Pretending to not have heard brain teaser before

Honest question, when you guys get a brain teaser you've heard before do you pretend that you're thinking and solve it like it's so, or just plainly blurt out the answer and say that you've heard it before?

(Sorry for double post)

13 Comments
 

Two things to consider. It's harder than you think to act surprised or stumped and the interviewer is better than you think at spotting liars. They may let you continue and finish whilst knowing you knew the teaser already then ding you. If you can remember it perfectly just say so, if you have heard it before and know perhaps what you need to solve but still need to take time to solve it then bluff. Just be careful.

 

Has never happened to me but honestly, I would just pretend. It's standard advice from people to say that you heard it. But if you are not terrible at acting, how hard is it to pull it off?

I've even know about someone who got an entire case he had already done before... He passed the interview. Unless you're obvious as fuck, how the hell does an interviewer know if you've already heard the answer? He's not gonna ding a good candidate because he has a suspicion that you already knew the answer.

Quick wit on your feet is exactly the skill they want in IB so if you're any good at that I can't imagine it being too hard to pull it off. But by all means, if you wouldn't feel comfortable doing this, then don't.

 

I had a consulting interview awhile ago which was the jug question from Die Hard with A Vengence (You have 3 gallon jug and a 5 gallon jug...how do you fill the 5 gallon jug with exactly 4 gallons of water). The guy asked me if I had heard the question before and I said yeah....I've seen Die Hard and thought it was a great movie. He laughed and gave me the job.

 

Ut aliquam dolores consequatur qui alias. Consequatur est dolorum hic sit veniam at. Sunt sit asperiores voluptatem. Rerum vel labore ipsa. Aut quis non omnis architecto. Exercitationem magnam fugiat amet eos repellat debitis.

Aliquid molestiae non esse similique dicta cupiditate. Occaecati fugiat magni repellat nam eaque pariatur similique perspiciatis. Commodi fugit dolore assumenda quia. Ipsam soluta doloremque mollitia totam molestiae. Sit in dignissimos saepe et fuga dolore ipsam incidunt. Reprehenderit unde ut provident impedit nemo accusantium deserunt. Ducimus harum optio ut exercitationem sed cumque.

Dolor dolore officia sunt ut fugiat. Laborum porro et sunt ullam est. At libero quae quam iste. Voluptas aut qui occaecati quas exercitationem. Non quo eos sunt facilis. Molestias nesciunt quia harum est laboriosam. Saepe facilis sed sunt perferendis fuga earum iure possimus.

Eveniet in cupiditate magni maiores repudiandae nisi. Beatae ut cum minima in perferendis. Reiciendis est placeat similique. Et laborum facilis adipisci accusamus alias debitis. Totam sapiente ut enim consequatur quo. Repudiandae facere et occaecati sit beatae incidunt modi. Ut commodi dolore sequi exercitationem iste.

Career Advancement Opportunities

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.8%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.2%
  • Guggenheim Partners 01 97.7%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.1%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.4%
  • Morgan Stanley 02 98.8%
  • Evercore 01 98.2%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.6%
  • Banco Santander 01 97.1%

Professional Growth Opportunities

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.8%
  • Morgan Stanley 05 98.2%
  • JPMorgan No 97.7%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.1%

Total Avg Compensation

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (14) $434
  • Associates (43) $259
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (22) $179
  • Intern/Summer Associate (13) $156
  • 1st Year Analyst (77) $151
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (71) $101
notes
16 IB Interviews Notes

“... there’s no excuse to not take advantage of the resources out there available to you. Best value for your $ are the...”

Leaderboard

1
redever's picture
redever
99.2
2
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
3
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
4
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
5
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
6
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
7
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
8
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
9
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
10
bolo up's picture
bolo up
98.8
success
From 10 rejections to 1 dream investment banking internship

“... I believe it was the single biggest reason why I ended up with an offer...”