert for TopCV, Amanda Augustine, has explained why these types of questions are posed.

"When it comes to unorthodox interview questions, employers typically use them to assess either your problem-solving skills or your cultural fit," she said.

"Some questions, such as 'How many phone boxes are there in London?', are designed to see how a candidate’s analytical mind tackles challenges - particularly under pressure. In these cases, the interviewer is more interested in how you approach the problem than in your final answer.

"Other questions, like 'If you could be an animal, what would you be and why?', usually fall into the second category: cultural fit. How you react to such a random question is often just as revealing as your actual response."

Sometimes hiring managers like to throw curveballs (Getty Stock Image)

'I don't know'

If you've ever left an interview feeling disheartened that you weren't able to answer every question, you may be in luck.

As bizarre as it sounds, in some cases, if you admit to not knowing an answer during the job-seeking test, it can actually win you some brownie points.

Taking to Reddit one user, an engineering professional, explained: "One of the most dangerous types of people in an engineering environment is someone who won’t admit they don’t know how to do something.

"If a candidate couldn’t acknowledge at least once during the interview that they weren’t confident in their answer, I would raise a huge red flag."

The pen test

This is something that most people will encounter at least once in their career - the pen test. My dad used to always say 'fail to prepare, prepare to fail', and there isn't a truer phrase out there.

That's why when I attend interviews - again, if I'm fortunate enough to have been awarded one - then I'll always come with a notepad and pen, and in one instance, the interviewer highlighted my eagerness and offered me a job later that evening.

Anyway, I digress. The pen test.

"If they bring a pen, they’re at the top of the pile of applications," one hiring manager posted on Reddit.

Meanwhile, another boss took to the platform to share that they even pretend not to have a pen on them just to see if the candidate would offer them one.

This candidate wouldn't pass the pen test! (Getty Stock Image)

'Would you like a glass of water?'

In a post on Reddit, one person asked hiring managers to reveal any 'special tests' they have for candidates - and one applicant opened up about a very specific challenge that most people probably wouldn't think much of.

"Not a Hiring Manager but I spoke to mine after being hired and she told me that a method that they use when hiring, is they put a jug of water with a cup out to see if anyone would drink it while being interviewed," they wrote.

"I was the only person who drank the water at a 'normal pace' during the interview and this is seen as being 'confident in the workplace environment by accepting a gift or offer'.

"Apparently you can tell that a lot about a person from the way they refuse the offer of the water or by drinking it too fast."

The Redditor added: "If you encounter a similar situation in an interview and are wondering what a 'normal pace' is, I just drank after I answered each question."

Augustine said that these 'unspoken or ‘hidden’ interview tests' can 'highlight a growing trend in hiring practices where subtle behavioural cues are used to inform decisions'.

"While these tactics may seem harmless or even insightful to some, they can raise concerns about fairness in the recruitment process," the expert noted.

Good luck out there!