Clever or plain baffling?

Over the past couple of weeks there has been a plethora of articles commenting on interview questions, with comments ranging from “What’s the point of these wacky questions” to observers who say that if corporate giants such as Google, who are notorious for asking questions such as “you are shrunk to the height of a nickel and thrown in a blender. The blades start moving in 60 seconds. What do you do?” frequently base their interviews and hiring on the answers to such riddles, then there must be something in it?

So is there something in it?
Can any of you out there shed any light on the value of questions such as:

1. “What colour best represents your personality”
2. “If you were an animal, what type of animal would you be and why?”

Does this type of questioning identify potential talent?

What type of response would classify as genius, and what type of response would classify as ridiculous?

Can these questions really provide any insight into an individual’s creativity, can they help interviewers identify how the interviewee potentially responds to unexpected scenarios, are candidates likely to panic, express confusion or go with the flow?

Your views and experiences would be greatly appreciated and if you could share with us the most unusual interview question that you have either been asked or that you have asked, that would be great.

Look forward to hearing from you