Toughest interview question you have ever had...

[FL07AAV]

Just wondering, what is the toughest interview question you have ever been faced with?

.....I am trying to prepare for an interview and I am trying to envisage the worst case scenario

[cs02rm0]

Name your 5 biggest weaknesses.

[seaninog]

How many red cars in the UK?

(Answer has to do with your reasoning abilities)

[FL07AAV]

seaninog said:

How many red cars in the UK?

(Answer has to do with your reasoning abilities)

How did you answer that???

[Greenie]

seaninog said:

How many red cars in the UK?

(Answer has to do with your reasoning abilities)

956,236?

[SkinnyBoy]

Biggest weakness?

I answered, "Chicks with fat arses"

[zadumbreion]

FL07AAV said:

seaninog said:

How many red cars in the UK?

(Answer has to do with your reasoning abilities)

How did you answer that???

Estimate how many people in the UK own a car
then estimate what proportion of cars on the road are red

[FL07AAV]

zadumbreion said:

FL07AAV said:

seaninog said:

How many red cars in the UK?

(Answer has to do with your reasoning abilities)

How did you answer that???

Estimate how many people in the UK own a car
then estimate what proportion of cars on the road are red

OK, having spoken to a mate a work he said something like the following:

Say 60 million people in the UK
Assume half of them have cars so thats 30 million
Black and silver are more common colours so that could take up 40% of the colours then work out the other popular colours from the remaining 60% and finally get a ballpark figure of say 10% of 30 million cars in the UK are red.

He said they wouldnt know the answer themselves, they would just want to know how you worked out the answer.

[eddie1980]

A mate who had already been offered a job but was attending an interview for less money for a less favourable company.

Q "Have you ever had a conflict with a work college??"
A "I've never hit anyone if that's what you mean.."

They apparently did not have a sense of humer.

[The Walrus]

Would you fk my wife !!

I said no

[FL07AAV]

The Walrus said:

Would you fk my wife !!

I said no

Did you get the job?

[ShadownINja]

cs02rm0 said:

Name your 5 biggest weaknesses.

5? Crikey. It used to be just naming one!

[seaninog]

cs02rm0 said:

Name your 5 biggest weaknesses.

I always liked the answer former Presidential candidate John Edwards gave when asked what his biggest weakness was:

"I care too much...."

[seaninog]

FL07AAV said:

zadumbreion said:

FL07AAV said:

seaninog said:

How many red cars in the UK?

(Answer has to do with your reasoning abilities)

How did you answer that???

Estimate how many people in the UK own a car
then estimate what proportion of cars on the road are red

OK, having spoken to a mate a work he said something like the following:

Say 60 million people in the UK
Assume half of them have cars so thats 30 million
Black and silver are more common colours so that could take up 40% of the colours then work out the other popular colours from the remaining 60% and finally get a ballpark figure of say 10% of 30 million cars in the UK are red.

He said they wouldnt know the answer themselves, they would just want to know how you worked out the answer.

Spot on! It's not about the answer, it's about how you go about finding the answer to a seemingly impossible problem. (I used to be a Trader and this was a common question asked of young would-be Traders).

I think you're ready mate! Bon Chance!

[The Walrus]

FL07AAV said:

The Walrus said:

Would you fk my wife !!

I said no

Did you get the job?

No as I was a male gigolo at the time.

[Mr POD]

seaninog said:

FL07AAV said:

zadumbreion said:

FL07AAV said:

seaninog said:

How many red cars in the UK?

(Answer has to do with your reasoning abilities)

How did you answer that???

Estimate how many people in the UK own a car
then estimate what proportion of cars on the road are red

OK, having spoken to a mate a work he said something like the following:

Say 60 million people in the UK
Assume half of them have cars so thats 30 million
Black and silver are more common colours so that could take up 40% of the colours then work out the other popular colours from the remaining 60% and finally get a ballpark figure of say 10% of 30 million cars in the UK are red.

He said they wouldnt know the answer themselves, they would just want to know how you worked out the answer.

Spot on! It's not about the answer, it's about how you go about finding the answer to a seemingly impossible problem. (I used to be a Trader and this was a common question asked of young would-be Traders).

I think you're ready mate! Bon Chance!

I'd phone up my mate at the DVLA and ask him to run a query. How many RED cars taxed, sorned and NOT sorned ? and offer you any combination of the 3 numbers

[Mr POD]

Mr POD said:

seaninog said:

FL07AAV said:

zadumbreion said:

FL07AAV said:

seaninog said:

How many red cars in the UK?

(Answer has to do with your reasoning abilities)

How did you answer that???

Estimate how many people in the UK own a car
then estimate what proportion of cars on the road are red

OK, having spoken to a mate a work he said something like the following:

Say 60 million people in the UK
Assume half of them have cars so thats 30 million
Black and silver are more common colours so that could take up 40% of the colours then work out the other popular colours from the remaining 60% and finally get a ballpark figure of say 10% of 30 million cars in the UK are red.

He said they wouldnt know the answer themselves, they would just want to know how you worked out the answer.

Spot on! It's not about the answer, it's about how you go about finding the answer to a seemingly impossible problem. (I used to be a Trader and this was a common question asked of young would-be Traders).

I think you're ready mate! Bon Chance!

I'd phone up my mate at the DVLA and ask him to run a query. How many RED cars taxed, sorned and NOT sorned ? and offer you any combination of the 3 numbers

Because it's not what you know, it's WHO you know.

[spikeyhead]

Leeson's equation pops up regularly when I'm being interviewed.

[dcb]

spikeyhead said:

Leeson's equation pops up regularly when I'm being interviewed.

I often get asked about the Greeks by financial companies.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greeks_(finance)

Understand that lot, be able to code it up in C#, Java or C++
and you've pretty much got yourself a job at lots of companies
as a financial quant.

Now I know why lots of Maths PhDs end up in the City.

[Olivero]

Certainly not the hardest question, but most likely the oddest. I was asked by a financial advice company what I would do if "I walked into a room and in the corner of said room was a baby hitting its self with a hammer." I can't remember the answer I gave, might have been something about sell the baby the option of a better hammer and/or life insurance.

The best question a friend was asked was "If it was necessary for the greater good of the country, would you be able to kill your girlfriend?" I think he paused...