'Not all questions are serious; a question like this is most likely thrown out to see your sense of humour in an otherwise formal situation,' said a spokesperson from recruitment company Pareto.

'It is still prudent to air on the side of how it can be related to the role you have applied for, but try to take a not so serious approach to it. For example if you are applying for an engineering role, question whether the gnomes have the right tools to do the job in hand.'