William Poundstone - Are you smart enough to work at Google?: trick questions, zen-like riddles, insanely difficult puzzles, and other devious interviewing techniques you need to know to get a job anywhere in the new

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Copyright 2012 by William Poundstone

Author photograph by Russel Taylor

Cover design by Julianna Lee; art Getty Images

Cover copyright 2012 by Hachette Book Group, Inc.

All rights reserved. In accordance with the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, the scanning, uploading, and electronic sharing of any part of this book without the permission of the publisher constitute unlawful piracy and theft of the authors intellectual property. If you would like to use material from the book (other than for review purposes), prior written permission must be obtained by contacting the publisher at permissions@hbgusa.com. Thank you for your support of the authors rights.

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ISBN 978-0-316-19297-2

A neat little manifesto on interview technique. Touring through a huge number of puzzles, he provides a truly exhaustive account of all the factors youre meant to consider when thinking your way through the solutions. Tackling them is incredibly gratifying, when youre not withering under the baleful eye of a potential employer.

New Scientist

An enjoyably brain-stretching account of the worlds toughest, most mischievous job-interview questions. Engaging, fun, constantly challengingand best of all, Poundstone explains the answers.

David Rowan, Wired

As usual, Poundstone delivers. Delightful, fun, and worth a read.

Seth Godin

Amusing.

Denver Post

For those in the job market, Poundstone provides a handy survey of killer questions and how to answer them. For others, he offers the challenge of matching wits with people at Americas most innovative companies. As for employers, he presents a timely warning about creative thinking and why job interviews dont work. The format affords Poundstone room to display his scientific knowledge, mathematical fluency, and knack for explaining the arcane in playfully precise sentences.

Bloomberg Businessweek

In this detailed collection of examples, anecdotes, and solutions, Poundstone provides the unemployed everywhere with an answer key for the professional world. Regardless of the job at stake, the behind-the-scenes advice, etiquette reminders, and secret tricks for a successful interview found in this book should not be overlooked.

Emily Nichols, The State Press

Poundstone offers strategies for making the best of nerve-racking situations, decoding interviewers hidden agendas, and salvaging a doomed interview, in a solid treatment peppered with mind-bending puzzles. Poundstones energetic, compelling writing makes the book fun even for nonjob seekers.

Publishers Weekly

A helpful guide.

Amy Rowland, Christian Science Monitor

Serious ammunition to pack for your next job interview.

Kirkus Reviews

Logic puzzles are back. Even for people who arent facing an interview, this book is a fun read.

A. B. Mead, Author

Enjoyable.

The Bookseller

An entertaining and highly original book. Great stuff.

Nick Smith, Engineering & Technology

Big Secrets

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The Ultimate

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Carl Sagan: A Life in the Cosmos

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Fortunes Formula

Gaming the Vote

Priceless

To the memory of Martin Gardner (19142010), whose influence on this books subject matter is considerable.

A hundred prisoners are each locked in a room with three pirates, one of whom will walk the plank in the morning. Each prisoner has ten bottles of wine, one of which has been poisoned; and each pirate has twelve coins, one of which is counterfeit and weighs either more or less than a genuine coin. In the room is a single switch, which the prisoner may either leave as it is or flip. Before being led into the rooms, the prisoners are all made to wear either a red hat or a blue hat; they can see all the other prisoners hats but not their own. Meanwhile, a six-digit prime number of monkeys multiply until their digits reverse, then all have to get across a river using a canoe that can hold at most two monkeys at a time. But half the monkeys always lie and the other half always tell the truth. Given that the Nth prisoner knows that one of the monkeys doesnt know that a pirate doesnt know the product of two numbers between 1 and 100 without knowing that the N + 1th prisoner has flipped the switch in his room or not after having determined which bottle of wine was poisoned and what color his hat is, what is the solution to this puzzle?

Internet parody of a job interview question

J im was sitting in the lobby of Googles Building 44, Mountain View, California, surrounded by half a dozen others in various states of stupor. All were staring dumbly at the stupidest, most addictive TV show ever. It is Googles live search board, the ever-scrolling list of the search terms people are Googling at this very instant. Watching the board is like picking the lock to the worlds diary, then wishing you hadnt. For one moment, the private desires and anxieties of someone in New Orleans or Hyderabad or Edinburgh are broadcast to a select audience of voyeurs in Google lobbiesmost of them twenty- and thirty-year-olds awaiting a job interview.

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a year. It was estimated that only about 1 in 130 applications resulted in a job. By comparison, about 1 in 14 high school students applying to Harvard gets accepted. As at Harvard, Google employees must pass some tall hurdles.

Jims first interviewer was late and sweaty: he had biked to work. He started with some polite questions about Jims work history. Jim eagerly explained his short career. The interviewer didnt look at him. He was tapping away at his laptop, taking notes.

The next question Im going to ask, he said, is a little unusual.

The interviewer had looked up from his laptop and was grinning like a maniac with a new toy.

I would take the change in my pocket and throw it into the blender motor to jam it, Jim said.