Interview Questions – ‘Can you tell me about a funny thing that happened at work?’

For Service-leavers who haven’t got recent interview experience, the prospect can seem daunting. Here, we dissect another of the more common but no less difficult interview questions so that you can show your best side to interviewers and land your next post-Services role.

‘Can you tell me about a funny thing that happened at work?’

Character question
While this is another example of a character question, designed to see if you’ll fit into the team you’re going to be working with, it may have an important secondary purpose, depending on the role you’re going for: dealing with pressure. 

On the spot
Although you’re likely to be dealing with interview nerves, the question can serve as a practical test of just how well you cope under pressure – particularly, outside of your ‘comfort zone’.

Talking about a funny thing implies a request to be funny, on demand, but not through a staged method, like re-telling a joke. 

Judgment
The employer will also want to examine your ability to use judgment. Will you pick something appropriate to talk about or slip up by saying something vulgar or offensive?

Do you have charisma?
Even if you are struggling to actually answer the question in a straightforward manner, you might just win a few points for staying cool or exuding self confidence or charisma, as you rack your brain for the ideal anecdote. 

That said, where perhaps, public speaking is a part of the role, it might be handy to be able to call something to mind. 

Light-hearted
Whatever you come up with, as usual in interviews, brevity is your friend. Keep it simple rather than convoluted and light-hearted rather than dark or troubling. 

Learning
If the stars are absolutely aligned for you, it may be possible to tell a funny story that describes how you learnt something that will actually help you in the job you’re being interviewed for.

Bias
Attempt to tell a story that does not indicate a negative bias, such as racism or homophobia. You won’t get away with calling it ‘banter’. Ideally, your story would be victimless or at least harmless.

Self-deprecating
This is a pretty neutral method. We’ve all done something silly, like forgotten the keys to the shop or dropped an important note in a puddle, for example. Be careful however, that you don’t lead the interviewer to think that you are an incompetent fool – or indeed, that you aren’t serious about your professional responsibilities. 

Rare
If this all sounds too delicate and tricky, the upside is that it isn’t a question that comes up that often. In other words, this is not the interview question to let keep you awake at night.

The weakness of interviews…
If there is a weakness with job interviews, it’s encapsulated in this particular question. Interviews are subjective and you will get on with one person more than another. Similarly, humour is very personal and what might be hilarious to some will seem trivial and stupid to others.