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FOR THE THIRD year in a row, a US consultancy firm has been rated by employees as having the most difficult interviewing process.
Glassdoor’s ranking placed McKinsey & Company at a 3.9 difficulty rating out of 5.0, beating out tech giants like Google and Facebook, which were also in the top 25.
The average interview difficulty rating on Glassdoor is 2.8.
Newcomers to this year’s list include Microsoft Citrix and HubSpot.
Some companies still ask crazy brainteasers, despite Google’s claims that they have nothing to do with success and calling them a “complete waste of time”, while others stand out for running candidates through lengthy tests and round after round of interviews.
Here’s a selection of these questions which appeared on Glassdoor.
Describe yourself in 3 words.
This question was asked in an interview for data integration company Informatica. The rest of the interview was based on algorithm, problem solving and critical thinking, and was given a rating of 3.4.
Name as many uses for a brick as you can in one minute.
What use would graphic technology company Nvidia have for a brick? Regardless of the brilliance of your answer, you would still not be offered a full time job unless you had an internal reference.
You have 30 seconds. List as many uses for a baseball bat as you can think of.
Is a baseball bat more or less useful than a brick? Gartner, a technology advisory company, spent the rest of the interview apparently trying to find out “do you have something that drives you to make a lot of money“.
What do you do when there is no answer?
Do you have an answer for that? In another interview rated at 3.4, Microsoft threw this out at interviewees among a “good balance” of other questions relating to skills and interests.
What kind of car do you drive and why? There are a lot of very affordable, high quality used cars, so why would you drive something that expensive?
Avaya, as a business communications company, probably has little or not interest in your opinion on second-hand cars, but how you handle the question could be interesting. Their interview process can last up to six hours.
Describe a time when you had to do something you didn’t want to do.
Is “right now” a good answer? Not sure if that would have gone down well with consumer goods manufacturer Procter & Gamble (P&G).
How do we know you’re not going to give up when it gets tough?
Working with a payroll solutions company doesn’t sound like it would be the most stressful or high-pressured job out there, but Paycom still asked this ominous question.
Teach me something.
Hubspot wanted to turn the tables on the interviewee, as well as subject them to a two hour long test involving “personality, vocabulary, situational questions, analogies, math and word problems”.
What kind of people do you dislike the most?
“Those medically ill” probably would have been the worst answer to give Stryker, which produces surgical and medical equipment.
What is the total surface area of a Boeing 747?
Would you have covered that when preparing for an interview with a marketing and sales firm? ZS Associates might have expected you to, and answer it during one of your multiple interviews.
How would you build an engine from scratch?
It’s a tough and potentially confusing question, but if you’re going for an interview with Rolls Royce, you’re probably expected to know that sort of thing.
Tell us a story with the title of Green Hat.
Computer consultancy firm Thoughtworks offered one of the hardest interviews, with a rating of 3.9. Oh, and there were seven interviews.
Could you give a good answer to any of these? Have you ever been thrown by a difficult question in an interview?
- Max Nisen and Vivian Giang
“Tell me one of your weaknesses”
“I speak my mind”
“I don’t think that’s a weakness”
“I don’t give a fcuk what you think”
Travelling from Dollymount last night were we :P
Describe myself in three words?
“five foot nine”
Brilliant.
“on the dole”
;)
Always be closing
Looking for job
‘Need more words’
Three words,Big,Bad,Beautiful.
……….I’ll see myself out.
One use for a baseball bat, beating an interviewer around with a baseball bat, for asking stupid questions.
Could use a brick for the same thing.
The reason the brick and bat questions are asked is to determine how creative the applicant is. If the applicant can only come up with one or two suggestion then it is oblivious that person is not creative and would not be suitable for certain roles which require innovative solutions. I agree some of the questions seem worthless but for many of them there are reasons to ask them.
Totally agree. A brick or a bat. I think I would go for a bat, easier to carry, easier to swing, lighter, has a further reach (if not thrown) so you don’t have to get up close and personal, doesn’t crumble after a hard impact. Can burn the end to use as a torch. Can use as a walking stick. Can swing it to clear shrubbery, can play with it with a ball or use it for fruit crushing. Plenty more things that can be done with it.
If the brick is made of chocolate, you can use the bat to break it up, bake it into a cake and give it out at lunch time, lol.
Nah, I just eat the chocolate brick. However if the brick was made out of gold I wouldn’t need to be in the interview in the first place :)
Chocolate brick – aka Yorkie… :P
Bricks are good for orange order marches down o Connell street , good old Bertie and his infinite stupidity
Bet the smarmy interviewer asking that question never had to answer a question like that
Was going to say shoveing it up said interviewrs ass for same reason.
