'What do you think of garden gnomes?' – strange interview questions

We've all been there – after applying for vacancy after vacancy, you finally secure an interview for your dream position. It could be as a trainee veterinary nurse or surgeon, but the worry about giving your best is the same as in any other industry or role.

What you may not realise is, as well as preparing for the questions you would expect, such as "why did you want to become a vet?" and "how do you work under pressure?", there could also be left-field, seemingly random questions that may seem designed to throw you off your stride.

We'll let you into a secret – they usually are.

Unless your interviewer thinks they will genuinely learn something crucial from a bizarre question and that their technique is inspiring, these posers are designed to get a reaction from you, the candidate.

Example questions

Here are some great, real life examples – and who knows, maybe one of these will stand between you and your dream veterinary job? If you do get any of these in your interview, stay relaxed and answer as you would a standard question.

• If you had £2,000, how would you double it in a week?

Both a logic test and just prodding to see how well you think on your feet. As long as you explain your answer and don't panic when faced with this type of question, you'll be fine.

• If you were the boss, what would be the first thing you would do when you got into work?

This is essentially a test of how you prioritise – just answer on this basis. Whatever you do, don't say you'd take the day off because you're the boss. This will not go down well.

• What do you think of garden gnomes?

Who knows the logic of this? Either designed to test you when put in an awkward situation, or you've accidentally walked into an interview at a garden gnome store.

However bizarre, there's almost always a method to the madness – just keep calm and that future looking after animals and working with great people is sure to be just around the corner.