Weird interview!

kbowen0188

I applied for a position just recently. I had the phone interview, which was normal. Then they asked me to come in for a second interview, as well as a few tests. Since the job was for an IT position, I assumed they would be technical tests. Once I got there, they led me into a little testing room and handed me a stack of papers.

In the end, it was a technical test, an analytical test, two personality tests, a grammar/literacy test, and then a typing test. It threw me off a little bit but I think I did pretty well. I can understand that they want their employees to be literate. What was interesting about the analytical test was the fact that it seemed to be an IQ test. They mentioned that they give the tests because they want the best and know that they are capable of getting the best (smartest, I suppose). I also had to bring in college transcripts and evidence of my GPA.

One of the IQ questions was "If the Atlantic equals 80, then what does Pacific equal?"

I am pretty sure I got the right answer, but it just struck me as a tad bit odd.

On a more humorous note, one of the tech questions was asking what protocol provides the user with a graphical interface to connect to another computer over a network connection. I could NOT remember the name of it to save my life. I just wrote that it was the protocol used by Remote Desktop, but I was drawing a sudden blank on the actual name.

The minute I walked out of the building it hit me. Remote Desktop Protocol. Duh.

ande0255

I really hate those personality evaluation tests, now adays I'd request a manager to perform my interview, or walk out the front door. I absolutely despise those types of tests.

MSP-IT

What was the answer to the IQ question? Was that a multiple choice question or was it open-ended?

Virtual Network Computing (VNC) could have been another protocol you could have used. RDP is platform dependent.

Asif Dasl

a = 1, t = 20, l = 12, a = 1, n = 14, t = 20, i = 9, c = 3

atlantic = 80

p = 16, a = 1, c = 3, i = 9, f = 6, i = 9, c = 3

pacific = 47

MSP-IT

Asif Dasl wrote: »

a = 1, t = 20, l = 12, a = 1, n = 14, t = 20, i = 9, c = 3

atlantic = 80

p = 16, a = 1, c = 3, i = 9, f = 6, i = 9, c = 3

pacific = 47

I'll admit, that would have never occurred to me.

kbowen0188

They specifically asked about the protocol Windows had developed, I forgot to mention that.

And Asif provided the correct answer. They had random other things as well, like unscrambling a word they had given you and then asking if it was a country, state, river, or city. Some of the questions were open-ended, some of them were multiple-choice. A lot of them required a slight leap in logic (like the one above), or at least I felt that is what it was.

And yeah, it would have been nice to get an interview with a manager or something. First I take the tests, then if I pass those I get a third meeting scheduled for an interview. It makes me wonder if a lot of quality workers have been denied because they are bad test takers or some other circumstance.

Xavor

What role is the job you applied for?

iBrokeIT

kbowen0188 wrote: »

Since the job was for an IT position, I assumed they would be technical tests. Once I got there, they led me into a little testing room and handed me a stack of papers.

In the end, it was a technical test, an analytical test, two personality tests, a grammar/literacy test, and then a typing test. It threw me off a little bit but I think I did pretty well.

Personally I think this shows a complete lack of respect for the candidate. A typing test.. REALLY?!?! I would have walked out.

I am all for technical tests being done in a face to face interview but that method just screams disrespect and bureaucracy. If they evaluate candidates like that how do you think they are going evaluate your job performance and hand out potential raises?

kbowen0188

Xavor wrote: »

What role is the job you applied for?

Desktop Support Tech. It is for a well-known ecommerce advertising company in the area that is partnered with Google, apparently. They are only about 80 users strong, so the IT team just consists of one admin. I would be his assistant, so I suppose it is also a bit of a Junior Sys Admin position? Would be imaging computers, being a help desk, fixing computers and doing basic work with company servers.

And yeah, the typing test was odd. They just pulled up one of those WPM tests from Google and had me do it. They requested 55+ WPM so I suppose they just wanted to make sure.

The company has amazing reviews via Glassdoor, but the interview process had less than stellar reviews. Quite a few people have apparently walked out of it.

