9 Steps to Solving an Impossible Brain Teaser in a Tech Interview

9 Steps to Solving an Impossible Brain Teaser in a Tech Interview

“How much does a school bus weigh?”
“How many people are currently online in Germany?”
“How many windows are there in New York City?”

And, most importantly: “How the heck do you answer these crazy questions?”

If you’re interviewing for a tech job, chances are you’ll get thrown one of these brain teaser questions at some point during the selection process. And when you do, you don’t want to stammer, “Um, I have no idea.”

So to make sure that you’re ready to handle just about anything, let me share nine steps that helped me earn offers at Apple, Amazon, Microsoft, LinkedIn, and VC-backed startups.

1. Understand What the Interviewer Wants
2. Clarify the Question
3. Ask for Time
4. Give a Roadmap
5. State Your Assumptions
6. Break the Problem Down
7. Round Your Numbers
8. Calculate on Paper
9. Offer Caveats

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How To Be a Better Manager – An Interview with N. R. Narayana Murthy

Narayana Murthy is one of the giants of India’s IT industry. In 1981, he founded Infosys, a provider of consulting and business process outsourcing services, which is today India’s sixth largest publically traded company. Murthy talked with HBR about the most valuable advice he ever received, the advice he gives young professionals, and how he approaches leadership and management.

NM answers the following questions asked by HBR

What was the best advice you received as a young man, and what advice do you now give to young professionals?

What advice do you, in turn, give to young professionals?

What is the biggest mistake you made earlier in your career, and what did you learn from it?

Who is the best leader or manager you’ve worked with, and what made that person best?

What talents do Indian companies need most right now?

Read the Interview

    

Questions From Data Science Interviews

You’ve just spent the last year working on honing your skills through the Data Analysis program. You dutifully spent your evenings — sometimes late into the night — on homework and projects, ignoring friends, family, and the ever-growing mountain of laundry in the corner. You coded hobby projects for your local municipality and wrote up an entire epic (at least, you thought it was epic) series of blog posts on your findings. And when a friend mentions her department’s struggling marketing efforts, your mind spins away on ways you might capture meaningful data and process the results.

Now you want to get a job. Which, despite your best efforts as a data analyst, depends almost entirely on acing the interview.

It should come as no surprise that careful preparation, and understanding the expectations going into the process, is what it takes not only to survive an interview for a data analyst position, but to set yourself apart as the best and most qualified candidate.

And even if you’re not actively looking for a position — if you’re still learning your craft and working your way through your projects — you can get started right now practicing interview questions, so that in six or twelve months, you’ll have done all the legwork necessary to wow your potential employers and win that coveted dream job offer.

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33 toughest Apple job interview questions

Apple is known for being one of the most challenging and exciting places to work, so it's not surprising to learn that getting a job there is no easy task. Like Google and other big tech companies, Apple asks both technical questions based on your past work experience and some mind-boggling puzzles.

While some of these are tricky math problems, others are simple but vague enough to keep you on your toes.

So, here's over to some of the toughest interview questions that candidates have been asked based on posts on job website Glassdoor.

1. Profile: Software engineer

Question: If you have 2 eggs, and you want to figure out what's the highest floor from which you can drop the egg without breaking it, how would you do it? What's the optimal solution?

2. Profile: Family room specialist

Question: Who is your best friend?"

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The 10 worst body language mistakes job seekers make

It takes a nearly flawless resume, an impressive cover letter, and, in many cases, a few inside connections to land a job interview. But all it takes to blow it is a weak handshake or bad posture.

"Body language can have a big impact on the way you're perceived by others, especially at work," explains Rosemary Haefner, chief human resources officer for CareerBuilder. "It can seem silly but there are psychological reasons behind it, so thinking about how you're carrying and expressing yourself at the office shouldn't be forgotten."

A new survey conducted by Harris Poll on behalf of CareerBuilder asked 2,500 hiring managers to identify the biggest body language mistakes job seekers make in the interview. Here's what they said:

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41 of the trickiest questions Google will ask you in a job interview

Google has a reputation for asking difficult brain-teaser questions that challenge how you act under pressure.

Most of them require you to think quantitatively and broadly, and test the way you tackle problems on the spot.

Google probably switches up its questions over time, but career website Glassdoor provides a glimpse of the types of brain-stumping puzzles Google has asked in the past.

Not all of Google's tricky questions are necessarily meant to be brain teasers - some of them sound simple, but turn out to be difficult to answer in a concise way.

