May 16, 2007 at Microsoft sets up puzzles at the interview
The largest IT company in the world constantly keeps thousands of vacancies open. The human resources department is forced to process tens of thousands of profiles per day in order to filter out suitable candidates. Some time ago, they found an original solution to the problem in order to carry out more efficient pre-filtering. These are puzzles and logical tasks. Now they are part of the standard job interview procedure.
True, this raises some difficulties. The main problem is that these tasks are completely absurd. To answer them “correctly” and get a job, you need to pretend to be an idiot.
Here are the standard questions that you can meet at the interview.
* How would you determine the weight of a Boeing 747?
* If you take an opaque box with three bulbs inside and three switches on the outside, how do you determine which switch corresponds to which bulb, if the box can be opened only once and only after all switches are locked?
* You with three companions came across a ravine that can be crossed over a fragile bridge. You can switch it in a minute, and the rest in two, five and ten minutes, respectively. Your group has only one flashlight, and it is necessary to cross the bridge, which can withstand only two people. How can the whole group move to that side as quickly as possible?
This is how a person who is guided by common sense and life experience can answer these questions .
* I would ask the representatives of the Boeing company ... What, I can not ask them? Well, then I would call the library ... Of course, they would answer me there, they have all the necessary directories, this is their job!
* Who could create such a stupid, broken box? I would repair it, of course ... I have never even seen such moronic boxes! What makes you think that I can’t fix it?
* Obviously, we should leave the slowest guy and move on without him. There is clearly a bad place and a dangerous situation, so we do not have time for some fat man to slow down everyone else. This is a matter of survival!
It is easy to guess what conclusions the HR manager will draw if he hears one or another answer. Of course, the manager will prefer a serious candidate who will give mathematical calculations. But judge for yourself. If a person begins to talk about how to drive a plane into a hangar or a barge, how to measure the weight of displaced water instead of just looking at a guide on the Internet, then this person is clearly not all right with common sense.
Thus, the effectiveness of such tests is highly doubtful. Yes, with their help, you can check the intelligence of a person. But this person will have blinkered thinking. Therefore, it is very strange that Microsoft continues to ask such questions at the interview.
One programmer recently said that during an interview he was asked to design a bike for the blind. The guy thought for a long time, and then said: “Well ... blind on a bicycle - it doesn’t look very safe, so I would make the bicycle stationary, maybe with a fan that would blow the blind in the face. Perhaps he won’t even feel the difference. ” After that there was a dumb scene. Naturally, the guy was not hired. Who got the place? Another applicant who came up with the most complex solution to a non-existent problem. Here are the people who will work at Microsoft.
via Alex Papadimoulis
True, this raises some difficulties. The main problem is that these tasks are completely absurd. To answer them “correctly” and get a job, you need to pretend to be an idiot.
Here are the standard questions that you can meet at the interview.
* How would you determine the weight of a Boeing 747?
* If you take an opaque box with three bulbs inside and three switches on the outside, how do you determine which switch corresponds to which bulb, if the box can be opened only once and only after all switches are locked?
* You with three companions came across a ravine that can be crossed over a fragile bridge. You can switch it in a minute, and the rest in two, five and ten minutes, respectively. Your group has only one flashlight, and it is necessary to cross the bridge, which can withstand only two people. How can the whole group move to that side as quickly as possible?
This is how a person who is guided by common sense and life experience can answer these questions .
* I would ask the representatives of the Boeing company ... What, I can not ask them? Well, then I would call the library ... Of course, they would answer me there, they have all the necessary directories, this is their job!
* Who could create such a stupid, broken box? I would repair it, of course ... I have never even seen such moronic boxes! What makes you think that I can’t fix it?
* Obviously, we should leave the slowest guy and move on without him. There is clearly a bad place and a dangerous situation, so we do not have time for some fat man to slow down everyone else. This is a matter of survival!
It is easy to guess what conclusions the HR manager will draw if he hears one or another answer. Of course, the manager will prefer a serious candidate who will give mathematical calculations. But judge for yourself. If a person begins to talk about how to drive a plane into a hangar or a barge, how to measure the weight of displaced water instead of just looking at a guide on the Internet, then this person is clearly not all right with common sense.
Thus, the effectiveness of such tests is highly doubtful. Yes, with their help, you can check the intelligence of a person. But this person will have blinkered thinking. Therefore, it is very strange that Microsoft continues to ask such questions at the interview.
One programmer recently said that during an interview he was asked to design a bike for the blind. The guy thought for a long time, and then said: “Well ... blind on a bicycle - it doesn’t look very safe, so I would make the bicycle stationary, maybe with a fan that would blow the blind in the face. Perhaps he won’t even feel the difference. ” After that there was a dumb scene. Naturally, the guy was not hired. Who got the place? Another applicant who came up with the most complex solution to a non-existent problem. Here are the people who will work at Microsoft.
via Alex Papadimoulis