All the tests appeared to be printed from the internet except for the technical test. That was handwritten by who I am assuming was the IT admin, so that was a nice touch.

jvrlopez

Asif Dasl wrote: »

a = 1, t = 20, l = 12, a = 1, n = 14, t = 20, i = 9, c = 3

atlantic = 80

p = 16, a = 1, c = 3, i = 9, f = 6, i = 9, c = 3

pacific = 47

markulous

Asif Dasl wrote: »

a = 1, t = 20, l = 12, a = 1, n = 14, t = 20, i = 9, c = 3

atlantic = 80

p = 16, a = 1, c = 3, i = 9, f = 6, i = 9, c = 3

pacific = 47

Here I was thinking about ratios and the size of the atlantic compared to the pacific. That's a bit out there.

JoJoCal19

Asif Dasl wrote: »

a = 1, t = 20, l = 12, a = 1, n = 14, t = 20, i = 9, c = 3

atlantic = 80

p = 16, a = 1, c = 3, i = 9, f = 6, i = 9, c = 3

pacific = 47

See, I can understand Google pulling off something like that when looking for some software engineer who can think way outside the box. But for an entry level or desktop tech position? Pfffft. Good luck missing out one a candidate who is super motivated to come in and do a great job, because they couldn't think of the answer to something like that.

RomBUS

jvrlopez wrote: »

My expression spot on

jibbajabba

For that sort of job, that much hassle ? I would have maybe taken 2 minutes to flick through the pages realising what nonsense that is and walk out lol

They not necessarily get the best people but the best of the most desperate bunch. Unless it is THE company to work for for THE salary / wage, I could interview for two other jobs it takes to fill that bad boy out lol

Asif Dasl

markulous wrote: »

Here I was thinking about ratios and the size of the atlantic compared to the pacific. That's a bit out there.

It's a standard IQ test question. You'll also get Fibonacci numbers on IQ tests - there is a good TED talk on it that's worth watching. If anyone has an IQ test to do, it might come up as well.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SjSHVDfXHQ4

bobloblaw

Any time I see these types of scenarios I cringe. In my experience, these companies are usually very micromanaged. Hopefully the good reviews are accurate. I would have walked out.

Third interview for a desktop support position. Their hiring practices are bonkers.

Asif Dasl

I can see why they asked the questions, as you can either think outside the box or have a higher than average intelligence if you pass the questions. Does it mean anything by itself, no not really, but if you add everything together then it paints a picture of the type of individual they have got on their hands.

It's no different than giving you a lab that's broken and you are told to fix it - WITHOUT Google. You either pass it or you fail it - who cares - there are other jobs out there if you don't get that particular job.

GLaDOS11

Glad you did well on the tests. Hopefully you get the job and everything is great.

Personally, I feel the same way as most of the other people here do. These tests are a waste of time and I can't imagine all the good candidates that a company will miss out on because of dumb IQ questions that tell you nothing about my ability to perform the job task. I do not consider myself to be a dumb guy at all and there's no way that I would've made that connection between Atlantic and Pacific (well done BTW for getting it correct).

I had tests like this on a THIRD interview with a particular company. Phone, Technical, then I had to come BACK in to take all these tests. That was after an initial IQ test that I had to take before even getting the phone interview. I took off work 3 times only for them to give me some ridiculous test and say my cut score wasn't high enough. So frustrating.

sj4088

Silly tests. It mean nothing. There are people that can pass those tests that couldn't troubleshoot their way out of a wet paper bag.

Mr. Meeseeks

sj4088 wrote: »

Silly tests. It mean nothing. There are people that can pass those tests that couldn't troubleshoot their way out of a wet paper bag.

Yes, but it shows the ability to. Which I think here is key.

I wish we had these types of tests with interns we bring in. Weed out the people who cant tie their own shoes. And if I were interviewing for a position, I would rather have these types of tests instead of the "What is your biggest weakness?" bullshit

sj4088

Mr. Meeseeks wrote: »

Yes, but it shows the ability to. Which I think here is key.

Maybe. I've worked at jobs where those type of questions were asked. Yet many people that got hired weren't that good at all. I've worked at jobs where there were no such tests and some of the employees were top notch. So it's all depends.

