Ex Google employee says 'coffee shop' interview question has stumped most candidates
No matter how much we rehearse our best interview answers, from those ‘challenging situations’ to a probably made-up ‘time we overcame an obstacle’ anecdote, there always seems to be something that will catch us out.
We might be halfway through and they’ll suddenly ask what animal we would be and why.
Like, that has nothing to do with us selling phones from inside a supermarket?
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But interviewers just seem to love to trick us, like Steve Jobs doing his ‘beer test’. And Google weren’t any different apparently.
A TikToker who claims to have worked for Google has been sharing tips for those looking for jobs on TikTok.
One video captioned: “How Google Stumps Interviewers,” has left people pretty baffled.
Apparently, the tricky scenario query ‘stumped the most’ candidates hoping for a job at the tech company in the past.
“There’s a coffee shop in San Francisco, it has unlimited supply in demand – meaning it has all the coffee beans, coffee cups, teas in the world and the customer line wraps around the block,” she says.
“The coffee shop is roughly 500-square feet. So how many cups of coffee can this coffee shop produce in one day?”
What’s that got to do with working for a major tech company? We’re not interviewing for a job serving up coffees. But still, the answers divided users.
A lot commented to suggest the answer was zero, with one logic being: “Did she mention any making coffee machine, with just supplies you cannot make coffee,” as well as there being ‘no mention of employees’.
But one also pointed out another loophole: “The question is ‘produce’ not serve. The fact that customers wrap around the block is irrelevant. Don’t need cups either.”
Another guessed: “Minutes open/employees can fit in a 500sqft place when you account for seating, counter and kitchen? X amount of time it takes to make the coffee.”
And then one joked what their cocky response in the interview would be: “Hire me & I’ll give you my answer.”
But if you’re hoping there’s some kind of well-thought out, logical and definitive answer to this you’re going to be disappointed.
Another of her Google interview questions videos reveals: “There are no right or wrong answers, the interviewer's just trying to figure out your thought process."
Good news is though (unless you were oddly hoping for something like this), Google have since ditched they brain teaser questions.
They say on their Careers site: "Our data showed that brainteaser questions didn’t predict how well someone would do on the job so we no longer ask them. Instead, we do work sample tests and ask structured interview questions."
And anyway, another way in to Google might be to catch the actual interviewer back out with your responses.
Instead of just giving a load of rehearsed answers, a former Google recruiter says the best interviewees are the ones who teach something back.
So maybe when you've tried to work out one of their random scenarios, ask them: "Can I tell you a quick story about what I learnt in my last role?"
Jess Battison