Competencies of IT engineers lie in their ability to challenge assumptions, see things from novel perspectives as highly logical and motivated innovators. Puzzle interviews are used to weed out the ‘merely’ efficient candidates from most effective, writes M R Chandramowly.

Think of a number, triple it, and take half the product; triple this and take half the result; then divide by nine. The quotient will be one-fourth the original number. Mathematical puzzles such as finding a number is purely based on logic. In the anagram ‘lpepa’ lies ‘apple.’ Brainteaser such as “Is it legal for a man to marry his widow’s sister?” brings more practical sense of design and construction of simple problems. One need to exert himself to understand the problem before finding a solution.   
                
Guru: Tales of people proving their mettle by solving riddles exist in cultures around the globe.  You know this from our Greek Classics, the ancient legend of Oedipus and the sphinx. The sphinx devoured anyone who couldn’t answer this riddle: “What is it that walks on four legs in the morning, two legs at noon, and three legs in the evening?”

CEO: Sure I know this. Oedipus solved the riddle by answering “Man.” A baby crawls on all fours, an adult walks on two legs, and the elderly use a cane as a third leg. It is a tricky question. Guruji, I think we can see that trend more in Zen riddles, which are the antithesis of the Western logic puzzles.

Guru: Yes. I can recall such puzzles. You know, some puzzles could be easy to answer but difficult to explain.

CEO: How is that Guruji? Can you explain? If I answer a question, I think I can explain that answer too.

Guru: You think so? Please solve this for me. Son of ‘Second’ jumps to ‘First’ crosses ‘fourth’ and finds the daughter of ‘fifth’ and puts the ‘third’ there.

CEO: Not difficult I think. This must be from Ramayan.  Who jumps and crosses to find a lady other than Hanuman? Yes, you are right. I cannot explain the numbers in the puzzle.

Guru: The numbers are attributed to the basic elements: Space (1) Wind (2) Fire (3) Water (4) and Earth (5).  Son of 2 is Hanuman who is born to the God of Air. He jumps in to Space (1) and crosses the ocean (Water 2) to find Sita who is the daughter of Goddess Earth (5) and sets Fire (2) to Ravana’s city.

CEO: So, the answer is in the basics.

Guru: Yes. Now, connecting back, what did you understand about that special interview technique of Microsoft? Is it something new?

CEO: I cannot say that Microsoft’s puzzles are riddles that we talked about. But the fact is, Microsoft and many more companies use puzzles today in their hiring decisions. They say that it doesn’t matter what school you attended, where you worked before, or how you dress.

All that matters is your logic, imagination, and problem-solving ability. Microsoft’s interviews are engineered to ensure selecting candidates with Microsoft level of competitive drive and creative ability.

Guru: You haven’t told me about a tough question in a puzzle interview.

CEO: They are many Guruji. “Why does a mirror reverse right and left instead of up and down?” or “How do you move Mount Everest?” These may look impossible to answer. But the objective is not to get the right answer.  It is to gauge intelligence and lateral thinking. It is to discover whether a candidate has ‘survival thinking’ which is most essential in today’s hyper competitive business world.

It is true some candidates come up with right answers. What can one answer for moving the Mount Everest? Move it how? How far? How Long? No. Given the questions there, a successful candidate would say, he would do nothing, it is moving, as all the continents are!

How would you weigh a plane without using scales? It needs some imagination and logic. Fly the plane onto a huge ship or an aircraft carrier. Paint a mark on the side of the ship to indicate the water level. Then fly the plane off of the ship, and replace it with increasing amounts of known weight. Continue to add weight until the ship sinks to the same water level that you marked on the side. Then you will know the weight of the plane. With the increasing demand for right talent, candidates are required to prove themselves and solve puzzles  avoiding tricky traps with ease and lowered stress. 

Microsoft’s process
Each resume received at Microsoft is scanned and  promising ones led to a screening interview, mostly by phone. Those who get through will get a “fly back” trip to Microsoft’s Redmond, Washington for a full day interview set to look out for original, creative thinkers. Interview includes a technical discussion and then the abstract part, problem-solving puzzles or brainteasers.

The selections of puzzles are based on the position’s need to assess capability and growth potential of a candidate. Another apt analogy is from viewing a video game of hostile characters one has to get from one space to next. 

Devising ‘puzzles’ is a delightful task to provide intellectual pleasure. How we solve puzzles could reflect our thinking style and problem solving capability. Puzzle interviews are  now emerging as  strategies to predict future performance. But there are critics who believe that puzzle questions tell employers only that some applicants are better at solving puzzles, not whether they’ll be a better fit for the job.

They also warn about the risk of selection since answers to many puzzle questions are posted on the internet. However, puzzle interviews are practiced in many organisations, and it may account for about 18 per cent of an overall interview process.

The author is former Corporate VP - HR and currently HRD consultant and Competency Architect. Email: cmowly@hotmail.com