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from the boss-wants-to-see-how-you-handle-pressure? dept.
I recently applied for a job in Silicon Valley.
The recruiter had me take a battery of tests that measured my verbal, mathematical and visual aptitude. I'd guess it was a mini-IQ test; it wasn't a mini-MMPI. As a result of the tests I was invited to interview onsite.
At the end of the interview the manager declared that he wanted me to take some tests.
His tests were brain teasers he had downloaded from a random website. The brain teasers had nothing to do with the work I was interviewing for. He seemed to ignore the battery of sophisticated tests I had been subjected to, and to believe that he could do better.
What is the REAL purpose of using brain teasers during an employment interview?
Is it just to make the candidate feel stupid? Are any of these people qualified to interpret the results? Are any of them industrial psychologists? Or is this all about power and control?
Please advise.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday October 05 2018, @08:51PM (3 children)
I don't like using brain teasers for interviews because they don't tell me much about the person but since the OP did ask for them here's one (of many).
You are given nine marbles. Eight of them are of equal weight and the ninth weighs a little more. Visually, all of the marbles appear identical. Given a balance, how many weighings are required to deduce which is the heavier marble?
(Answer: 2)
(Score: 2) by VanessaE on Saturday October 06 2018, @01:05PM (2 children)
Maybe I'm just stupid, but I don't see how to get the answer in two (then again, I've never had to write a general sort function).
If I bisect, I can get it in three at worst:
Pick eight marbles at random, leaving the ninth one on the table. Weigh those eight against each other, as two groups of four. If the scales are in balance, the heavy marble must be the one on the table.
If the scales are not in balance, toss all of the lighter group, and the one on the table, back in the bag. Split the heavy group into two pairs, and weigh.
Toss the lighter pair from that weighing back in the bag. One of the remaining two must be the heavy one, so weigh them against each other.
(Score: 2) by VanessaE on Saturday October 06 2018, @01:10PM (1 child)
...and now I feel stupid, after having looked up the solution.
/me hands in her geek card.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday October 06 2018, @04:08PM
That's the whole idea - to make you feel stupid.
Technically, it borders upon premeditated harassment.
It has nothing to do with your quality as a person.