The purpose of quirky interview questions has evolved. Beyond just assessing personality, questions about non-work achievements or hypothetical scenarios are now used to jolt candidates out of scripted answers and expose those relying on mid-interview AI prompts for assistance.

To accurately assess an unteachable trait like coachability, you can't just ask about it. You must create a situation that requires it. For coachability, run a brief role-play, provide direct feedback, and ask them to do it again, observing their verbal and non-verbal reactions to the coaching itself.

Injecting humor or pop culture references into interviews is not just for breaking the ice. It serves as a deliberate test for 'culture fit' by gauging a candidate's sense of humor, which strongly correlates with desirable traits like flexibility, curiosity, and friendliness that are difficult to assess directly.

To gauge an expert's (human or AI) true depth, go beyond recall-based questions. Pose a complex problem with multiple constraints, like a skeptical audience, high anxiety, and a tight deadline. A genuine expert will synthesize concepts and address all layers of the problem, whereas a novice will give generic advice.

Citing Oprah Winfrey, Rubenstein argues the key to great interviewing is not having the best questions but being a great listener. True listening allows the interviewer to pivot and follow up on unexpected answers, turning a rigid Q&A into a genuine conversation that uncovers far deeper insights than a prepared script ever could.

Ditch standard FANG interview questions. Instead, ask candidates to describe a messy but valuable project they shipped. The best candidates will tell an authentic, automatic story with personal anecdotes. Their fluency and detail reveal true experience, whereas hesitation or generic answers expose a lack of depth.

Beyond IQ and EQ, interview for 'Resilience Quotient' (RQ)—the ability to persevere through setbacks. A key tactic is to ask candidates about their proudest achievement, then follow up with, 'What would you do differently?' to see how they navigated strife and learned from it.

Instead of generic interview questions, ask what truly motivates a candidate and what they'd do for a hobby if money weren't an issue. The way they describe these passions reveals their energy, personality, and core drivers far more effectively than rehearsed answers about work experience.

Directly asking about values often yields aspirational answers. A more effective method is to ask someone who they admire. The qualities they praise in others are a reliable indicator of the values they genuinely hold and strive to embody, revealing their character more accurately than a direct question.