Mess up on a brainteaser and you get rejected?
I interviewed for a position that I thought went well. I was doing good to the point where the interviewers told me that they will quiz me on certain things when they bring me in. I said sure. Right before the call ended, one of the guys threw out a brainteaser at me. This position is in a function/role that is not known for having brainteasers in interviews so it honestly caught me off guard and I got nervous. I didn't really understand what was being asked at first so I incorrectly guessed which probably made me look stupid. For them, it was just a fun exercise and a non-pressure phone call. But for me, it was the opposite, under stress to land an offer and I can't sometimes think clearly as I'd like when nervous. It was an easy question that I'd get right in any other situation but I didn't get a chance to explain why I gave certain incorrect answers. For example - I thought we were only talking about 3 things, but in reality, there were X amount of things CONTAINED WITHIN those 3 things. So some answers I gave out wouldn't make common sense but I didn't really explain myself. I know it was a mistake on my part to not be more vocal every step of the way but I froze up. Of course I know it wouldn't make sense but I saw the question differently.
I eventually got the right answer but I still think this got me rejected. I knew brainteasers have some impact, but not sway the entire interview after doing well for the previous 35+ minutes.
Maybe you messed up elsewhere (even though you think you did well), they picked a better candidate, or you messed up the brainteaser so bad that they had no choice but to ding you
I doubt it was the brainteaser itself that got you rejected, it was your response to it. By panicking and not thinking things through, you showed that you weren't that cool under pressure. Brainteasers are really never about getting the right answer, they're about how to you approach a difficult situation.
So here's the bad news:
Firms want to see how you handle difficult problems and how you handle stress. This is especially true in trading, but it's really true everywhere.
If you fumble a brainteaser, and fumble it badly, that kinda bleeds over to the rest of the interview and your candidacy, FWIW.
Here's the good news:
Dealing with stress and handling interviews are a learned skill. And it is SCARY having to interview for jobs as a college student at age 20. Those fears- some of the fight or flight stuff- goes away as you get older. You develop more confidence and this gets easier.
You need more practice with interviews. You will get better at this. You will develop more confidence. Life gets better.
Most likely because of how you handled the brainteaser (or your interview wasn't as good as you thought). However, sometimes you just don't get it and you don't know why- I had a phone interview that seemed to be going well, and funnily enough like in your situation, the interviewer spoke about what would happen during in person interviews and then threw me a random brainteaser (in an interview for a job where brainteasers aren't common also). Unlike you, I was able to answer the brainteaser correctly almost immediately (was writing on paper while he was asking, so I only had to think about it for a second). Didn't make it to the next round- I'm guessing my interview didn't go as well as I thought it had. Point is sometimes you just never know and you have to keep at it. Good luck.
They might have liked other candidates more. Don't blame it on the brainteaser. I actually bombed a case study for a consulting internship, top twenty firm, and I was still invited back to the second round. They are not necessarily looking for the right answer (or correct computations) as much as they are looking for your analysis and how you approach the question.
Screwed up on brainteaser? Doomed? (Originally Posted: 02/05/2007)
Just had a phone conversation with a senior guy. It was supposed to be just a chat and a get to know me process but he popped out a brainteaser about probabilities that I was totally unprepared for at 8am in the morning.
I kinda panicked, tried to talk through it. I pretty much got it right at first when I said something the first time but then I rescended it and started doubting myself because the answer I gave was (1/2)^10 and it didnt seem like something to the 10th was an easy number. He then gave me a hint and then I talked through to the final answer.
I felt like I got owned but he said he'll circulate my resume around later and give me a call in a couple weeks.
Do u guys think I totally f-ed this up beyond repair?
what was the question?
it's not a deal breaker
question was:
what's the probability that if u had 2 coins
1 double headed 1 normal
that u pick one at random, flip it 10 times, get all heads, that the coin u picked was double-headed.
the 1/2^10 was the prob of getting all heads from the normal coin, and I should've just rolled along with that but somehow I stalled after I said.
I eventually arrived at the answer which was the odds were 2^10 to 1, which is really close to 1-.5^10, but that's after he said he wants me to view the question like a tree.
I feel like such a retard.
He did ask me afterwards if I was going to be in NYC sometime, etc, said I came recommended by someone he knew blah blah, work something out, call ya in a couple wks...but I'm still really hung up over how I managed to f-up a brainteaser.
Next time, ask for an afternoon interview or a more comfortable time slot. (this is perfectly fine, given that you are a student and you may have early classes.)
Going forward, they want to see your logical analytical progression and breakdown. Take a second to think about the teaser, and then run with ONE answer. In my experience, being correct comes secondary in these interviews as long as you show a rational process of analysis and don't allow anyone to make you deviate from your final answer.
If you are incorrect, they will tell you after your response, but they want you to demonstrate intelligence, a firm opinion and yet a willingness to learn.
Definately learned my lesson I must say.
Too bad it had to be with a Wall St firm.
I just have to wait it out I guess. 2 weeks seem like an eternity to me.
Here's how I would have answered that:
the probability of having picked the double-headed one given that you flipped all heads is (1) the probability of picking the double-headed coin and flipping all heads divided by (2) the probability of flipping all heads.
(1) is .5 (2) is .5 + (.5)*((.5)^10).
So the answer is (.5)/(.5 + (.5)^11)) = 1/(1 + (.5)^10)
I wouldn't consider this question a brainteaser. I would consider it more a straight up statistics question. Yes your thought process is still important in this one, and i don't think you'll get dinged for not getting the answer, but it is worse than failing to answer a brainteaser.
yeah, I got that eventually. I just can't seem to do it at the time.
anyone else screw up on a similar level and still got an offer?
yeah, I got the company's name wrong. I'm serious. But I'm pretty good at talking my way out of shit.
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