Interview / Tricky questions are a complete waste of time says Google

The search giant, whose mind-bending interviews once inspired a book called “Are you smart enough to work at Google?” has ditched its recruitment grillings in favour of a pared back approach to hiring.

“We found that brainteasers are a complete waste of time. How many golf balls can you fit into an aeroplane? How many gas stations in Manhattan? A complete waste of time,” Google’s senior vice president of people operations Laszlo Bock told the New York Times recently.

“Instead, what works well are structured behavioural interviews, where you have a consistent rubric for how you assess people, rather than having each interviewer just make stuff up,” he said.

Hays regional director for Victoria, Susan Drew said the trend away from tricky interview questions is in keeping with developments in the Australian market, where companies are ditching rigorous psychometric testing in favour of standard behavioural questions.

“We see less and less of that. It’s more about internal referrals and your own network. Companies are also researching on LinkedIn prior to interviewing. It’s not only your resume and responses but how you’re presenting on social media as well,” she said.

Chosen excerpts by Job Market Monitor

via Google admits tough interview questions have no impact on quality of employees | News.com.au.