If you've taken part before, you will realize that the goal of CPC was never to hire the winners. There are puzzlers at Microsoft, and people who like solving

If you've taken part before, you will realize that the goal of CPC was never to hire the winners. There are puzzlers at Microsoft, and people who like solving puzzles at schools, and the event brought such people together. It's really meant to be a day of fun, doing something intellectually challenging, that gosh isn't like your all the homework you have due the next week. As quoted from their FAQ, "While this is not quite a recruiting event, we will be accepting résumés, so feel free to bring one along! And of course, we’ll be happy to answer any questions you may have about working at Microsoft." I also vaguely remember a previous version of their website crediting the fact they the CPC was inspired by the MIT Mystery Hunt. The technical interviews that they conduct on campus and on site are wildly different. In fact, from my recruiting experience, it was more the finance companies that had brainteasers for interview questions.