EVER BEEN ASKED about your age, race, religion or marital status in an interview? They’re actually topics that can’t be touched by your prospective employer.

But what about ones that aren’t discriminatory but are just downright, well… weird?

High-powered companies like Google have in the past used unusual questions to gain insight into personality or problem-solving (here’s a sample from Business Insider).

According to a survey of more than 4,000 people in full time employment across the UK and the US by Jobbio, Google aren’t the only company with hiring managers that ask unusual questions.

The questions featured tended to range from personality insights (‘what’s your favourite Sesame Street character?’) to the overly personal (‘are your parents still alive and are they divorced?’) to bordering on discrimination (‘are you too overweight to do this job?’).

Some could even be defined as sexual harassment?: (‘What colour knickers are you wearing?’ / Are you a virgin?).

Here are 12 of the strangest responses some of the respondents were broached with:

• Are you okay about cutting up sheep?
• Are you okay to work with women?
• Do you like bacon sandwiches?
• Explain why David Bowie is good or bad.
• How would you explain music to an alien?
• Please draw a picture of a pig.
• What makes you laugh?
• What would you do if everyone in the office was naked?
• What’s your favourite flavour of jam?
• Are you wearing underwear?
• Do you enjoy sex?
• Do you have any martial arts training?

Read the full results of JOBBIO’s survey here.

Have you ever been asked a weird question in an interview? Let us know in the comments.

Read more: ‘Never query the salary’: How to nail a job interview by asking all the right questions

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