Google's Famously Difficult Job Interview Questions

1. e7c
   November 13th, 2009 at 10:59 pm

   Manhole covers are round because that way they can't fall through the opening... if they were square you could stand it up, rotate it and pass it through.

   Weigh 2 sets of 3 balls
   if they way the same the heavy ball is one of the two remaining, just weigh them

   if they don't weigh the same weigh two of the balls from the heavy set.
   if those balls weigh the same then then it is the ball not weighed.

   Google hire me!

   oh and first!

2. James Schend
   November 13th, 2009 at 11:16 pm

   You see this same article every 5 years or so, with the name of the company being changed to the most "trendy" at the moment. For example, I clearly remember seeing a claim about 10 years ago that the "why are manhole covers round?" question was used to screen Microsoft employees. When I interviewed for my current job about 5 years ago, I was asked an estimating question, similar to the window washing one.

   This is just lazy journalism. The fact of the matter is that almost any company of decent size has at least one manager who likes to ask questions like this.

   The question that needs answered is, "is asking questions like this company policy or not?" My guess: no. This is just lazy, space-filling, journalism.

3. Jesus Chrysler
   November 13th, 2009 at 11:24 pm

   So how much should I charge for the windows?

4. Geekazoid
   November 14th, 2009 at 12:20 am

   Ha ha, I agree with James, but is it a case of life imitating art or vice versa, in other words, does one company read another company doing it, and then end up doing it themselves?

   At any rate, I know Google is very selective when it comes to which school an applicant went to. I think Cal Berkeley and UC Davis were one of the few that they accept.

   I also think they are very discriminating when it comes to age.

5. Bret Hammond
   November 14th, 2009 at 1:38 am

   Manhole covers are round because manholes are round.

   Duh.

6. Skipweasel
   November 14th, 2009 at 5:16 am

   The window washing one is easy. You charge whatever is consistent with maximising profits in the long term.

7. taka
   November 14th, 2009 at 9:21 am

   I found it a decent article but the comments section was absolutely poison on the site.

   I always assumed those questions were there for seeing if you can remain composed under pressure. The questions aren't what I would call immediately intuitive. They require some small time to stop and think. What's more important though is what do the questions have to do with the job you are applying for. If it's not representative of the task you might be doing on a daily basis. Companies run the chance of screening out qualified or even more qualified individuals. I guess it's a risk most companies can take but I would call it borderline discrimination.

8. pwscott
   November 14th, 2009 at 6:17 pm

   You go Google. This is a company that finds what you want when you want it. Answering these questions quickly and correctly guarantees the best employee for the job.

9. Seattle Interview Coach
   November 14th, 2009 at 10:00 pm

   Nice article! By the way, I've put together 140 Google interview questions. Your readers might find it helpful.

   Check it out: http://blog.seattleinterviewcoach.com/2009/02/140-google-interview-que stions.html

   - Seattle Interview Coach

10. cshays
    November 15th, 2009 at 3:18 pm

    James-

    Google has gone out of their way to add these types of questions. Consider the billboards they used:

    http://news.cnet.com/Google-recruits-eggheads-with-mystery-billboard/2 100-1023_3-5263941.html

11. wigglesPEsquire
    November 16th, 2009 at 3:31 am

    Google stopped using these silly questions. They realized eventually that you don't get people who are good at their jobs; you get people who are good at puzzles.

12. mindflex
    November 16th, 2009 at 12:48 pm

    Always wondered about that ball one

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