johnc Posted February 12, 2003 Share Posted February 12, 2003 Just found this while cleaning out some old e-mails. I was one of a few guys that started and then sold a software company and we used to give written logic tests to prospective programmers to see how they went about problem solving. These tests were timed and we usually sat in the room and watched them try to work out the answer. Nothing like a little added pressure to see how people REALLY are. Here's one: ***** Five houses of different colors are in a row. Each is owned by a man with a different nationality, hobby, pet and favorite drink. The Englishman lives in the red house. The Spaniard owns dogs. Coffee is drunk in the in the green house. The Ukrainian drinks tea. The green house is directly to the right of the white one. The stamp collector owns snails. The antique collector lives in the yellow house. The man in the middle house drinks milk. The Norwegian lives in the first house. The man who sings lives next to the man with the fox. The man who gardens drinks juice. The antique collector lives next to the man with the horse. The Japanese man's hobby is cooking. The Norwegian lives next to the blue house. Who drinks water and who owns the zebra? Be prepared to explain (in detail) the reasoning behind your answer. You have 30 minutes. ***** Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest livewire23 Posted February 12, 2003 Share Posted February 12, 2003 ahah! Finally. let's not go into how long this took. Suffice it to say that once I had my mind set right, it came quickly. ************************************************* The first (yellow) house is inhabited by a antique-collecting norwegian with a fox, who drinks water. (the norwegian, not the fox) The Second (blue) house is owned by a ukranian man with a horse. He likes to sing and drink tea. the third (red) house is ran by an englishman who drinks milk, collects stamps and keeps a snail. What an odd man. The fourth (white) house has a dog-rearing, garden-tending, juice-drinking spaniard. And last but not least, the fifth (green) house contains a cooking japanese man, a zebra, and some coffee. ************************************************* whew. You must not have hired many programmers. In conclusion the zebra was owned by the Japanese man, and the water drank by the Norwegian. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CruxGNZ Posted February 13, 2003 Share Posted February 13, 2003 Give me the materials and tools and I can build you just about anything, but when it comes to words that just don't interest me I draw a blank (and start thinking about what I can build ). BUT if you were to say you would give me $50, you bet I would have the correct answer. On the other hand, if it was for a job then I would have the correct answer too. I guess it's all in the motivation. My answer is... what livewire23 said !M! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnc Posted February 13, 2003 Author Share Posted February 13, 2003 Livewire got it right. But, in our interview/test process we didn't care if the candidate got the right answer. We just wanted to see how they went about solving a problem under pressure. We had about 50 engineering staff and about 1/3 got the answer wrong or missed the 30 minute deadline. The ones that got the right answer generally had the path to the solution pop into their heads after about 20 minutes of concentration. BTW... there was also a coding test that programmers went through first. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZR8ED Posted February 13, 2003 Share Posted February 13, 2003 I remember doing the same test, (just not using the same example.) Makes me think back to the brutal job interview processes I had to endure.... I'll draw you guys a pic of my job interview process... here goes.. First..I was already a temp for this large chemical mfg corp. I was doing the job for 1 year, and Had 3 summers of previous experience in the exact same job as a summer student putting myself through college. They decided to hire 4 people in a plant of 400. There were approx 60 temps on site..some working as long as 5 years. 600 outside people applied as well. I applied for one of the 4 full time jobs..(my own job to be exact) was one of the 4. I started by going off site on my days off to a specified location. (local highschool gym) There within an alloted appointment, applicants took a 45min written test followed by a 1/2 hour interview by 2 supervisors (supervisors that report to the plant manager no less...) After this selection process (2weeks. they narrow the 600+ to 120people. They have two sessions now.. 60 to a group and we meet at a site that has convention/meeting facilities. This interview was a full 8hrs!!! with 2 10min breaks, and a 25min lunch (provided by the company) This group of 60 is sat in a room with tables of 6. We go back and forth between 45min-2hr written exams 3 in total, and group projects, which were monitored by at least 4 supervisors. We were given problems like above, and we had to solve them as a team within a certain length of time...everyone in the group was competing for the same jobs!.. each wanted the other to drop dead, but still had to work as a team. That day was killer, as you were being judged by many people all the time, on how you interacted, who lead the groups, who slacked off, who followed, did we get the correct answer, and how did we work as a team to get the answer... After this, it was knocked down to 20. 2weeks again passed... Then I get called in for a final 2hr interview... 