Interviewers Ask Candidates to Tell a Joke

Surprisingly, one question some interviewers routinely ask candidates is: “Can you tell me a joke?”

This sort of interview question is nothing to joke about, especially for the perplexed applicant who can’t imagine why an interviewer would want to ask such a thing.

Well, here’s why: certain employers use the tell-me-a-joke question to disqualify candidates if, for example, the joke reveals racial prejudice, sexism, homophobia, or any other inappropriate behavior. After all, the thinking goes, if a candidate is willing (i.e. dumb enough) to take a chance by making an off-color joke during an interview, what is to stop the same person from engaging in the same funny business in a client meeting? In a pre-recorded interview, where the candidate has had plenty of time to think about the appropriateness of his or her joke, offensive jokes are particularly offensive (not to mention, particularly dumb).

The joke question can also be used to see whether the candidate shares, to speak, some of the organization’s DNA. If your company actively supports homeless shelters, what does a joke that is disparaging of the poor say about the interviewee’s chances of fitting in?

The best advice for candidates confronted with the joke question: tell it, but keep it light and innocuous.

Of course, some candidates choose not to answer the joke-question, either because they think it’s potential quicksand (which, of course, it is – see paragraph 3 above) or just unworthy of them and their time (which it may also be). But the risk here is clear: not answering a direct question posed in a job interview can be construed as insubordination by someone who hasn’t even earned the right to be insubordinate.

In short, if you choose not to tell the joke, the interviewer may choose not to consider you for the job.

In this economy, that is no laughing matter.

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