How You Can Answer Googles Interview Questions With a Couple Easy Steps

Summary of: "How to Solve Google's Crazy Open-Ended Interview Questions", By: Daniel J. Levitin

In an excerpt from his new book, Daniel J. Levitin talks about how to answer an interview question at Google. Today, we think of “innovation” as change. We think of “innovation” as being different. Google is on the frontier of being different, even their interviews are out of the ordinary. Most companies ask questions about job capability and whether or not you are a team player. Google, on the other hand, asks questions like “How many piano tuners are there in Chicago?” To get even crazier, google is not even looking for the right answer. They are looking for how the applicant solves the problem. “There are four very common responses to the problem.” People will not even attempt the problem, try to get the answer online, or ask questions to make the problem more specific. The fourth option, is to use a process of guessing, otherwise known as “Fermi Problems.” Through asking very broad questions we can narrow it down to an approximate answer. This allows us to answer almost impossible questions with ease (Levitin, 2014).

If I was asked to answer a crazy open ended question prior to reading the article, I would have no clue what to do. What Daniel J. Levitin did with the article is exactly what you are supposed to do for a “fermi problem.” Start with a very large idea, then work it down to the answer. For example, say you have to guess how many teachers there are in the city of Chicago. You would start with the amount of people, the amount of children, the number of schools, an average of how many teachers teach multiple subjects, and just like that you have an answer. This article started out very complicated, but as I read it started to seem easier and easier. Now I think I could definitely work through a problem like that. I really enjoyed this article and thought it was very interesting to read about Google's interviews.

Levitin, D. J. (2014, August 22). How to solve google's crazy open-ended interview questions. Retrieved September 9, 2014, from Wired website: http://www.wired.com/2014/08/how-to-solve-crazy-open-ended-google-interview-questions/