Category Archives: Interviewing

Oddball Interview Questions

Posted on January 20, 2010 | 4 Comments

People ask peculiar questions of one another all the time.  When the person asking the questions is a potential employer, however, there may be more riding on your response than mastering off-the-wall chitchat.

One of my favorite old Stephen Wright comedy pieces (paraphrased below) illustrates that point.

“I was at a job interview, and I stopped the interview and asked the guy ‘If you were in a car traveling at the speed of light, and you turned on the headlights, what would happen?’  He said ‘I don’t know.’  I said ‘Well then I don’t want to work for you!’”

The folks at glassdoor.com have compiled their list of the top oddball interview questions of 2009.  How would you do if your next job depended on your response to one of these questions?

1.  What was your best McGuyver moment? – view answers
Asked at Schlumberger. More Schlumberger Interview Questions

2.  How many tennis balls are in this room and why? – view answers
Asked at Yahoo. More Yahoo Interview Questions

3.  If you were a brick in a wall which brick would you be and why? – view answers
Asked at Nestle USA. More Nestle USA Interview Questions

4.  How would you move Mount Fuji? – view answers
Asked at Microsoft. More Microsoft Interview Questions

5.  If two cars are traveling in a two lap race on a track of any length, one going 60 mph and the other going 30mph, how fast will the slower car have to go to finish at the same car to finish at the same time? – view answers
Asked at Morgan Stanley. More Morgan Stanley Interview Questions

6.  Are your parents disappointed with your career aspirations? – view answers
Asked at Fisher Investments. More Fisher Investments Interview Questions

7.  Tell me how you would determine how many house painters there are in the United States? – view answers
Asked at Acquity Group. More Acquity Group Interview Questions

8.  What should it cost to rent Central Park for commercial purposes? – view answers
Asked at Bain & Co. More Bain Interview Questions

9.  If I put you in a sealed room with a phone that had no dial tone, how would you fix it? – view answers
Asked at Apple. More Apple Interview Questions

10. If you could be any animal, what would you be and why? – view answers
Asked at Pacific Sunwear. More Pacific Sunwear Interview Questions

11.  How many hair salons are there in Japan? – view answers
Asked at Boston Consulting. More BCG Interview Questions

12.  If both a taxi and a limo were priced the exact same, which one would you choose? – view answers
Asked at Best Buy. More Best Buy Interview Questions

13.  How to measure 9 minutes using only a 4 minute and 7 minute hourglass? – view answers
Asked at Bank of America. More BOA Interview Questions

14.  What are 5 uncommon uses of a brick, not including building, layering, or a paper-weight? – view answers
Asked at Kaplan High Education. More Kaplan Higher Education Interview Questions

15.  What is the probability of throwing 11 and over with 2 dices – view answers
Asked at American Airlines. More American Airlines Interview Questions

16.  What is your favorite food? – view answers
Asked at Apple Store. More Apple Interview Questions

17.  Say you are dead- what do you think your eulogy would say about you. – view answers
Asked at Nationwide. More Nationwide Interview Questions

18.  Given a dictionary of words, how do you calculate the anagrams for a new word? – view answers
Asked at Amazon. More Amazon Interview Questions

19.  How many lightbulbs are in this building? – view answers
Asked at Monitor Group. More Monitor Group Interview Questions

20.  Given a square grid of numbers, considering all the numbers at the boundary as one layer and numbers just inside as another layer and so on how would you rotate each of the layers of the numbers by a given amount. – view answers
Asked at Microsoft. More Microsoft Interview Questions

21.  How would you sell me eggnog in Florida in the summer? – view answers
Asked at Expedia. More Expedia Interview Questions

22.  Develop an algorithm for finding the shortest distance between two words in a document.  After the phone interview is over, take a few hours to develop a working example in C++ and send it to the manager. – view answers
Asked at Google. More Google Interview Questions

23.  Given a fleet of 50 trucks, each with a full fuel tank and a range of 100 miles, how far can you deliver a payload? You can transfer the payload from truck to truck, and you can transfer fuel from truck to truck.  Extend your answer for n trucks. – view answers
Asked at Palantir. More Palantir Interview Questions

24.  You are in a room with 3 switches which correspond to 3 bulbs in another room and you don’t know which switch corresponds to which bulb. You can only enter the room with the bulbs once. You can NOT use any external equipment (power supplies, resistors, etc.). How do you find out which bulb corresponds to which switch? – view answers
Asked at Goldman Sachs. More Goldman Sachs Interview Questions

25.  If you saw someone steal a quarter. Would you report it? – view answers
Asked at Amazon. More Amazon Interview Questions

See more at the glassdoor.com blog

As if interviews weren’t already stressful enough!

