When the the job interview become a quiz show? I've spent plenty of time on both sides of the interview table. Sure, I've asked problem-solving questions. It was never to pay stump-the-candidate or to see if they could come up with some CS proof on the fly. It was to examine their approach to problem solving, and the way they interacted (back-and-forth questions). The right answer never entered into it, and if the interview question has a "right answer" then it is probably a lousy interview question.
I knew a college recruiter at Large Semiconductor Maker. She had been around the company many years, starting out as a mask designer. She knew nothing about engineering, but had worked with engineers on a daily basis for 10 years. She was great as a recruiter for new-grad engineers. One of her favorite questions was: "My back yard is 60 feet wide, and I want a brick fence across it. How many bricks do I need?" You would be surprised how many people never said another word, worked out a numerical answer, and told her the number. boggle. The point of the question is to find out how good the candidate is at uncovering and understanding the customer's wishes and what the customer's vision is of the desired end result.
Somewhere along the line there has evolved a group of people who never learned how to interview job candidates for problem-solving oriented jobs. A quiz-show lottery is a lousy way of finding out if someone can flesh out under-defined problem statements, replace a stupid problem statement with a better one, and creatively explore the dark corners of a solution space.
I knew a college recruiter at Large Semiconductor Maker. She had been around the company many years, starting out as a mask designer. She knew nothing about engineering, but had worked with engineers on a daily basis for 10 years. She was great as a recruiter for new-grad engineers. One of her favorite questions was: "My back yard is 60 feet wide, and I want a brick fence across it. How many bricks do I need?" You would be surprised how many people never said another word, worked out a numerical answer, and told her the number. boggle. The point of the question is to find out how good the candidate is at uncovering and understanding the customer's wishes and what the customer's vision is of the desired end result.
Somewhere along the line there has evolved a group of people who never learned how to interview job candidates for problem-solving oriented jobs. A quiz-show lottery is a lousy way of finding out if someone can flesh out under-defined problem statements, replace a stupid problem statement with a better one, and creatively explore the dark corners of a solution space.
Let's stamp out the quiz show now.