3 ms·

> I’ve had one interview where I had to do multiplications really quickly, whilst shouting my name, and doing such-and-such random thing every five minutes. I

> I’ve had one interview where I had to do multiplications really quickly, whilst shouting my name, and doing such-and-such random thing every five minutes. I think the whole “I would stand up and walk out of that interview” trope is a little overused but … I would stand up and walk out of that interview. Was that a real situation?

chc4 1y ago
They studied math, so it was probably for a quantitative finance job where I've seen (quite a few!) other people talk about similar interviews. Stuff like computing standard deviation confidence intervals or deciding which of two strategies are higher expected value with only mental math and a few seconds of thought.
- paulpauper 1y ago
  This makes me skeptical of his claim that he is actually slow. I think it's like he felt like he couldn't keep up or imposter syndrome, but this is true of the vast majority of people. Most people find those interviews hard. That is the point...they are supposed to be challenging.
- deleted 1y ago
  [deleted]
acedTrex 1y ago
I have to imagine thats an interview for a role where quick maths and approximations are standard part of the role... otherwise wth
- paulpauper 1y ago
  I think it's more like coming up with heuristics to approximate an answer quicky, even if the answer is wrong . With option trading, being able to intuit what the option should be priced at.
  - al_borland 1y ago
    Option trading was my first thought too. I went on a tour of the CBOE years ago with some former pit traders and they setup a mock scenario as if we were in the pits during an active trading day, to teach us how all that worked. I was thoroughly impressed by the ability these guys had to do all this math in their head, and maintain the bottom line of a complex position, all while surrounded by chaos.
schneems 1y ago
I’ve never actually done this. But I’ve fantasized about preparing several interview questions for the company I’m interviewing at. They forget that interviews are a two way street. If I like them (and the process was bearable), I would ask nothing. If I’m mildly annoyed, something “simple” yet patronizing like fizbuzz. If I’m REALLY annoyed then something wildly specific and pedantic. Interviewer: “do you have any questions for me?” Why yes, a chicken, fox and sack of flour need to cross a doubly linked list, how would you flip the list inside out from the middle while counting the number of pingpongballs that can fit into 747 VW Beatles.
- nilamo 1y ago
  I'm sorry, is that 747 different VW Beetles, or one VW Beetle that's scaled up to be 747-sized? If it's scaled up, is it so they have the same length, or area? Neither is relevant (just tell me the area to fill with balls), but I'd like to know, anyway.
  - schneems 1y ago
    It’s a trick question. The number is a distraction. If they don’t ask the model year of the VW Beatle they’re clearly not detail oriented and can’t be trusted. /s
    - deleted 1y ago
      [deleted]
  - Dilettante_ 1y ago
    "I...I don't know that!" [Interviewer is violently ejected out of the window]
- mattlondon 1y ago
  Never ask nothing if you like them. Always have some keen-sounding questions to ask. When it comes to hiring decisions if there are tied candidates but only one position it can often come down to candidates A was quiet and didn't ask any questions and seems disinterested, but candidate B had loads of questions to ask at the end and seemed really interested and keen and wanted to know x, y, and z. Who do you think gets hired in those scenarios. But yeah it is sometimes tempting to turn the tables :). So far no one has done it to me, but not sure what my response would be. "Haha nice joke! Ok we're outta time thanks for coming!" I guess!
adastra22 1y ago
Maybe he interviewed to be an astronaut? These kinds of psychological tests are done in niche areas, but it is really unusual.
corytheboyd 1y ago
It wasn’t mid-question, but I once left an interview loop after the worst 1hr session of my life. The interviewer put some React question in front of me then said “okay I’m going to go work now.” ???? I was already there and it was an easy question so I just did it, but after that I emailed the recruiter to say “no thanks” and moved on with my day. Still felt pretty good!

chc4 1y ago

They studied math, so it was probably for a quantitative finance job where I've seen (quite a few!) other people talk about similar interviews. Stuff like computing standard deviation confidence intervals or deciding which of two strategies are higher expected value with only mental math and a few seconds of thought.

paulpauper 1y ago
This makes me skeptical of his claim that he is actually slow. I think it's like he felt like he couldn't keep up or imposter syndrome, but this is true of the vast majority of people. Most people find those interviews hard. That is the point...they are supposed to be challenging.
deleted 1y ago
[deleted]

acedTrex 1y ago

I have to imagine thats an interview for a role where quick maths and approximations are standard part of the role... otherwise wth

paulpauper 1y ago
I think it's more like coming up with heuristics to approximate an answer quicky, even if the answer is wrong . With option trading, being able to intuit what the option should be priced at.
- al_borland 1y ago
  Option trading was my first thought too. I went on a tour of the CBOE years ago with some former pit traders and they setup a mock scenario as if we were in the pits during an active trading day, to teach us how all that worked. I was thoroughly impressed by the ability these guys had to do all this math in their head, and maintain the bottom line of a complex position, all while surrounded by chaos.

schneems 1y ago

I’ve never actually done this. But I’ve fantasized about preparing several interview questions for the company I’m interviewing at. They forget that interviews are a two way street. If I like them (and the process was bearable), I would ask nothing. If I’m mildly annoyed, something “simple” yet patronizing like fizbuzz. If I’m REALLY annoyed then something wildly specific and pedantic. Interviewer: “do you have any questions for me?” Why yes, a chicken, fox and sack of flour need to cross a doubly linked list, how would you flip the list inside out from the middle while counting the number of pingpongballs that can fit into 747 VW Beatles.

nilamo 1y ago
I'm sorry, is that 747 different VW Beetles, or one VW Beetle that's scaled up to be 747-sized? If it's scaled up, is it so they have the same length, or area? Neither is relevant (just tell me the area to fill with balls), but I'd like to know, anyway.
- schneems 1y ago
  It’s a trick question. The number is a distraction. If they don’t ask the model year of the VW Beatle they’re clearly not detail oriented and can’t be trusted. /s
  - deleted 1y ago
    [deleted]
- Dilettante_ 1y ago
  "I...I don't know that!" [Interviewer is violently ejected out of the window]
mattlondon 1y ago
Never ask nothing if you like them. Always have some keen-sounding questions to ask. When it comes to hiring decisions if there are tied candidates but only one position it can often come down to candidates A was quiet and didn't ask any questions and seems disinterested, but candidate B had loads of questions to ask at the end and seemed really interested and keen and wanted to know x, y, and z. Who do you think gets hired in those scenarios. But yeah it is sometimes tempting to turn the tables :). So far no one has done it to me, but not sure what my response would be. "Haha nice joke! Ok we're outta time thanks for coming!" I guess!

adastra22 1y ago

Maybe he interviewed to be an astronaut? These kinds of psychological tests are done in niche areas, but it is really unusual.

corytheboyd 1y ago

It wasn’t mid-question, but I once left an interview loop after the worst 1hr session of my life. The interviewer put some React question in front of me then said “okay I’m going to go work now.” ???? I was already there and it was an easy question so I just did it, but after that I emailed the recruiter to say “no thanks” and moved on with my day. Still felt pretty good!