See them

10 questions to ask when interviewing candidates for IT positions

Finding the best person for an IT position requires more than just matching up skills with job requirements. These questions will help you determine how well a candidate can really meet your needs. Hiring IT staff is a difficult task, and too many IT leaders leave it solely in the hands of HR. Here are 10 questions you can ask potential IT hires -- and an explanation of what each question can tell you about the candidate. Useful to hirers and candidates.

1: What are two or three major trends affecting the IT industry and how do you see them affecting the profession?

2: Tell me about a time you were asked to perform a task or project you didn't understand

3: Tell me about a time you were asked to do something you've never done before (new technology, different type of project, new industry, etc.)

4: Do you get bored easily?

5: What types of activities would you expect and prefer this role to entail?

6: Where do you want your career to go and what skills would you like to learn and develop as our employee?

7: If you could make two or three changes at your former place of employment, what would they be?

8: Ask a case question

9: Ask a "tough employee" question

10: Ask about a hobby or interest (if it's mentioned on their résumé)

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The future of search

Google gets down to doing what it knows best - developing new tech - to change your life

At a well-built six feet, Nikesh Arora commands a presence when he walks into a room. Much of it is also because he is the man tasked with bringing in revenues of more than $50 billion - that is more than Punjab's annual income - at Google, the Internet giant.

Google Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt thinks it is business as usual. "Google's aspiration," he says, "is to be your assistant, to know what you don't know and to get that information to you in whatever way it is quickest."

Read the Business Today Cover Story

Interview with Eric Schmidt -- Google, Executive Chairman

Interview with Nikesh Arora, Senior Vice President and Chief Business Officer at Google

The impact of disruptive technology: A conversation with Eric Schmidt

From computational biology to 3-D printing, Google’s executive chairman provides a look into the future of technologies that will change business models and lives.

In this video, Google executive chairman Eric Schmidt explores the phenomenon of technological disruption and selects those technologies likely to have the greatest impact on economies, business models, and people. This interview was conducted by James Manyika, a director in McKinsey’s San Francisco office, in February 2013. What follows is an edited transcript of Eric Schmidt’s remarks.

Read / Listen the interview

Connecting everything: A conversation with Cisco’s Padmasree Warrior

Cisco’s chief technology and strategy officer describes how the exponential growth of connectivity between people and devices, both mobile and network, will change commerce, business systems, and individual behavior.

Despite two decades of increasing connectivity between people and devices over high-tech networks, only 1 percent of what could be connected in the world actually is, argues Padmasree Warrior, Cisco Systems’ chief technology and strategy officer. As the level of connection swells over mobile and other platforms during the next decade, she expects sweeping changes in how consumers shop, businesses handle data, and individuals grapple with the data available about themselves. This interview was conducted by McKinsey’s Rik Kirkland in Davos, Switzerland. What follows is an edited version of Warrior’s remarks.

Read / Listen the Inteview

Report: Software & Information Industry Association's Vision from the Top

The Software & Information Industry Association’s Vision from the Top is a collection of interviews with SIIA member executives running some of the most exciting technology companies today. New technology trends are rapidly transforming our industry, making this one of the most exciting times in technology evolution. Our goal for this book is to provide insights into some of the challenges brought on by these new technology trends and how successful companies are addressing these challenges to continue on a path of solid growth. We also look at how these trends are, not only affecting business today, but also what they will mean for the future of our industry. To do this, we took the pulse of SIIA member executives driving innovative technology businesses. This publication offers the collective wisdom of 41 SIIA member executives. In less than 30 minutes, you can formulate your own opinion based on an examination of their points of view.

Download this 66 pages report

Skills that are common to most jobs

• being a clear communicator;
• being a good listener;
• being an effective team player;
• willingness to help colleagues;
• being an effective planner;
• being a skilful organiser;
• the ability to work in a pressured environment;
• good customer service skills;
• the ability to close a sale;
• being good at dealing with angry customers;
• the ability to adapt to changing circumstances;
• being a good manager of people;
• managing time effectively;
• effective presentation skills;
• good analytical skills;
• the ability to motivate staff;
• being able to facilitate group discussions and meetings;
• being an effective negotiator;
• being a good on-the-job coach of staff;
• being a successful networker.

Source: Interview Skills that Win the Job - Simple techniques for answering all the tough questions by MICHAEL SPIROPOULOS