5 one 1... all top supervisors, who grilled me my on best/worst experiences, and what did I learn/what would I do differently etc.. how would I react to certain situations, where I wanted to go in the company etc... I made it through all of them successfully. Oh and this was for an entry level mfg job. And you should have seen what I went through to move into my current position in which I interact directly..onsite with our customers as a Technical Service Representative. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CruxGNZ Posted February 13, 2003 Share Posted February 13, 2003 It's stuff like this where I'm glad I work with family members . No hassles, you already know the person. !M! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Top Fuel ZX Posted February 13, 2003 Share Posted February 13, 2003 That took some thinking to figure out. About 22 minutes under no real pressure (unknown if pressure would of hurt or helped my time). Felt like I was tryin to do four things at once. All the different logical ways to interpret each statement and then integrate it into a final solution is freaky. I'll just stick with fixing up my 280ZX Sean Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest livewire23 Posted February 13, 2003 Share Posted February 13, 2003 yea, I gotta say that it was a tough problem. I had the process right from the get-go, but for a while I wasnt properly eliminating choices that conflicted, and I came to a point were I had two choices and apparently no choice but to guess. When I decided guessing was a bad idea (murphy's law), I went back and the answer came fairly quickly. This involved quite a bit of scratch paper, diagrams, and charts. I really have too much spare time on my hands. But anyway, I win. What's the starting pay? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Anonymous Posted February 13, 2003 Share Posted February 13, 2003 personally I am going with my grandfathers answer here and say noone is drinking water cause drinking water is bad for you. Drink beer or whiskey thats what my grandpa says at anyrate and hes 94 so he aught to know right Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pop N Wood Posted February 13, 2003 Share Posted February 13, 2003 I can honestly say that if I were to be handed a quiz like that in a job interview, it would be the end of the interview. Had an EE friend who interviewed with Hewlett Packard. He was a genius type with a straight A's. For his initial, on campus interview they put him in front of 5 guys who started shooting techinical questions at him. After some time they started asking questions designed to "judge his thought processes". I remember the one that set him back was "Why are man hole covers round?" Anyway he put up with all this nonsense. About a week later he got a call from some self important manager offering him a job. He turned them down, telling them "if you treat your employees anything like you treated me in that interview, then you don't have the type of company I would like to work for" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikelly Posted February 13, 2003 Share Posted February 13, 2003 Although I'd like to see screening processes implimented in the workforce, Some of these tests aren't the answer, even for tecnical engineering positions. I don't see them as being accurate always, or pointing at hiring the right candidate... Finding people with the right skills, and professional maturety is key. I've got senior engineers I can't put in front of the customer because, although smart, some of these brain-trusts simply have NO interpersonal skills which, to me shows a lack of someone being well rounded and balanced... The key is to find the right mix of technical and non-technical people, and to provide balance for all of them. I'll hire someone with a varied skill background in a minute over someone with a masters in EE if the guy with the formal education doesn't show me that he brings more to the table than a degree. Someone with a varied (AND successfull) background will learn faster, comprehend and problem solve, and interact better with his team mates from the start. There have been studies that bolster this. The key is to take these individuals and plug them into a formal education process and to get the company to pay for it... Giving you both a varied successfull background, and the education that many companies look for... Jim (BlKMGK) and I are both examples of people who are in senior engineering positions with less than a masters degree... Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blueovalz Posted February 13, 2003 Share Posted February 13, 2003 I remember a test (back in '75) for Air Traffic Control that I took. It was taking 3 dimensional objects and "unfolding them" into a 2 dimensional piece and deciding what the final flat (2D) piece would look like. Speed was important and it was disigned to see just how far through the series of increasing complexity you could go (I don't think it was ever intented that anyone be able to complete the entire test in the alloted time) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike C Posted February 13, 2003 Share Posted February 13, 2003 Too bad more companies don't have the attitude you do Mikelly. Although a firm believer in higher education, to some degree it is the most basic illustration of the "Good ol' boy" network. Their is no substitute for an innate ability to problem solve, and communication is the underlying thread to all endeavors. As a current college student, I tell people IF I complete my UT Engineering degree, it will be in SPITE of the university, and not because of it. Sheesh. If you know of anyone hiring in this area, I have superior communication skills, innovative problem solving solutions, and adequate technical understanding. Not that it matters since even the BOOKSTORES in this town have a hiring freeze... