

Job Interview Questions That Mean You’re Not Getting Hired…And One That Means You Are - bdfh42
http://glipress.blogspot.com/2008/12/5-interview-questions-that-mean-youre.html

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sdfx
_"How many gas stations are in the US? [...] the best response is to
compliment the interviewer on offering such an interesting and intriguing
question, then say 'I don’t know.' Offer to research the answer and get back
to her or him."_

Actually, this is a fermi problem. [1] The purpose of this question is to
figure out if someone can break a question down into parts and estimate
reasonable values. But even more so, it is supposed to test whether you are
enthusiastic about strange and puzzling problems. [2]

Whether you think these questions are stupid or not, the _right_ answer isn't
"I give up, just google it", but rather "let me make some assumptions and
calculate a value based on some estimates"

Having said that, I think the number is arround 100,000 [3]

[1] <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fermi_problem> [2]
<http://www.joelonsoftware.com/articles/fog0000000073.html> [3]
<http://www.uh.edu/engines/epi975.htm>

~~~
blackguardx
If I was an interviewer and a job applicant told me that he would "google" the
answer to a question, I would quickly show him the door and put his resume in
the circular file.

~~~
scott_s
What do _you_ do when you come across a simple fact that you need to know in
order to continue?

~~~
gaius
I dunno, I know people who's problem-solving skills amount to "paste the error
message into Google and try the first solution". I want people who can derive
a solution from first principles because often that's what you need to do.

~~~
pavelludiq
Pasting error messages in Google saved my ass a few times.

~~~
gaius
It is not necessarily the _wrong_ thing to do, but it can't be all you got.

~~~
pavelludiq
Of course not. Its just fast and in many(mostly trivial and boring) cases the
problem is already solved. Lets just say that sometimes its a better idea to
just google for something instead of trying to figure it all out and in some
cases-reinvent the wheel.

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jjs
The question that most highly correlates to getting hired is: "Hey, friend-or-
acquaintance, my team at BigCo is hiring. Are you interested?"

~~~
iron_ball
The OP mentioned this up front; the interview process is only necessary if
your network falls through.

~~~
nostrademons
Many places will interview you anyway, just so they can justify to themselves
that they really were thorough.

My first job out of college, they made me an offer at the _beginning_ of the
interview process, because I'd interned with them before and they had a fairly
good idea what I could do. The rest of the interviews were basically get-to-
know-the-people-hired-after-your-internship.

Also, at bigger companies, your referral may not be from the group or
specialty you'll actually be working with, and so you'll have to go through
the interview process itself to make sure they can stand you. My Google
application process was like this, and my IBM one would've been had I pursued
it. It's still a big positive, that someone in the company is willing to vouch
for you.

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jimbokun
" _You are sitting at home when your kitchen sink springs a leak that you
can’t fix. You reach for the phone book and call a plumber. When the plumber
arrives you ask “before you get started, could you tell me where you see
yourself in five years?”

_ Your 1987 Impala has finally bit the dust. You call a tow truck to haul it
away to be crushed or recycled. Before turning the keys over to the driver you
ask “What are your biggest flaws?”

*You and your family are taking a trip by plane. You are all a little nervous, as most people are when flying. To assuage your fears to walk up to the pilot and ask him “How many crosswalks are in New York City?”"

Certainly puts things in perspective. This seems an excellent criterion for
determining what are good and bad interview questions, assuming that your goal
is actually to hire someone to do a job.

~~~
lacker
That's an impossible test. What _would_ you ask an airplane pilot to ensure
he's a skilled pilot? No magic question will let a random unskilled person
effectively interview for a technical position.

~~~
plinkplonk
"No magic question will let a random unskilled person effectively interview
for a technical position."

Exactly! Maybe pilots should interview pilots about the nuances of piloting
(and once that talk is over, probably ask him to fly with the interviewer in
teh copilot role) and leave out the "where do you see yourself in five years"
type questions?

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nostrademons
The _first_ question my Google phone interviewer asked me was "So...tell me
about yourself." One phone interview, 4 in-person interviews, about 2 dozen
emails back-and-forth with my recruiter, one hiring committee, several VPs,
and a couple days held up on Larry Page's desk later, I was hired.

It's a conversation starter. It gives them a baseline to open things up. Your
answers _after_ that, once you've gotten into the swing of things, determine
whether you'll be hired.

Also, an interviewer will almost never ask you "Can you do this job?" or "What
does this job entail?" How do they know you're being truthful, or even if you
are, how do they know that you're not just wrong? It's your responsibility to
_show_ the answer to these, through the questions you ask your interviewers.
Nearly all interviewers will ask "Do you have any questions for me?" - that's
your chance to show that you're interested in the meat of the job itself.

~~~
tocomment
Mine didn't go so well. They flew me out there, then on interview day all of
the managers were "busy" so I met with two guys and that was it. 12 hours of
flying and two missed days of work for a two hour interview :-(

~~~
nostrademons
Ouch. That sucks. I'd think that HR would be very careful about making sure
the interviewers are actually available before bringing you out. With mine,
there was some concern that it might actually get pushed past Thanksgiving due
to lack of interviewer availability (thankfully not, and they got it in front
of the hiring committee before the break).

