How much awkward interview questions trouble job seekers? Find out

Proper preparation and research could be key to tackling varied questions, says a JobBuzz study.

A common complaint
A whopping 90% of 820 participants in the study said they have faced awkward questions during interviews.

* 20% faced the problem in all interviews.

* 40% dealt with weird questions in 10% of interviews till date.

* 25% said they faced the issue 5-10% of the time.

* 15% said nearly 5% of interviews were plagued by such questions.

Women face the brunt
80% of women respondents said they have faced inconvenient questions during job interviews, compared to 60% of men.


40% of the inappropriate questions asked of women candidates pertained to family planning.

35% was related to marital and relationship status.

30% to childcare.


20% to age, weight and size.


5% to appearance preferences.


10% to lifestyle habits.


15% to religious, social and other personal preferences.

Habits under scanner for men
35% of awkward questions asked of men had to do with their lifestyle related habits like smoking and drinking.

* 30% were about religious, social and other personal preferences.

* 25% about relationship status.

* 20% about appearance preferences.

* 15% dealt with age, weight and size.

* 10% to family planning.

* 5% to childcare.

Men favoured over Women
* 55% of respondents from India to the Randstad Workmonitor said men are favoured over women when two candidates are equally qualified for the same job at their workplace.

* 61% of the male respondents and 47% of the female respondents agreed to this statement.

* 70% respondents of the survey globally stated this.

Source: Study by JobBuzz, a company rating platform powered by TimesJobs. Answers do not add up to 100% due to multiple choices.
Source: Randstad Workmonitor survey covering 400 respondents.