Mr. Meeseeks wrote: »

I would rather have these types of tests instead of the "What is your biggest weakness?" bullshit

I don't care for those type of questions either. In my opinion you should be asking about the subject matter. If you are interviewing someone for a network engineer role ask network engineering related questions. Same goes for system engineer, DBAs, ect.

In my experience technical tests, not brain teasers or personality/behavorial tests, are best predictors of how well some one will do on the job.

markulous

Mr. Meeseeks wrote: »

Yes, but it shows the ability to. Which I think here is key.

I wish we had these types of tests with interns we bring in. Weed out the people who cant tie their own shoes. And if I were interviewing for a position, I would rather have these types of tests instead of the "What is your biggest weakness?" bullshit

Not necessarily. As sj4088 said, just because they are intelligent at one thing doesn't mean it transfers to everything. Let's give them rubix cubes or have them beat a pro chess player while we're at it. It's not an application to Mensa, it's an IT job.

Dyasis

Mr. Meeseeks wrote: »

Yes, but it shows the ability to. Which I think here is key.

I wish we had these types of tests with interns we bring in. Weed out the people who cant tie their own shoes. And if I were interviewing for a position, I would rather have these types of tests instead of the "What is your biggest weakness?" bullshit

We hired a guy that was extremely intelligent, probably one of the smartest persons I have been face to face with, however, he broke more things then he fixed. Just being IQ smart does not mean it can be applied to everything you do. If this position was for NASA, then sure, but a helpdesk role? come on...

loxleynew

I would have wrote on the first page "If you have three candidates for an interview and all three walk out during the test taking phase, how many candidates are left?"

Then promptly walked out of the building.

slinuxuzer

Asif Dasl wrote: »

a = 1, t = 20, l = 12, a = 1, n = 14, t = 20, i = 9, c = 3

atlantic = 80

p = 16, a = 1, c = 3, i = 9, f = 6, i = 9, c = 3

pacific = 47

That's awesome, I think a thread dedicated to trick interview questions like this could be really interesting.

Shdwmage

markulous wrote: »

Here I was thinking about ratios and the size of the atlantic compared to the pacific. That's a bit out there.

My answer would have been != 80.

DevilWAH

slinuxuzer wrote: »

That's awesome, I think a thread dedicated to trick interview questions like this could be really interesting.

There is nothing "trick" about these questions. They are not set out to trick you, but to see how you approach a problem. And for support how you approach issues if very important. You are expected to be dealing with problems and from experience we all know that now two problems are the same.

No where in the question does it mention Oceans, and as a timed test its not going to be based on general knowledge or require complex maths that only few people will have. So you can quickly eliminate complex solutions and look for possible simple solutions. The first approach of these would be to question..

"if letters = numbers what does Atlantic =?" that takes a seconds to test that and you get 80. Problem solved.

Put in another way, "I cant save files to the network drive", you could go off looking if the filer is up, or there password is unlocked, or 1000 and 1 other things. But good trouble shooting starts from the basic "Does there PC have network access?", followed by, "is there network cable plugged in?".

So test the simple / quick solutions first, before moving on to the complex, time consuming and generally more unlikely. And this is what a question like this is testing.

markulous

DevilWAH wrote: »

There is nothing "trick" about these questions. They are not set out to trick you, but to see how you approach a problem. And for support how you approach issues if very important. You are expected to be dealing with problems and from experience we all know that now two problems are the same.

No where in the question does it mention Oceans, and as a timed test its not going to be based on general knowledge or require complex maths that only few people will have. So you can quickly eliminate complex solutions and look for possible simple solutions. The first approach of these would be to question..

"if letters = numbers what does Atlantic =?" that takes a seconds to test that and you get 80. Problem solved.

Put in another way, "I cant save files to the network drive", you could go off looking if the filer is up, or there password is unlocked, or 1000 and 1 other things. But good trouble shooting starts from the basic "Does there PC have network access?", followed by, "is there network cable plugged in?".

So test the simple / quick solutions first, before moving on to the complex, time consuming and generally more unlikely. And this is what a question like this is testing.

