I have a totally different sentiment to asking and receiving these wuestions. To me it's playful and fun and can establish how somone thinks and communicates. Asking questions like these I might do with my friends just for fun
Dark Motives and Elective Use of Brainteaser Interview Questions
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Re: Dark Motives and Elective Use of Brainteaser Interview Questions
#52I dont work in tech, im an engine mechanic by trade, but im fascinated to know why/how often this happens in a tech interview? Do programmers/sys admins really endure this kind of aggravation in their interviews? The hardest question I've ever asked one of my shop mechanics during an interview was how does Exhaust Gas Recirculation (EGR) in a Diesel engine affect thermal efficiency, smoke output and emissions of the…
Think of the type of person that would suffer through this type of indignation. And, the type of person the gleefully puts people through this kind of hazing.
Sounds like perfect formula for building toxic workplaces full of people with personality disorders.
Re: Dark Motives and Elective Use of Brainteaser Interview Questions
#53I interviewed a full day at a mathematical hedge fund. Not exactly brainteasers, rather a barrage of good, solid math and stats questions. Such a day is exhilarating (like skiing the Olympics) but truly exhausting, and only partially related to whether one gets an offer.
My advice to anyone doing this would be to give up the last 10% of performance in order to focus some on contextual awareness. These puzzles are a form of pre-surgical anesthesia, before they ask the real questions. You need the spare cycles at the end of a long day to imagine what casual conversation might really be exploring, how other applicants might misread the subtext, what mistakes in previous hiring they're trying not to repeat. One could be a genius trained seal, by buying into the brainteaser game, and miss the broader question of how you will fit into their firm. One who sees broader contexts ends up running places; don't make it clear that's not you.
Re: Dark Motives and Elective Use of Brainteaser Interview Questions
#54Earlier quoted context omitted.
It's like military academy (or fraternity) hazing. You've been abused, therefore you want to pass the load of that abuse on. Maybe you delude yourself into calling it "tradition" or "high standards" or maybe you're just honest and enjoy the sadism of it all.
> It's like military academy (or fraternity) hazing. You've been abused, therefore you want to pass the load of that abuse on. I really cannot imagine why people have this behavior. I was often treated unfairly in life, so I try to architect systems that attempt to avoid my perceived unfairness so that the next generation does not have to suffer similarly (ideally in way for which correctness can be shown in a mathem…
I think the answer is that most people are not like that, and the ones that are don't think about it from that perspective or that explicitly. All disagreeable human behavior is easy to point out and criticize in its most straightforward and uncharitable representation.
Re: Dark Motives and Elective Use of Brainteaser Interview Questions
#55The "brainteaser" question type in the survey is just another type of question. If you've seen/practiced Fermi estimates, it's pretty rote. If you've never seen/practiced Fermi estimates, it will sound like a horrible trick question. I wonder how well it would work to begin with "are you comfortable with Fermi estimates?". If so, go ahead and ask. If not, _teach_, do a couple together, then have the candidate do one…
This might be a bit less sadistic, but I still think it's pointless.
You have 30 minutes or an hour with a candidate. Why is this question the one that will tell you the most about whether they'd be a good hire?
Re: Dark Motives and Elective Use of Brainteaser Interview Questions
#56[deleted]
Re: Dark Motives and Elective Use of Brainteaser Interview Questions
#57Earlier quoted context omitted.
It's like military academy (or fraternity) hazing. You've been abused, therefore you want to pass the load of that abuse on. Maybe you delude yourself into calling it "tradition" or "high standards" or maybe you're just honest and enjoy the sadism of it all.
> It's like military academy (or fraternity) hazing. You've been abused, therefore you want to pass the load of that abuse on. I really cannot imagine why people have this behavior. I was often treated unfairly in life, so I try to architect systems that attempt to avoid my perceived unfairness so that the next generation does not have to suffer similarly (ideally in way for which correctness can be shown in a mathem…
Note that you can easily do both, unconsciously. Architect systems that are fair, but behave poorly in person. As a poor attempt to illustrate: imagine someone who is not mean spirited but has anger management issues - they would not necessarily build systems that favor aggression, but they might behave like that's their preference.
Re: Dark Motives and Elective Use of Brainteaser Interview Questions
#58As someone who does both a lot of interviewing (at Google) and gives a lot of advice on interviewing to people just starting out, this rhymes with my intuition about why some people get into interviews: even without the use of brainteasers (which, for the record, are not used at Google), the interview process is hard . People rarely come out of it without at least a twinge of frustration of humiliation. I'm not immun…
> brainteasers (which, for the record, are not used at Google)
Out of curiosity, how is this controlled?
Re: Dark Motives and Elective Use of Brainteaser Interview Questions
#59I interviewed a full day at a mathematical hedge fund. Not exactly brainteasers, rather a barrage of good, solid math and stats questions. Such a day is exhilarating (like skiing the Olympics) but truly exhausting, and only partially related to whether one gets an offer. My advice to anyone doing this would be to give up the last 10% of performance in order to focus some on contextual awareness. These puzzles are a f…
Would you say the questions that fund asked you are relevant to the work you do (or would be doing) there? I think that's the core criticism most people levy against the "high tech" interview questions.
Re: Dark Motives and Elective Use of Brainteaser Interview Questions
#60I interviewed a full day at a mathematical hedge fund. Not exactly brainteasers, rather a barrage of good, solid math and stats questions. Such a day is exhilarating (like skiing the Olympics) but truly exhausting, and only partially related to whether one gets an offer. My advice to anyone doing this would be to give up the last 10% of performance in order to focus some on contextual awareness. These puzzles are a f…
What was the contextual awareness here? Are you just talking about personality and cultural fit or is there something more? You’ve had a go at this but I’m looking for a concrete example.