10 Strange Job Interview Questions Big Tech Companies Ask
Tech companies are notorious for asking bizarre interview questions. Here are 10 such head-scratchers that candidates were asked during job interviews at Google, Apple, Microsoft, and other major tech firms.
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As you move forward in your IT career, you'll find yourself in a variety of different professional roles while you build the expertise needed to become a respected technology leader.
For some IT workers, the career path to success may require moving to different cities where the tech scene is booming. For others, it may require building expertise in their chosen field or developing new technical skills.
Regardless of location or job title, all IT professionals face a similar challenge in moving up the corporate ladder -- the job interview. While tech pros are in one of the best industries for landing top jobs, many are in competition with one another to snagging coveted roles at giants like Apple and Google.
[See 8 Free iOS, Android Apps for Job Hunters.]
Despite their skills, many talented IT pros don't receive an invitation to visit their desired tech campus for an in-person interview. But for those who do, it may be difficult to prepare. While some interviews are fairly straightforward, others include some bizarre questions.
Some candidates who have gone through the interview process at tech companies report about their experiences on career website Glassdoor. Their stories indicate many employers ask questions far stranger than the typical "Why do you want this job?"
Here, we share some unusual questions that tech companies such as Microsoft, Expedia, and Oracle have asked interviewees in the hot seat.
How would you answer these questions? What is the strangest question you have been asked in an interview? Feel free to share your thoughts and stories in the comments.
Front End Developer: Write how you would code a web page using a whiteboard and explain what you are doing over a video phone.
Product Design Engineer: We have a cup of hot coffee and a small cold milk out of the fridge. The room temperature is in between these two. When should we add milk to coffee to get the coolest combination earliest: at the beginning, in the middle, or at the end?
Software Engineer: You have two lightbulbs and a 100-story building. You want to find the floor at which the bulbs will break when dropped. Find the floor using the least number of drops.
Associate Systems Administrator: If a Nerf football hit you in the back of the head, what would you do?
Technical Program Manager: Take an object or a picture of an object with which to describe your personality and give a small presentation.
Consultant: How many piano tuners are there in Chicago?
Software Engineer: What are your top 5 favorite bands?
Software Engineer: Two people are each stuck on their own islands, connected by a ferryman who carries a lockable box. Each person has a lock and a key, but can't send the key along with the box.
One person wants to send the other a diamond, but it must be placed into the box and locked or it will be stolen by the ferryman. How do you send the diamond without the ferryman stealing it?
Systems Validation Engineer: You have eight pennies. Seven weigh the same, one weighs less. You also have a judge's scale. Find the one that weighs less in less than three steps.
Front End Developer: You have a bag containing an unlimited amount of tennis balls and five boxes which you are trying to throw them into. For every throw you are guaranteed to get a ball in one box. What is the minimum probability of getting 11 balls in any one box?
Front End Developer: You have a bag containing an unlimited amount of tennis balls and five boxes which you are trying to throw them into. For every throw you are guaranteed to get a ball in one box. What is the minimum probability of getting 11 balls in any one box?
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