English

Live Chat

Product

Test Library

Pricing

Use Cases

Resources

Home

Pricing

6 Types of Unique Interview Questions to Identify Top Talent (+12 Examples)

- by Tooba Noman

October 8, 2025

The job of a recruiter involves assessing applicants’ skills before they're hired. During the interview, you should ask unique interview questions that will help you identify the top candidate who is fit for the job.

Keeping your candidates engaged and improving the experience raises their enthusiasm for the job, which is why it's important to make the questions as interesting as possible.

Approximately 1 in 5 companies use unique interview questions. They adopt these questions to make better hiring decisions, improve candidate experience, reduce bias, and find talent that contributes creatively and culturally to the organization.

In this article, we will walk you through what unique interview questions are, why they matter, examples, the types, and how recruiters should incorporate them into their hiring system.

Table of contents

What are unique interview questions (+ examples)?
Why is it important?
Types of unique interview questions?
How to Craft Effective Unique Interview Questions?
FAQs
Conclusion

What are unique interview questions (+ examples)?

Unique interview questions are non-traditional prompts designed to evaluate real-world problem-solving, creativity, and decision-making. Unlike standard “Tell me about yourself” questions, they reveal how candidates think under pressure, communicate, and align with company values. These questions often take a behavioral or situational approach to gain insight into how candidates think, react under pressure, and fit within the company culture.

Unlike routine questions about strengths or past work experience, unique questions encourage authentic, original responses and help you identify top talent by assessing skills like critical thinking and creativity in real-time.

Such questions also make the interview process more engaging and interactive for candidates, leading to a better interview experience and more genuine evaluation outcomes. According to HuntClub, these are examples of questions that can help you identify the right candidate. They include:

Tell me about a time you set a challenging goal for yourself and how you accomplished it.

Describe the work environment that will help you to contribute most effectively.

What kind of oversight would your ideal boss or project manager provide?

What project is your most significant career accomplishment?

What are the three most important attributes you’ll bring to our company

Talk to me about a period in your life when you had to conquer a significant limitation that stood in the way of you accomplishing a goal

What excites you most about this job?

How would your co-workers describe you?

How would your current boss rate the quality of your work?

How will your skills contribute to the accomplishment of our company's mission?

How are you going to continue to develop your professional skills and knowledge?

Benefits of Unique Interview Questions

Using unique interview questions during hiring can help both the recruiter and the candidate. It makes the conversation more natural, shows how a person thinks and reacts, and helps employers identify qualities that might not appear on a CV. These benefits include:

Deeper Insight: Asking unique interview questions helps you get a clearer picture of who the candidate really is; how they think, solve problems, and whether they’ll fit into your team.

Differentiation: It shows that your company thinks differently. Using fresh, thoughtful questions sets you apart and tells candidates you value creativity and innovation.

Great Experience: When interviews feel engaging and real, candidates enjoy the process more and positively remember your company.

Cultural Fit: These questions also help you see if the candidate connects with your company’s values and goals, making it easier to find someone who truly belongs.

Improved Decision-Making: It also gives you a deeper look at each candidate’s strengths, mindset, and potential. It helps you make better choices and find people who truly fit the role and the company’s goals.

Types of unique interview questions

According to Hipeople, when it comes to interviewing candidates, using different types of questions really helps. It gives you a better picture of who they are, what they can do, and how well they’ll fit into your team. These are some types of unique questions:

Behavioral Questions with a Twist

It makes interviews more engaging and helps you see how candidates think in real time. Instead of sticking to the usual “Tell me about a time when…” format, these questions challenge candidates with unexpected situations. This helps you see how they handle pressure, make decisions, and work with others.

For instance, instead of asking, “Tell me about a time you handled a difficult client,” you could ask,

“If your client suddenly changed the project goal halfway through, how would you keep your team motivated and still meet the deadline?”

It’s a simple shift but it reveals how adaptable and solution-driven the candidate really is.

Creative Thinking and Problem-Solving Questions

These questions help you see how candidates think beyond the obvious and handle real challenges. Instead of focusing on what they’ve done before, you get to see how they approach problems, think creatively, and find new ways to solve them.

For example, instead of asking, “Tell me about a time you solved a problem,” you could ask,

“If our biggest client suddenly pulled out of a deal today, what would be your first step to turn the situation around?”

It’s a great way to identify people who stay calm under pressure and think on their feet.

Situation-Based Questions

These questions place candidates in real-life scenarios they’re likely to face on the job. They help you see how well someone can apply their skills, make decisions, and stay composed under pressure. It’s a practical way to understand their judgment, communication style, and how they handle challenges.

For example, instead of asking general questions about teamwork, you could ask,

“If your team is behind schedule and two key members disagree on the next step, how would you handle the situation to keep things on track?”

It gives you a clear picture of how the candidate thinks, reacts, and leads when things get tough.

Values-Based Questions

Values-based questions help you understand what truly drives a candidate — their beliefs, ethics, and sense of purpose. They go beyond skills and experience to reveal how well someone’s personal values align with your company’s culture and goals.

For example, instead of asking general questions about teamwork, you could ask,

“Can you share a time when you had to make a choice that tested your honesty or principles? What did you do, and what did you learn from it?”

