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Impossible Interviews

James Shaw
Have you ever been faced with an interview question that seemed impossible to answer?


Mine was delivered on the premises of a 'world class' engineering company. "How would you ensure that a project is completed on time?"


My mind raced from the general to the particular - If I knew the answer to that I would be a billionaire! - Strikes, bad weather, supplier failure, poor specifications etc. Probably no words came out as the interviewer started to drop hints, "It begins with a 'P', it ends in 'N', it has four letters." "Plan?" I say. "Exactly!" says he. 'Idiot' thinks I.


In retrospect perhaps it was a test to see if I was suitable to develop for senior management - the 'big picture' people. "We will deliver better value, we will be smarter!" But how? Engineers, small-minded, always bothered about the details!


Needless to say, I didn't get that job. Perhaps just as well.
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    James Shaw:

    Kathryn,

    Being asked to add up all the numbers one to ten is an interesting one to me as answering it can show the difference between mathematics and arithmetic, the difference between 'smart' and 'slog'.


    Slog is adding one to two, getting three and adding that to three etc. Smart is realising that adding one to ten is the same as adding ten to one then realising that adding numbers from each of those 'sums' in turn is the same, i.e. 1 + 10, 2 + 9, 3 + 8 = 11 and that there are ten of those identical sums, so that is 10 x 11 = 110, which is twice the original sum, giving 55. Such a brilliant piece of 'lateral thinking'! If you knew this 'trick' it would have been nice to have bounced back with, "Yes but can you add all the numbers between 1 and 1000?" (half of 1001 x 1000).


    The 'pregnancy' issue might once have been just seen as a case of common humanity, the interviewer attempting to establish a degree of empathy with the interviewee. Now it is 'assume nothing, don't ask!', Another reason why perhaps the interview has had its day?




     

    I would have gone for 10 + (9 + 1) + (8 + 2) + (7 + 3) + (6 + 4) + 5 = 55.  I have played a few card games where your score at the end is the sum of all the cards left in your hand (low scores being better).  My mental arithmetic is terrible, so I find it easiest to find groups of cards that add up to ten, then worry about any odd ones left over.
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    James Shaw:

    Kathryn,

    Being asked to add up all the numbers one to ten is an interesting one to me as answering it can show the difference between mathematics and arithmetic, the difference between 'smart' and 'slog'.


    Slog is adding one to two, getting three and adding that to three etc. Smart is realising that adding one to ten is the same as adding ten to one then realising that adding numbers from each of those 'sums' in turn is the same, i.e. 1 + 10, 2 + 9, 3 + 8 = 11 and that there are ten of those identical sums, so that is 10 x 11 = 110, which is twice the original sum, giving 55. Such a brilliant piece of 'lateral thinking'! If you knew this 'trick' it would have been nice to have bounced back with, "Yes but can you add all the numbers between 1 and 1000?" (half of 1001 x 1000).


    The 'pregnancy' issue might once have been just seen as a case of common humanity, the interviewer attempting to establish a degree of empathy with the interviewee. Now it is 'assume nothing, don't ask!', Another reason why perhaps the interview has had its day?




     

    I would have gone for 10 + (9 + 1) + (8 + 2) + (7 + 3) + (6 + 4) + 5 = 55.  I have played a few card games where your score at the end is the sum of all the cards left in your hand (low scores being better).  My mental arithmetic is terrible, so I find it easiest to find groups of cards that add up to ten, then worry about any odd ones left over.
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