 

→ 4 Comments

Posted in Employment, Humor, Interesting Internet, Interviewing, Uncategorized

Tagged , ,

Poll: A Majority Hire based on ‘Chemistry’

Posted on November 24, 2009 | 1 Comment

A majority of human resources professionals (54%) make their final decision to hire a person based on “chemistry,” according to a poll released Tuesday by the Society for Human Resource Management.

It found that 15% of human resources professionals said chemistry accounts for 75% of the final decision to hire, and 39% said chemistry amounts to 50% of the final decision to hire.

The survey also found that 30% of human resources professionals made a decision not to hire within 15 minutes of meeting the job candidate. And 28% made a decision not to hire within five minutes.

Respondents to the survey included 498 randomly selected members of the Society for Human Resource Management who are recruiting professionals.

→ 1 Comment

Posted in Interviewing, Workforce Trends

Tagged , , ,

The 10 Worst Job Tips Ever

Posted on September 4, 2008 | Leave a comment

Nearly every day, someone sends me a bit of astounding job-search advice from a blog or a newsletter. Some of this advice seems to come directly from the planet X-19, and some of it seems to have been made up on the spot. Here are 10 of my favorite pieces of atrocious job-search advice, for you to read and ignore at all costs:

1. DON’T WRAP IT UP

The Summary or Objective at the top of your résumé is the wrap-up; It tells the reader, “This person knows who s/he is, what s/he’s done, and why it matters.” Your Summary shows off your writing skills, shows that you know what’s salient in your background, and puts a point on the arrow of your résumé. Don’t skip it, no matter who tells you it’s not necessary or important.

2. TELL US EVERYTHING

Another piece of horrendous job search advice tells job-seekers to share as much information as possible. A post-millennium résumé uses up two pages, maximum, when it’s printed. (Academic CVs are another story.) Editing is a business skill, after all—just tell us what’s most noteworthy in your long list of impressive feats.

To read the other eight tips click here.

→ Leave a comment

Posted in Interviewing, Workforce Trends

Tagged , , ,

Thx for the Iview! I Wud ♥ to Work 4 U!! ;)

Posted on September 3, 2008 | Leave a comment

Today’s applicants, fresh from the Facebook, MySpace, and incessant texting world of Gen Y, are scoring few points with recruiters from earlier generations, according to a recent survey. However, the applicants say that recruiters are guilty of etiquette breaches, also.

The survey, conducted by Vault, a career information website, showcased some fascinating statistics about interviewee behavior, but it also turned the tables and asked related questions about interviewer behavior. Here are some of the highlights:

Promptness for the Interview

Question for Recruiters: How late to the interview would a job candidate have to be for you to disqualify him or her from contention?
Survey respondents (105 hiring managers) answered:
5 minutes    12%
10 minutes    19%
15 minutes    30%
20 minutes    13%
30 minutes    17%
1 hour plus    9%

Question for Applicants: Have you ever been late to a job interview? If so, how late?
Of surveyed applicants (1,647 employees) 76% report that they have never been late, and another 18% were up to 15 minutes late, and 6%admitted to being 20 or more minutes late.

Behavior During the Interview

Question for Recruiters: Has a job candidate ever answered a call on his or her cell phone during an interview with you?
Yes, responded 26% of participants in the survey.

Would you disqualify the candidate from contention for taking a cell phone call during the interview?
A whopping 68% of respondents said yes.

Questions for Applicants: Have you ever taken a cell phone call while in a job interview?
Yes, admitted 5%.

Has the person interviewing you ever taken a call during the interview?
Yes, say 56 percent of applicants!

Questions for Recruiters: Has a job candidate ever brought a child to the interview?
Yes, say 19%.
Has a job candidate ever dressed inappropriately for an interview?
Yes, say a surprising 87% of respondents.
Has a job candidate ever used profanity during an interview?
Yes, say 43%.

