Are You Smart Enough to Work at Google?

Are You Smart Enough to Work at Google? – William Poundstone

How many golf balls can fit in a school bus? How would you weigh your head? Why are manhole covers round? For years, technology companies, investment banks and other employers known for hiring top talent have used unusual interview questions like these, designed to test candidates’ creativity, problem-solving skills and ability to think under pressure.

In Are You Smart Enough to Work at Google? Fiendishly Clever and Mind-Bending Interview Questions Used by Companies Like Google and Facebook, bestselling author William Poundstone explores the world of brainteaser interview questions and the hiring practices of companies that use them.

Poundstone explains why companies adopted these questions, what interviewers hope to learn from candidates’ answers and how hiring practices have changed, including Google’s own shift away from some of these puzzles. He then presents a wide variety of challenging questions, ranging from logic puzzles and estimation problems to riddles and design challenges, and walks readers through the reasoning behind good answers, showing that how you approach a problem often matters more than finding a single correct solution.

Along the way, he offers practical advice for job seekers on how to handle unexpected questions, think aloud, break problems into manageable parts and stay calm under pressure.

Fun, challenging and informative, Are You Smart Enough to Work at Google? is an entertaining read for puzzle lovers, job seekers, students and anyone who enjoys testing their thinking skills. Readers should note that hiring practices have continued to evolve since publication.