I've been on the other end of this... I have a good 45 minutes, I get a new job. I had a bad day... a bad half day... I didn't have good stories on the spot... and that determined my life. Is that proper??
When I interview, I ask a bunch of questions during the interview.... and it's amazing how many people can't answer some of them.
"Tell me something technical... but to a non-technical person". Is it that hard to get people to communicate? They always trip up on this question.... and only once... in easily 30-40 times, did one person get it.
"How many golf balls does it take to fill a city bus." I get it. It's a Microsoft brainteaser or a Google brainteaser that people have lobbied against. I actually see the value in these types of questions. First off...there is no answer. You can't really be wrong. But it shows the character of a person... being faced with a left-field question, right-field situation and you're at the plate. Talk me through it. Tell me how you can get creative and start solving problems. You don't have information... tell me how you can get the information. You don't have information... create some assumptions. I even have people tell me, "I need a calculator." And "Sorry... I need to pass on this question."
Heh... Big Bro says if he ever gets asked these questions, he'll tell them he's lost respect for this company, get up and leave. If someone did that to me... I'll say, "Thank you very much, you just made my life a whole lot easier to not have to waste more time with you."
I hate "tell me a time" questions.... but when I asked my VP how he interviews, he suggested a follow-on to these "tell me a time" questions... "Knowing what you know now... what would you do differently..." I like that.
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