Microsoft sets up puzzles for an interview
The largest IT-company in the world constantly holds thousands of vacancies open. The personnel department has to process tens of thousands of questionnaires per day in order to filter out suitable candidates. Some time ago they found an original solution to the problem in order to implement more efficient pre-filtering. These are puzzles and logical tasks. Now they are included in the standard job interview procedure.
True, there are 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 can be found at the interview.
* How would you determine the weight of the Boeing 747?
')
* If you take an opaque box with three bulbs inside and three switches outside, then how do you determine which switch corresponds to which light bulb, if the box can be opened only once and only after the position of all switches is fixed?
* You and three companions stumbled upon a ravine that can be crossed by a fragile bridge. You can go it in a minute, and the rest - in two, five and ten minutes, respectively. The flashlight of your group is only one, and it is necessary to cross the bridge, which can withstand only two people. How can the whole group go to the other 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 company "Boeing" ... 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 reference books, this is their job!
* Who could have created such a stupid, broken box? I would have repaired it, of course ... I have never even seen such debility boxes! What makes you think that I can not fix it?
* Obviously, we have to leave the slowest guy and go on without him. There is clearly a bad place and a dangerous situation, so we don’t have time for any fat man to slow down everyone else. This is a matter of survival!
It is not difficult to guess what conclusions the personnel manager will make if he hears this or that 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 the hangar or onto a barge, how to measure the weight of the displaced water instead of just looking at the reference book on the Internet, then this person is clearly not all right with common sense.
Thus, the effectiveness of such tests is very doubtful. Yes, they can be used to test the human intellect. But this person will have a blinkered mindset. 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 bicycle for the blind. The guy thought for a long time, and then issued: “Well ... blind on a bicycle - it does not look very safe, so I would make the bicycle stationary, maybe with a fan that would blow a blind person’s face. He may not 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 for a non-existent problem. These are the kind of people who will work at Microsoft.
via Alex Papadimoulis
True, there are 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 can be found at the interview.
* How would you determine the weight of the Boeing 747?
')
* If you take an opaque box with three bulbs inside and three switches outside, then how do you determine which switch corresponds to which light bulb, if the box can be opened only once and only after the position of all switches is fixed?
* You and three companions stumbled upon a ravine that can be crossed by a fragile bridge. You can go it in a minute, and the rest - in two, five and ten minutes, respectively. The flashlight of your group is only one, and it is necessary to cross the bridge, which can withstand only two people. How can the whole group go to the other 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 company "Boeing" ... 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 reference books, this is their job!
* Who could have created such a stupid, broken box? I would have repaired it, of course ... I have never even seen such debility boxes! What makes you think that I can not fix it?
* Obviously, we have to leave the slowest guy and go on without him. There is clearly a bad place and a dangerous situation, so we don’t have time for any fat man to slow down everyone else. This is a matter of survival!
It is not difficult to guess what conclusions the personnel manager will make if he hears this or that 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 the hangar or onto a barge, how to measure the weight of the displaced water instead of just looking at the reference book on the Internet, then this person is clearly not all right with common sense.
Thus, the effectiveness of such tests is very doubtful. Yes, they can be used to test the human intellect. But this person will have a blinkered mindset. 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 bicycle for the blind. The guy thought for a long time, and then issued: “Well ... blind on a bicycle - it does not look very safe, so I would make the bicycle stationary, maybe with a fan that would blow a blind person’s face. He may not 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 for a non-existent problem. These are the kind of people who will work at Microsoft.
via Alex Papadimoulis
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/8467/
All Articles