My experience with Google HR in general was very positive, though of course
"all's well that ends well", so my perspective might be a bit biased.

~~~
tocomment
Luckily I like traveling and met with a friend out in SF so I guess still a
good experience.

After that they referred me to YouTube (is that where they send the second
class programmers?) I had one phone interview and he asked me to come up with
an algorithm to do something tricky (forget exact question) but it turns out I
can't program in my head over the phone. I emailed him the solution later but
I guess it didn't help.

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fbbwsa
Wow!

Insightful! I guess I happen to be the very rare counterexample in that at
some point in every interview process I've been through, I've been asked
questions like the ones the author says won't get me hired.

And I've never been asked "can you do this job?" (not so bluntly anyways,
though obviously you are evaluated on that to some degree)

Those questions don't mean you are not getting hired at all. They are (for
better or for worse) standard practice by HR personnel. They might not tell
you anything about a candidates capacity to do a job, but a lot of times
personality fit is just as important. And I can tell a lot about a person by
their answers to really stupid questions (even if they are canned, planned
out, rehearsed responses).

I want to work with cool people and have the pleasure of doing so. If
competency was the only factor my firm asked for when hiring, I'd probably be
working somewhere else.

Ability is a necessary, but insufficient condition for employment, in my
opinion.

THATS why the employers ask you the questions that "Mean You're Not Getting
Hired"

~~~
Retric
The real question is not can you do this job but are you useful aka worth the
time and money it's going to take to employ you. Which is the point of the
other questions.

Basically, they want to know how useful you are for this job and if this
project tanks are we going to need to fire you or can you be used to do some
other task.

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vlad
Not insightful at all.

~~~
mikeryan
Pretty damn true.

I've done my share of hiring in the last couple of years, allow me to opine on
this post.

"Tell me about yourself." Common question, usually my first question with
candidates just to let them talk a bit about themselves and let them tell me
what they feel is important. It also just breaks the ice even with a
(hopefully) easy question. It doesn't mean you're not getting hired.

"What are your biggest flaws?" - I don't use this, its a bullshit question and
I don't know anyone who does. No one in their right mind is going to tell you
the truth. "What are you strengths" is however a decent question, like "tell
me about yourself" it allows the interviewee to tell you something about
themselves that you may have missed.

"Where do you see yourself in 5 years?" - Not actually a dumb question, most
people don't use it correctly. The answer to this question can be useful from
a "goodness of fit" perspective. Do their goals align with how your
organization works? This isn't a make or break question but it can get
interesting answers.

"Tell me about a time when you..." - Sorry this is the main type of question
you should b e asking. This is the opportunity to ask the question "how are
you going to solve the problems that we're going to give you?"

"How many gas stations are in the United States?" - Ya crap question, but some
engineering managers like them.

~~~
njharman
> "Tell me about a time when you..." - Sorry this is the main type of question
> you should b e asking. This is the opportunity to ask the question "how are
> you going to solve the problems that we're going to give you?"

Probably what you really want is someone who solves problems not someone who
can eloquently describe problems and their solutions, under pressure, in a few
minutes or less.

That question is a classic example of testing the wrong thing.

It's better for you to describe an actual problem and have them solve it or
discuss how they would go out solving. Which btw is typically a needed skill
(being able to reason out and weigh solutions with a team)

~~~
mikeryan
Maybe I misunderstood? I'm not assuming that this question is open ended, but
that at the end of this statement is some sort of situation that needs to be
resolved.

An example that I've used before, "What would you do if you're convinced a
more senior developer is choosing the wrong solution? (usually I'll present
something obviously inferior to another choice, point isn't technical but how
someone would try to resolve a conflict)"

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danw
_“Tell me about yourself”_ is a hugely useful question. It gives you a chance
to take control of the interview and steer it towards the areas you perform
best or can talk about most persuasively.

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mattmaroon
"What are your biggest flaws?"

My only flaw is that I don't have any flaws.

~~~
greendestiny
I'm so awesome that it makes other people feel inadequate. Sorry.

~~~
mattmaroon
That's better.

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RK
One of my most interesting interviews was at a defense contractor. "Can you do
this job?" was a very difficult question to get at, because they couldn't even
tell me what the job was! As you might imagine, they had to use a lot of very
general language. I did get an offer from them in the end.

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andreyf
Following this advice will work if you're hiring contractors to do a specific
project. But when you're building a company, you're looking for generally
smart, enthusiastic people that will be able to do the jobs that need to be
done now, and also the jobs that will need to be done when the current
projects are done, or when they decide to move to a different team.

A super-hacker-who-can-do-the-job might be useful to hire for a specific
project, but will they be a useful employee when the company decides to change
directions or technologies?

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grouchyOldGuy
I've been on both sides of the interview table. I've always particpated as
part of a team when interviewing, and I've asked the technical questions while
others threw the "soft" questions ("What is your biggest flaw?", etc.) I've
cared less about what they said but rather how they said it. Did they come
across as arrogant, thoughtful, easily flustered, etc.? How they responded was
more useful that what they responded.

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geebee
I don't like asking "what's your greatest weakness". However, other people on
my team have insisted on asking this question during interviews.

In this case, I use it to gauge how an applicant handles a somewhat
inappropriate question that he/she probably shouldn't answer honestly.

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dustineichler
Interesting... I just interviewed today at a startup that was very different
from anything previous. It was actually good, but they asked at least 2 of the
questions listed in the article.

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coliveira
I agree that many of the interview questions traditionally used are silly. But
it difficult to avoid them if you want to be successful in the job search
process.

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amrithk
Great post. I have been asked the same questions in many of my interviews
before.

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teamonkey
"Can you do this job?"

"Yes, that's why I applied for the job."

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time_management
_How many gas stations are in the US?_

Correct answer: Over 9000.

