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Personally, I'd find these questions a lot more palatable if they'd change the format a little. Instead of asking "how many gas stations are there in Manhattan"

by autarch 13y ago

Personally, I'd find these questions a lot more palatable if they'd change the format a little. Instead of asking "how many gas stations are there in Manhattan" why not ask "what steps would you take to estimate how many gas stations there are in Manhattan"? The latter makes it clear that this isn't some sort of brain-teaser, it's question about process. You could also phrase it as "what information would you need to estimate how many gas stations there are in Manhattan?" This in particular would be a good question for people who will doing a lot of work that involves some speculation, such as long-term product roadmaps, long-term expansion planning, looking at new markets, etc. BTW, I've been to Manhattan and noticed that there are remarkably few gas stations there for a city of its size, so whatever estimate you come up with will probably be very, very wrong.

mdisraeli 13y ago
Changing the wording of a question can dramatically change the outcome, and which skills are tested. "how many gas stations are there in Manhattan" actually makes sense as a question for a venture capitalist firm employee expected to make investment decisions, as the leap from "statement" to "this is something I need to estimate" is absolutely key to the role, and hence something you'd want to test for. I'm sure others can think of much better examples of this kind of thing. Rather than massive re-wording of the question, you can instead change the framing of the question. The most scary aspect of such questions is that they might come out of the blue, or immediately after a number of completely different questions. Mental inertia will then dictate you stall massively and find the question completely confusing. Imagine instead that the interviewer stated "We are going to ask some questions that will test for reasoning and deductive skills that you will use on a regular basis in the role". This is similar to changing the wording, but more like real situations. You know you have a meeting with clients (so you're prepared), but they'll ask questions in a difficult and something obtuse manner.
gaylemcd 13y ago
"BTW, I've been to Manhattan and noticed that there are remarkably few gas stations there for a city of its size, so whatever estimate you come up with will probably be very, very wrong." Yes, and that's precisely the sort of thing you're supposed to take into account. Again, you're looking to get in the right ballpark. They're not looking for precision. Asking "what steps would you take" wouldn't be quite the same question. They want you to actually take those steps to come up with a number. Ultimately, I'm not necessarily defending estimation questions. I'm just saying that they are, in fact, asked because interviewers don't consider them to be brainteasers.

by autarch 13y ago

mdisraeli 13y ago

Changing the wording of a question can dramatically change the outcome, and which skills are tested. "how many gas stations are there in Manhattan" actually makes sense as a question for a venture capitalist firm employee expected to make investment decisions, as the leap from "statement" to "this is something I need to estimate" is absolutely key to the role, and hence something you'd want to test for. I'm sure others can think of much better examples of this kind of thing. Rather than massive re-wording of the question, you can instead change the framing of the question. The most scary aspect of such questions is that they might come out of the blue, or immediately after a number of completely different questions. Mental inertia will then dictate you stall massively and find the question completely confusing. Imagine instead that the interviewer stated "We are going to ask some questions that will test for reasoning and deductive skills that you will use on a regular basis in the role". This is similar to changing the wording, but more like real situations. You know you have a meeting with clients (so you're prepared), but they'll ask questions in a difficult and something obtuse manner.

gaylemcd 13y ago

"BTW, I've been to Manhattan and noticed that there are remarkably few gas stations there for a city of its size, so whatever estimate you come up with will probably be very, very wrong." Yes, and that's precisely the sort of thing you're supposed to take into account. Again, you're looking to get in the right ballpark. They're not looking for precision. Asking "what steps would you take" wouldn't be quite the same question. They want you to actually take those steps to come up with a number. Ultimately, I'm not necessarily defending estimation questions. I'm just saying that they are, in fact, asked because interviewers don't consider them to be brainteasers.