I get what you're saying but why not just come out and ask "I can't save files to the network drive, what do I do?" rather than an obscure question that is not IT related at all. Just because they are good at that Atlantic question doesn't mean they can troubleshoot that issue or even work through IT issues like they did with that problem.

It just sounds like they are getting too creative when they could just evaluate someone more efficiently by being direct and asking them practical questions. I'm obviously not a psychologist so maybe I'm way off base, but that is what makes more sense to me.

DevilWAH

markulous wrote: »

I get what you're saying but why not just come out and ask "I can't save files to the network drive, what do I do?" rather than an obscure question that is not IT related at all. Just because they are good at that Atlantic question doesn't mean they can troubleshoot that issue or even work through IT issues like they did with that problem.

It just sounds like they are getting too creative when they could just evaluate someone more efficiently by being direct and asking them practical questions. I'm obviously not a psychologist so maybe I'm way off base, but that is what makes more sense to me.

Because thinking up a novel IT issue that does not have a walk through resolution is hard. If I ask you "A user tries to open a web page and the page is blank trouble shoot." I am making the assumption that the person has some knowledge of how a web browser works and common trouble shooting steps. So asking that question puts some one who has never come across that issue as a disadvantage to some one who has. So potential employee A might be amazing with office apps, but no nothing of data bases, where as person B might be terrible in general but know lots about Linux, and beacause i cant test every technology I might just happen to ask questions that B know but A struggles with.

No I think 70+% of an interview should be on the technologies and skills you need for the post. But the question like answered here is a basic form of IQ test. It does not relay on any thing other than basic maths and English skills.

putting this different approaches to questioning a candidate can give you a good idea about there future potential, if you understand what each test is telling you and add a bit of "gut feeling" to the interview. So doing great at an IQ test means nothing, just as ace'ing the IT technical questions, I know plenty of people with certs coming out of their ears that cant manage a basic network design/deployment with out help.

A good interviewer will just use these test to hint at a persons strengths and weaknesses, there are many different areas of conative ability and being poor in one is not a crime or mean you are unfit for a job. But at the same time whats wrong with an employer wanting to gauge them to insure their team as a whole has good skills across the board.

wahrheit

Yes, but remember, there's no reason the alphabet has to be in that order (ignoring ISO and all)...in fact we have no clue why it is from the historical perspective...

markulous

DevilWAH wrote: »

Because thinking up a novel IT issue that does not have a walk through resolution is hard. If I ask you "A user tries to open a web page and the page is blank trouble shoot." I am making the assumption that the person has some knowledge of how a web browser works and common trouble shooting steps. So asking that question puts some one who has never come across that issue as a disadvantage to some one who has. So potential employee A might be amazing with office apps, but no nothing of data bases, where as person B might be terrible in general but know lots about Linux, and beacause i cant test every technology I might just happen to ask questions that B know but A struggles with.

No I think 70+% of an interview should be on the technologies and skills you need for the post. But the question like answered here is a basic form of IQ test. It does not relay on any thing other than basic maths and English skills.

putting this different approaches to questioning a candidate can give you a good idea about there future potential, if you understand what each test is telling you and add a bit of "gut feeling" to the interview. So doing great at an IQ test means nothing, just as ace'ing the IT technical questions, I know plenty of people with certs coming out of their ears that cant manage a basic network design/deployment with out help.

A good interviewer will just use these test to hint at a persons strengths and weaknesses, there are many different areas of conative ability and being poor in one is not a crime or mean you are unfit for a job. But at the same time whats wrong with an employer wanting to gauge them to insure their team as a whole has good skills across the board.

Okay that's where I have the issue. We are going to come across issues that we do not know how to resolve. Why not give him an issue that you aren't assuming he knows and see how he walks through it rather than an obscure IQ test question? You can see how his mind works through a directly related IT issue and have a more accurate assessment.

IQ test questions can be learned also. I guarantee you that from reading this thread, I won't ever get stumped on a similar question to the Atlantic = 80, not because I worked it out the solution through my head, but because I saw the solution on this forum.

With that in mind, I don't see it gauging really anything at all.