With books and classes devoted to it, interviewing has become a sort of science. Although the actual interview may still be nerve-racking, job candidates are able prepare themselves by studying the most common interview questions. While planning ahead is beneficial to the interviewee, this preparedness poses problems to the employer. Rather than being able to judge the candidates’ actual intelligence and quick-thinking like they wanted, employers are only getting a sense of what the interviewee’s prepared.
Google, however, is looking to change that. By moving away from traditional interview questions that allow for preparation, the Internet giant is beginning to ask questions that rely on intelligence and problem-solving abilities, like those found on I.Q. tests. For example, a potential employee may be told to solve this problem: “There are eight balls, seven of them weight the same, but one is heavier. Using a balance scale, how do you find the heaviest ball in just two weighings?” Google hopes that questions like this will give employers a better grasp on the interviewees’ abilities before any of them are actually hired.
Although many of the traditional interview questions will always be a necessary part of the hiring process, it is likely that Google is starting a new trend. Do not be caught off guard at your next interview if a potential employer asks you to solve a math problem or answer a general knowledge question. In fact, to see if Gustavus students would be ready for these new types of questions, the Center for Servant Leadership is offering a prize to the first person who brings in the correct answer to the question asked above.
By E.W. 3/8/2012