Thank-You Notes

Questions for Recruiters: How important is it for a job candidate to send a thank-you note after the interview?
Not important at all    20%
Somewhat important    41%
Extremely important    39%

How often do you receive thank-you notes?
Hardly ever    3%
Rarely    32%
About half the time    33%
Most of the time    23%
Almost all of the time    9%

Would you reject a candidate for not sending a thank-you note?
Only 5% say yes, they would reject a candidate who did not send a note.

Question for Applicants: How often do you send thank-you notes after job interviews?
Hardly ever    11%
Rarely    8%
About half the time    9%
Most of the time    17%
Almost all of the time    55%

Question for Recruiters: Is it acceptable to send a thank you note via e-mail?
Interestingly, 98% say yes, e-mail is the norm these days.

Question for Applicants: Do you send thank you notes via e-mail?
No, I send a snail mail note, say 24% or respondents, while 76% say yes, e-mail is the norm.

Original Source: HR Daily Advisor

→ Leave a comment

Posted in Interviewing, Workforce Generational Trends, Workforce Trends

Tagged , , , , , , ,

Recruiting 101: The Art of Candidate Control

Posted on August 26, 2008 | Leave a comment

It’s not uncommon for recruiters to find themselves on the other side of the table now and then, answering questions for candidates rather than the other way around. After all, interviews are two-way streets, and companies want employees who are interested in learning more about the job and the organization.

But then there are the times when the candidate is asking question after question, and the recruiter increasingly finds himself scrambling to find answers. He’s caught off guard, possibly even confused and suddenly wondering, “Wait a minute, who’s interviewing whom?”

That’s when the recruiter needs to practice the art of candidate control, said Peter Gray, U.S. head of sourcing and research for HR recruiting at Gartner.

To continue reading click here.

→ Leave a comment

Posted in Interviewing, Workforce Trends

Tagged ,

Test Finds Correlation Between Favorite Colors and Careers

Posted on August 19, 2008 | Leave a comment

It’s long been understood that color can affect your mood, but what about your career choices? What do the colors you are drawn to say about your suitability for certain careers?

The Color Career Counselor, a new online personality test offered by CareerBuilder, is the only validated color-based personality test that looks at the relationship between colors and career compatibility. The free test can be found at www.careerpath.com, a CareerBuilder.com site that offers career assessment tests and advice to help workers find more fulfilling careers.

The Color Career Counselor, powered by the Dewey Color System, uses a scientifically validated, color-based, online test to aid job seekers in determining what career best suits them.

“Seventy-four percent of U.S. workers report they have changed careers at least once,” said Liz Harvey, director of consumer products for CareerBuilder.com. “The first step in finding a fulfilling career is learning more about you. The Color Career Counselor is the first test of its kind to provide relevant career path information with results in less than two minutes.”

When taking the color test, job seekers are asked to select the colors they like and dislike from a system of 3,375 combinations. Favorite colors represent their hopes and aspirations, the ideals they pursue with passion, while least favorite colors highlight the issues and experiences that they try to avoid. Below find preferred color combination examples from the multi-patented Dewey Color System:

Yellow, Green and White: You’re the Designer
You make products, systems, services or environments fit others’ needs. Even when co-workers aren’t in the mood to listen, your tactful, fact-based concerns enable them to appreciate different perspectives. Interior decorating, real estate, career counseling, computer programming, travel planning or any job where you can recommend how to construct a more supportive world works best.

Blue, Green and Brown: You’re the Dream Maker
You are at your best when you are supporting people through periods of crisis or fixing things. Your realistic approach can identify practical solutions or quickly resolve issues. Since you see life from a hands-on, supportive
perspective, consider being a doctor, nurse, physical therapist, corporate trainer, chiropractor, forest ranger or carpenter.

Red, Orange and Black: You’re the Evaluator
You increase profitability by constantly examining, in detail, the most efficient way to accomplish tasks. Using facts, compiled from past mistakes and successes, you deliver strong opinions with valuable perspectives that maximize the bottom line. Consider support situations such as banking, operational support, computer repair, child care, or selling supportive products.

“Instead of relying on traditional questionnaires, this language-free test eliminates misinformed judgments, self-deceptions and misinterpreted questions to reveal your core motivation,” said Dewey Sedka, author and CEO of the Dewey Color System.

So does this make sense, or do you think this is crazy? Speak up! What color are you?

→ Leave a comment

Posted in Interviewing, Workforce Trends

Tagged , , , ,