I was asked the brick question before. As far as I can recall, I said a pencil holder and a floor ornament. I love my brick.
My weakness?
“Kryptonite”
Where do you see yourself in 5 years time ?
Sitting in your seat asking the same stupid questions .
Now you just know that some interviewee is going to get one or more of these questions next week by some sadistic interviewer .
Stupid. I rarely go by an interview. I know within 10 seconds of meeting somebody. First impressions more important.
Interviews are just something for HR people to pass the time with.
The HR Dept. = The Human Remains Dept !!
So if in the first 10 seconds the person is a bit flustered then they’re always a flustered person are they?, its nothing to with the fact they’re wearing a suit in July.
First impression isn’t negative if a person is flustered. Everyone gets nervous at an interview and can show it in different ways, so that doesn’t matter.
Yes, a suit does matter as it shows an effort has been made to actually get the job.
I was asked to describe myself in 3 words at the end of an interview for a teaching position. I was stumped. I thought I was ready to head out the door. Needless to say I wasn’t called back!
“Not easily summarised” seems like the only honest answer.
I’ll remember that one!
@ Niamh: Got the same one and in a moment of madness replied “A living legend”. Didn’t get a call back either
“better than you” doesn’t work either.
“Hates Cheesy Questions”
Your wife’s lover ;)
Most of these are completely idiotic
Have you ever seen a grown man naked ?
It’s a shock and a crying game…
Have you ever been in a… in a Turkish prison?
I’m useless…couldn’t answer any!
Do not worry Joan. If you could answer these, I wouldn’t hire you
Thanks Gis…are u hiring by the way?
Interview Panel: “How do you cope with stressful situations?”
Me: “I carry a flick knife.”
Them: ……..
Me: ………
Them: ………
Me: *FLICK*
In true Irish style… Just answer the question with another question.. turn it back on the interviewer :).. “jaysus.. a brick?.. what colour???”.. etc
Went for a series of interviews for a job many years ago, one of the first ones lasted 3 hours with just one bloke but as I remember him he was alright to talk to. Another interview, as they progressed, was facing 3 people and another man to the side who was some sort of psychologist, he took notes and never asked any questions but because you were very aware he was there it tended to be even more intimidating. There were a couple of other shorter interviews too but I don’t remember much about them. I got the job – then failed the medical. They had a very intensive medical exam too.
Getting worried there.. I read that as an INVASIVE medical exam first time round
It was a bit like that too Thomas, not your average “look up and cough”.
Is it not squat and cough ?
Put the brick on the accelerator.
Eh… The baseball bat question would be the ruination of my career!:/
Don’t worry, they are going to ban those videos soon, so the next generation are safe :P as noone can work their way around internet filters :P :P
A man goes for an interview for Bus Eireann
When he gets there, the interviewer says, “You’re 45 minutes late! The job’s yours.”
When I was about 17 I went for an interview for a position as a receptionist in a car sales garage and the interviewer was such a creep. He asked me was I naughty when I was younger and when I answered the question saying no with a nervous laugh he said ‘ ah I bet you were you have a naughty look to you ‘ …. I guess I was meant to rub my foot up his thigh or something, but I didn’t I was frozen with awkwardness and I ever got a call back. Looking ack at that I tear view now as a 31 year old woman I’d love to find that perv and rip his nuts off !!
* interview
The journal are struggling for news today.
Hi COOM. You’re on the wrong article for news, this is a feature. If this kind of article isn’t to your liking, have a look at our 9 at 9 instead. http://www.thejournal.ie/9-at-9-51-1041487-Aug2013/
I doubt COOM would find his way to the interview successfully in the first place.
What do you expect to be paid……
” why is a manhole round”
” what are your weakness ”
” describe something you had to do you didn’t enjoy”
The guy who interviewed me was a creep he tried very hard to come across as a cool dude , didn’t work.
Stryker asked me “would you like to know a little about a lot or a lot about a little?”
Also, “do you Trust people or do they need to earn your trust first? “
“Describe yourself in three words”…….. The best candidate…..
There’s on only 2 uses for a brick In my mind.to build a house or sink a dead body. When do I start?
Stupid questions.
Had a three hour interview for my current position in work, considering I had an hour interview to initially join the company I have to say it was unexpected :-)
Some friends and I have been asked some ridiculous questions for teaching posts such as :if you could be a biscuit which one would you be?
If you were an element in the periodic table which one are you and why?
Most stupid one was if you could be any town in France which one would you be? My reply was I’ve never been to France! Went down like a lead balloon….
I was offered a cigarette halfway through my last Interview. What do you do in that situation, they knew I smoked, do you take the cigarette or politely decline?
I LOVE MY BRICK!
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