Make us laugh - applying for a job.

[SouthernNorthernGirl]

OK, so it's part of an application (yes, really!) that I will be sending via email.
I've been racking my brains, and I'm utterly stuck. I have a very dry sense of humour, and think that's mostly possible during conversations - not so easy as a one way thing.
Ignoring how this is, please help me!

Gloss Imagine that the number 0 put a belt on round its middle. It's look like an 8. Make sense?

Oh yes, I get it. Thank you.

Is this for a US company? I wondered as I'm in the US and it was exactly the sort of twattish question our HR officer used to give to candidates to try and catch them out and see who would actually do it, and who would refuse with courtesy and integrity. According to her the ones who did it showed no judgement and their applications got shredded.
Needless to say as soon as I got wind of her unprofessional twattery I put a stop to it. She insisted it was a tactic she was taught as part of her formal HR training. I didn't believe her, but reading your post did make me wonder if she wasn't actually bullshitting about that too

I do like the stinkeye owl though, so I would go with that to be safe.

The manhole cover thing is apparently
a) a round manhole can't fall down into the hole when you pry it up (but a square one could).
but presumably also
b) a manhole has to be at least a certain width to fit human shoulders and a circle uses less metal (and the circular shaft beneath has to shift less soil and has more evenly loaded walls) than a square one with the same diameter in all directions.

Why can't you hear a pterodactyl go to the loo?

Because the p is silent.

Im abit surprised why someone said the why you for this job in 1 minute question is bad. Its a standard question and an important one. Hate a humour question and humour is very personal. The brown and sticky joke is the one that made me smile but loved the ikea chair cartoon.

The manhole question isn't about getting the 'right' answer, it's about seeing if someone can come up with ideas. If you can't think of any possible reasons then that means you don't think very creatively or logically. The question is now so famous that it doesn't work to differentiate candidates, but prior to its fame it probably did.

For the person worried her humour was too rude -- this is exactly the place to do a rude joke. You should be checking cultural fit as much as the other way around. I'd have no problem hiring someone who made a rude joke. If they strike you out for that then you wouldn't have been able to be yourself there anyway.

Why did the woman apply for the job?

To get it

Unless the job's for a stand-up comedian I'd find that a bit odd imo.

If it's an online application, rickroll them.

It's a lazy way of trying to filter out applicants who will not suffer fools, when what they should be looking for is ability. Take the hint and go for another job with an organisation that doesn't delegate recruitment to the not-very-good in the company.

A guy walked into a bar and asked for a double entendre.

So the barman gave him one.

Send them a YouTube link, tell them it's an example of your stand-up routine or something.

RickRoll. It's the only way.

I'm in my 50s and hopeful that I will never have to apply for another job. This thread is reminding me how utterly awful and humiliating the whole process can be. I wouldn't want to apply to an organisation that could consider this sort of nonsense as part of an application.

OP, is it a company where the people shortlisting are likely to be native English speakers, or genuinely bilingual? If not, I'd be very careful about using humour that's based on getting some subtlety of the English language. I'd also consider differences in humour between the UK and the country where the company is based. And finally, I would avoid like the plague any humour that could be construed as poking fun at a minority or oppressed group. Funny but not edgy would be my approach.

The job is clearly not 'perfect' for you if some idiot 28 year old thinks telling a joke is in anyway a sensible part of the recruitment process.....
Plus the job title screams lack of management structure....how many 'affiliate' directors will there be I wonder? I predict lack of role clarity, no clear vision, ever changing tasks, no proper management/HR in short a fucking nightmare....I'd compose a clever/funny poem lambasting the process of adding this to the selection process and see how they react...if they don't like it because they were serious then you are best off out of it...

The Ikea job interview one could work well :)

I actually quite like this question. You have find something funny which is on the right side of prifessiobal. A useful skill for the office I think.

Knock knock

Who's there?

I'll tell you at the interview.

Why do you want this job?

I am very passionate about being able to afford food.

Liiinoo Amazing!

I would go with the owl or the suggestion of sending a (short!) clip of a comedian /programme that who really makes you laugh, or maybe a cartoon strip that you find funny. The simpsons is often good for this.
Lots of funny but quite pointed moments. I think the owl really is funny without being insulting to anyone. Visual humour often works with a wider audience better than written stuff.

Limericks about the company.interview process might come off a bit cringey really unless they are really really well done. Less likely to engender a laugh but maybe they will be impressed with the "cleverness" if it is done well

*Personally, I wouldn't tell a joke but I would share a funny/embarrassing personal story".

I originally was going to suggest this as well but on reflection it has some quite big risks and the story needs to be chosen very carefully.
Otherwise if you get the job you will forever be known as the "The one who ... (fill in whatever "hilarious" but v. embarassing moment you like)"

That one had made me laugh"

and this one

I would send one of my special Harry Styles limericks. Probably too rude to post here though.