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest polarity Posted February 13, 2003 Share Posted February 13, 2003 At my latest job, I had 3 interviews. I went the first day and met with a tech manager. He just kind of asked me about myself and why I was interested in working there and such. Second interview I met with another manager who asked some more questions about myself and my history.. on the third and final interview they put me in a room with a 25 question tech quiz (pretty simple too) and a computer. In the quiz they had things they wanted me to do with the computer (copy files from a floppy and such) but they had done little things like put the floppy cable on backwards and such. So I had to repair the computer as I followed their instructions. The test was alloted 45 minuites I finished it in 13. But I like my job. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DavyZ Posted February 13, 2003 Share Posted February 13, 2003 Originally posted by Jim Powers:...I remember the one that set him back was "Why are man hole covers round?"... FYI My bro was asked this same question in his job interview, and the answer is: "Manhole covers are round (as opposed to some other kind of shape, like a square) so that they will not fall back in the hole." What is truly funny is that the information from this 'intelligence' test was that the SAME questions had appeared in Reader's Digest just the month before. Needless to say my brother so impressed the interviewers that he got the job hands down Davy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nullbound Posted February 13, 2003 Share Posted February 13, 2003 i was asked similar questions for a job i got right out of college. interviewing for the job involved passing each the following: a phone interview with a recruiter, a formal interview with the recruiter, a programming test, an over-the-phone technical interview, and finally a technical and programming interview with a project manager (which happened to take place at a strip club in atlanta... talk about distractions!). it took about four weeks for everything to happen. the formal interview with the recruiter for the company was where i had a logic test with similar questions. the whole interview process was very rigorous, but the logic test was probably the most nerve-racking. i was given 5 logic questions and had to answer at least 3 of them within 30 minutes, and i had no idea that this logic test was coming. the manhole question was one of my questions. as stated above, it didnt seem to matter as much whether you got the right answer ( but, i did have to get 3 right to go to the next interview). it was more of a test of how well you react under pressure. this company was looking for well-rounded individuals, as well. i got the job, amazingly enough, but once the economy tanked, so did the job. my favorite question was this one: You are in a room facing the wall. On the wall are mounted three normal light switches. Each of the switches operates one of three, regular, incandescent lights in the next room. You are allowed to manipulate/operate the switches any way you like and then make one (and only one) trip into the next room. How can you operate the switches in a manner that will tell you, without a doubt, which switch operates which light? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CruxGNZ Posted February 14, 2003 Share Posted February 14, 2003 Originally posted by nullbound:You are in a room facing the wall. On the wall are mounted three normal light switches. Each of the switches operates one of three, regular, incandescent lights in the next room. You are allowed to manipulate/operate the switches any way you like and then make one (and only one) trip into the next room. How can you operate the switches in a manner that will tell you, without a doubt, which switch operates which light? Turn on one light and leave it on for about a minute, then turn on another light and run to the room as fast as you can and feel the two bulbs. The hot one will be the first light switch you turned on, and the rest you can figure out quite easily which light switch goes to what lamp . (BUT, this will only work if the lights actually turned on when the switch is flipped up) !M! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pop N Wood Posted February 14, 2003 Share Posted February 14, 2003 Why are man hole covers round? My answer: because most people have round holes. End of interview. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest JAMIE T Posted February 14, 2003 Share Posted February 14, 2003 Though I am a good problem solver, I must say I am glad to not have a job that required that sort of interviewing process. To answer Nullbounds scenario... Turn two lights on, then turn one of them off. When you go to the next room the one that is on, is obviously the one you left on. The one that is not on, but hot is the other one you turned on, but then turned off again. The one that is left is the one you never turned on... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CruxGNZ Posted February 14, 2003 Share Posted February 14, 2003 You could do it that way too, not much running involved . I just wrote down the first thing that came to my mind without sitting and thinking it out. !M! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.