Dysonology

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Impossible interview questions

Actually some of them aren't so bad. Google can jog on though. And Merrill Lynch is just a bit weird. That said, it's not so much getting the right answer as showing the right approach. Hence me feeling most confident about getting a job at Gryphon Scientific. Procter & Gamble: Sell me an invisible pen. 

Facebook: Twenty five racehorses, no stopwatch, five tracks.  Figure out the top three fastest horses in the fewest number of races.

CitigroupWhat is your strategy at table tennis?

Google: You are climbing a staircase. Each time you can either take one step or two. The staircase has n steps. In how many distinct ways can you climb the staircase?

Capital OneHow do you evaluate Subway’s five-foot long sub policy?

Gryphon ScientificHow many cocktail umbrellas are there in a given time in the United States?

Enterprise Rent-A-CarWould you be okay hearing “no” from seven out of 10 customers.

Goldman SachsSuppose you had eight identical balls. One of them is slightly heavier and you are given a balance scale. What’s the fewest number of times you have to use the scale to find the heavier ball?

Towers WatsonEstimate how many planes are there in the sky.

Lubin LawrenceIf you could describe Hershey, Godiva and Dove chocolate as people, how would you describe them?

Pottery BarnIf I was a genie and could give you your dream job, what and where would it be?

Kiewit Corp.: What did you play with as a child?

VWR InternationalHow would you market a telescope in 1750 when no one knows about orbits, moons etc.

Diageo North AmericaIf you walk into a liquor store to count the unsold bottles, but the clerk is screaming at you to leave, what do you do?

Brown & Brown InsuranceHow would you rate your life on a scale of 1 to 10?

Jane Street CapitalWhat is the smallest number divisible by 225 that consists of all 1’s and 0’s?

UBSIf we were playing Russian roulette and had one bullet, I randomly spun the chamber and fired but nothing was fired. Would you rather fire the gun again or respin the chamber and then fire on your turn?

Merrill LynchTell me about your life from kindergarten onwards.

Susquehanna International GroupFive guys, all of different ages, enter a bar and take a seat at a round table. What is the probability that they are seated in ascending order of age?

 

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