These kinds of questions show you who the person is at their core, not just what they can do, but how they choose to do it.

Culture Fit Questions

Culture fit questions help you see whether a candidate will blend well with your team and work environment. They highlight a person’s attitude, communication style, and approach to teamwork — all of which matter just as much as skill and experience.

A good example is “What kind of team do you work best with, and how do you usually contribute to keeping that team motivated and connected?”

These questions help you find people who don’t just fit the job but fit the people they’ll be working with every day.

These being said, over 60% of companies surveyed in 2025 reported incorporating unique behavioral and situational questions into their interview processes to better evaluate candidate problem-solving and interpersonal

How to Craft Effective, Unique Interview Questions?

Creating unique interview questions takes a bit of thought and planning. The goal is to ask questions that help you really understand a candidate; their skills, values, and how well they might fit into your team. These are some simple ways to craft questions that bring out those deeper insights:

Aligning Questions with Company Values and Culture

When creating interview questions, it’s important to make sure they reflect what your company truly stands for. The questions you ask should highlight the traits, attitudes, and behaviors that matter most to your team and contribute to long-term success. Consider the following when aligning questions with your company values and culture:

Review your company's value: Begin by taking a close look at your company’s mission, vision, and what it truly stands for. Pick out the main ideas and values that best describe your workplace culture and guide how your team works.

Incorporate Core Values: Create questions that connect with what your company truly stands for. For instance, if innovation is a key value, you could ask a candidate to share a time they came up with a fresh idea or solved a problem in a new way.

Reflect Your Company Culture: Think about the kind of work environment and team spirit you want to build. Ask questions that help you understand how the candidate works with others, communicates, and fits into your team’s way of doing things.

Tailoring Questions to Specific Roles and Industries

Every job and industry comes with its own set of needs and challenges, so your interview questions should reflect that. Think about the key skills, experience, and qualities the specific role truly requires, and shape your questions around what matters most for that position and your industry.

Research Job Requirements: Take some time to really understand what the role needs. Go through the job description, have a chat with the hiring manager, and look into what works best in your industry. This helps you ask questions that truly match the job.

Identify Key Competencies: Figure out the main skills and qualifications needed to do well in the role. Then, create questions that test those skills directly such as how they solve problems or handle technical tasks.

Consider Industry Trends: Keep up with what’s happening in your industry. Ask questions that touch on real issues or opportunities your company is currently facing as this helps you see how candidates think and whether they can adapt to change.

Avoiding Bias and Discriminatory Language

When creating unique interview questions, it’s important to keep them fair and free from bias. The goal is to give every candidate an equal chance to show their strengths, no matter their background. That means being intentional about the words you use and how your questions are framed.

Use Inclusive Language: Make sure your wording feels open and welcoming to people from all backgrounds. Avoid phrases that might sound exclusive or make someone feel out of place. Simple, neutral language helps every candidate feel comfortable enough to give their best answers.

Focus on Job-Related Criteria: Keep your questions centered on what truly matters for the role like the skills, experience, and knowledge needed to do the job well. Avoid bringing up personal details that have nothing to do with the position. This helps keep the interview fair and professional.

Consider Impact: Think about how your questions might come across to candidates from different backgrounds. Stay sensitive to cultural differences and avoid anything that could make someone feel uneasy or left out. The goal is to create a space where every candidate feels respected and confident to express themselves.

FAQs

1. Why should recruiters use unique interview questions?

They help you see beyond a candidate’s polished resume. You get to understand how they think, solve problems, and respond in real situations which makes your hiring decisions more accurate.

2. What makes a strong interview question?

A good question starts a real conversation. It should make candidates think, share stories, and show how they approach challenges or teamwork.

3. How do recruiters keep their interview process fair?

Ask every candidate applying for the same role similar core questions. This helps you compare their answers fairly and keeps your process transparent.

4. Can Recruiters mix traditional and unique questions?

Yes, and you should. Traditional questions help you confirm experience and qualifications, while unique ones show mindset, creativity, and cultural fit.

5. How do unique questions improve hiring outcomes?

They reveal traits that don’t always show on paper such as resilience, leadership style, and emotional intelligence. This helps you hire people who perform well and stay longer.

6. What if a candidate struggles to answer?

That’s not always a bad sign. Pay attention to how they handle the moment — their thought process and attitude can tell you more than the answer itself.

7. Should recruiters tailor their questions for each role or team?

Definitely. Every position and department has different needs. Customize your questions to match the skills, values, and work style that fit that role best.

Conclusion

Hiring the right talent goes beyond ticking boxes or reviewing impressive resumes. It’s about finding people who truly connect with your company’s values, purpose, and culture. Every question you ask in an interview shapes the kind of people you bring into your organization, and that’s why unique interview questions matter.

They help you go past surface-level answers and uncover how candidates think, adapt, and solve problems in real situations. You get to see their personality, mindset, and how they might fit into your team. When you focus on understanding people instead of just evaluating them, you build a workplace that values growth, creativity, and collaboration.

At its core, hiring is about choosing individuals who believe in what your organization stands for and can help it move forward. When you ask the right questions, you can find talent and potential. And that’s what truly drives a company’s success.

Latest posts