Narcissistic, sadistic interviewers more likely to ask brainteasers
The aspiring consultant had done his homework before a recent final-round interview for an associate position at Boston Consulting Group, putting in more than 50 hours of case study practice and figuring out answers to the inevitable behavioural questions.
But nothing could have prepared him for the interview’s first question: “If you could put a price on the ocean, what would it be?”
If the idea was to put a candidate under pressure to see the response, it worked. The individual, who did not want to be identified, told The Australian Financial Review the brainteaser knocked him off his game and derailed the rest of his interview.
Brainteaser questions, which often can’t be calculated and require lateral thinking, are used across a range of companies, including consulting firms, technology companies and investment banks.
McKinsey, for example, has been known to ask candidates “How would you determine the weight of a commercial airplane without a scale?
There are no records of how often Australian recruiters ask brainteasers; consulting firms mainly use case studies and behavioural questions during interviews.
The problem with brainteasers in a job interview is there is no peer-reviewed research to show they are a reliable selection tool and interviewers who prefer to use these sorts of questions “are simply trying to feel smarter than the job candidate”, said Scott Highhouse, a professor from Bowling Green State University, Ohio, who specialises in industrial organisational psychology,
“Our research suggests that people who score high on measures of narcissism and sadism are more likely to elect to use these types of questions. The common factor here is a general lack of empathy.”
‘Narcissistic, sadistic, socially inept’
That conclusion is based on a 2018 study Professor Highhouse co-authored that examined the types of people who liked to ask candidates brainteaser questions in a job interview.
The study built upon previous research that found brainteasers produced anxiety in candidates and were often used to test the ability of a candidate to handle stress.
The study, Dark motives and elective use of brainteaser interview questions, asked 736 employed adults to select their preferred options from a list of traditional (“Are you a good listener?“), behavioural (“Tell me about a time when you failed”) or brainteaser interview questions (such as the McKinsey example). About half of the participants had conducted at least one job interview during their career.
The researchers then had the participants take personality tests, and after accounting for interviewing experience and gender, found “narcissism and sadism were significant predictors of the perceived appropriateness of brainteaser questions”.
“People who would consider using brainteaser interview questions when hiring someone are more narcissistic, more sadistic, less socially competent, and believe more strongly in the power of intuition in the hiring process,” the study showed.
Professor Highhouse and his fellow researchers recommended that employers limit the ability of interviewers to use brainteaser questions.
“Based on the results presented here, it appears that callous interviewers who lack perspective taking ability will be more likely to use inappropriate or offensive hiring tactics,” they said.
BCG, McKinsey deny using brainteasers
BCG and McKinsey said they did not ask potential recruits brainteasers during job interviews, spokesmen for the two firms said.
“We don’t use brainteasers in our interview process. Our interviews contain case studies that are designed to see how candidates frame and structure a problem, disaggregate it into solvable parts, prioritise the critical aspects and then design analyses to lead to a solution,” the BCG spokesman said.
“A question relating to the value of the ocean as a resource was asked in the context of an interview case study based on a pro bono project BCG undertook with the WWF in 2015.
“We showed that more than two-thirds of the ‘value’ of the ocean relies on maintaining oceanic health and that the marine economy that secures livelihoods around the world is under threat. At the time of the study, the ocean’s economic value was more than $US24 trillion.”
The McKinsey spokesman said, “Brainteasers and ‘oddball’ personality questions aren’t part of our recruitment process for a number of reasons, primarily because they aren’t predictive”.
McKinsey does use a type of brainteaser, known as a guesstimate or “market-sizing” question, designed to see the logic a candidate uses to come up with an answer. An example of this type of question is “How many golf balls can fit into a Boeing 747?” The research into brainteasers by Professor Highhouse and his co-authors did not differentiate between standard brainteasers and “market-sizing” questions.
“We do ask for analytical estimates in areas people wouldn’t necessarily have a baseline knowledge, so they can demonstrate problem-solving skills,” the McKinsey spokesman said.
‘Brainteasers shouldn’t be used’
“We also ask a range of questions which draw on candidates’ previous experience, as well as case studies that reflect the kinds of problems clients ask us to solve. Focus is also given to understanding their broader leadership skills, which are an important complement to problem-solving to have impact at our clients.
