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I interviewed with Bridgewater, it's definitely true about the personality tests, I was given two of them and they asked me questions about my results and what

by yosho 15y ago

I interviewed with Bridgewater, it's definitely true about the personality tests, I was given two of them and they asked me questions about my results and what I thought about them. It was really obvious they were looking for a certain type of person... definitely someone who was maleable. They then asked me about a time where I disagreed with a superior and how I handled the situation. I told them that every situation is different and that to me... there's no one right answer. I don't think they liked that response. Needless to say I didn't get the job, despite the fact that I aced all of their quantitative questions. It really is all about the company culture to them. Either you fit the cult, or you don't. I'm sorta glad I didn't.

jdowner 15y ago
Thank you! I was approached by a head hunter a couple of weeks ago about working at bridgewater and decided to pass on it, even though the money was incredible. Ultimately, the culture sounded too extreme and really a bit creepy. So it sounds like I made the right decision.
buff-a 15y ago
"They then asked me about a time where I disagreed with a superior and how I handled the situation" "I told them that every situation is different and that to me... there's no one right answer." I would have made the same mistake right out of college. The right answer would have been to "tell them about a time where you disagreed with a superior and how you handled the situation." The question was not designed to produce a report on how you handle disagreements with superiors. It was not even designed to see if you could follow instructions like a lemming. I suggest you look the real reason you didn't want to give an answer: the fear that it would be the wrong answer. The fear that these people would listen to how you handled a single situation and determine from that single data point whether or not you are suitable for a job. So the answer you gave them was "I don't want to give you an answer because I believe you to be short sighted fools who have no experience of human relationships and will therefore judge me by this one answer". The question was designed a) to start a discussion on interactions with superiors and b) to determine your level of fear of giving a wrong answer in an interact with superiors. Instead, you had a disagreement with your superiors-to-be about the quality of their question and demonstrated that in such situations your response is to be defensive and provide no information, instead of getting the ball rolling.
- joe_the_user 15y ago
  Wow, This is a good information on a pretty sinister approach.... Essentially, ask someone bad question and see if they squirm. Now I understand... Yes, I'll keep this is mind...
  - Bootvis 15y ago
    Isn't that just an example of the widely used STAR[1] question? AFAIK these are very common. [1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Situation,_Task,_Action,_Result http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Situation,_Task,_Action,_Result
starpilot 15y ago
You answered the question wrong. They asked how you did handle a situation. They didn't ask how you would handle it. Asking for actual experiences rather than hypotheticals is the point of behavioral interviewing.

by yosho 15y ago

jdowner 15y ago

Thank you! I was approached by a head hunter a couple of weeks ago about working at bridgewater and decided to pass on it, even though the money was incredible. Ultimately, the culture sounded too extreme and really a bit creepy. So it sounds like I made the right decision.

buff-a 15y ago

"They then asked me about a time where I disagreed with a superior and how I handled the situation" "I told them that every situation is different and that to me... there's no one right answer." I would have made the same mistake right out of college. The right answer would have been to "tell them about a time where you disagreed with a superior and how you handled the situation." The question was not designed to produce a report on how you handle disagreements with superiors. It was not even designed to see if you could follow instructions like a lemming. I suggest you look the real reason you didn't want to give an answer: the fear that it would be the wrong answer. The fear that these people would listen to how you handled a single situation and determine from that single data point whether or not you are suitable for a job. So the answer you gave them was "I don't want to give you an answer because I believe you to be short sighted fools who have no experience of human relationships and will therefore judge me by this one answer". The question was designed a) to start a discussion on interactions with superiors and b) to determine your level of fear of giving a wrong answer in an interact with superiors. Instead, you had a disagreement with your superiors-to-be about the quality of their question and demonstrated that in such situations your response is to be defensive and provide no information, instead of getting the ball rolling.

joe_the_user 15y ago
Wow, This is a good information on a pretty sinister approach.... Essentially, ask someone bad question and see if they squirm. Now I understand... Yes, I'll keep this is mind...
- Bootvis 15y ago
  Isn't that just an example of the widely used STAR[1] question? AFAIK these are very common. [1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Situation,_Task,_Action,_Result http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Situation,_Task,_Action,_Result

starpilot 15y ago

You answered the question wrong. They asked how you did handle a situation. They didn't ask how you would handle it. Asking for actual experiences rather than hypotheticals is the point of behavioral interviewing.