“We aim to give all candidates the best possible opportunity to demonstrate the skills and traits that bring them to McKinsey. For this reason, there’s a range of information and resources on our website to guide them through the process.”
Other experts agreed that brainteaser questions should not be used because they upset candidates and do not reveal any useful job-related information.
Consultant Peter Klugsberger, who has worked at advisory firms McKinsey and Partners in Performance, said the example BCG question about the value of the ocean is upsetting for the candidate and provides no useful information to the interviewer.
“That question [about the ocean’s value] is more of a personality question. That’s what is referred to as the ‘airport test’ in consulting. ‘Am I willing to sit with that person in the lounge for the next four hours?’ ” Mr Klugsberger said.
“Why I really don’t like these types of questions is it puts people in a very negative emotional state because the expectation is when they go to this interview they’re going to get a rational data-based question, not one on the other end.
“So they will feel unprepared. Their emotions will go on a roller coaster, and they will feel stressed. This is involuntary and their cognitive function will reduce, and they will be more likely to fail the interview.”
It is not clear what information brainteaser questions were trying to uncover about a candidate, said Margot Faraci, managing director at executive search firm Derwent.
“I look at those questions and wonder what they are actually testing for. I’ve been asked these types of questions when I was more junior and I wasn’t sure what they were really asking me.
“So it could be that there’s a real power asymmetry at work here if you like to ask brainteasers,” Ms Faraci said.
“We focus on C-suite recruitment, so we don’t use brainteasers. We are dealing with highly specialised, highly experienced executives and we want to test their executive presence. That’s seeing if they can respond with credibility and gravitas. The further up you go in the leadership journey, it becomes all about judgment. Brainteasers won’t test for any of that.”
Guesstimates, ‘market-sizing’
Mr Klugsberger, who consults on organisational change and development, and building high-performing teams, also opposes the use of “market-sizing” questions.
“The ‘market-sizing’ question is trying to get an idea of an approximation of the size of a thing. For example, ‘how do I figure out how many petrol stations there are in Sydney?’. Interviewers want to see if you can think in a structured fashion and be able to really identify the relevant categories that need to be in play with that question,” he said.
“The idea is it showcases if you know the relevant data points you would need in answering the question. Would you be able to figure your way through it? I’m not a fan of them because my view is anything that I can Google should not be asked in an interview.”
Another example of these types of guesstimate questions was provided to the Financial Review after a request on business networking site LinkedIn.
A candidate for a financial modelling job at PwC was asked “How many planes are over Australia right now?“, and another person said they were asked, “How many cars cross the Sydney Harbour bridge daily?” during an interview with Deutsche Bank.
PwC and Deutsche Bank declined to comment on their use of guesstimate questions.
As for the aspiring consultant, he has now moved on from his bewildering BCG interview experience. He said his answer to the question about the value of the ocean was that the ocean is priceless, which he attempted to back up with anecdotal evidence.
While he did not receive a job offer from BCG, he has now accepted a graduate role at a major bank.
Types of interview questions
Behavioural: A question about how the candidate has behaved in a specific situation in the past. It is based on the idea that past behaviour is a good indication of future behaviour. Example: “Tell me about a time when you failed”
Brainteaser: A question with an answer that cannot be calculated. There is no peer-review evidence brainteasers are useful for selecting employees. Examples: “If you could put a price on the ocean, what would it be?” (BCG), “How would you determine the weight of a commercial airplane without a scale?” (McKinsey)
Case study: Candidates are asked to describe how they would solve a mock client project. Interviewers want to know the logic and calculations the candidate uses to come up with their recommendations. Used primarily by consulting firms.
Guesstimate/market-sizing: A type of brainteaser question where the interviewer is interested in the logic and structure used to come up with an answer rather than the specific answer. Used by consulting firms and investment banks. Examples: “How many planes are over Australia right now?” (PwC) and “How many cars cross the Sydney Harbour Bridge daily?” (Deutsche Bank)
Oddball personality: A question designed to uncover information about a candidate while signalling the organisation has a “playful” culture. Researchers are sceptical that these types of questions uncover useful information about a candidate. Examples: “What animal are you?” (CBA) and “If someone gave you a brick, what’s the first thing you’d think about doing with it?” (investment bank)
Traditional: Designed to find out why the candidate wants the job and whether they would be a good fit for the job. Examples: “Why do you want to work here?“, “Why should we hire you?” and “Are you a good listener?”
