7 interview questions to test your candidates’ critical thinking

7 Interview Questions to Test Your Candidates’

Critical Thinking

Savvy interviewers use brainteasers to suss out their bright sparks.

Why use brainteasers?

• Problem Solving. Can they at least attempt to solve problems as they arise?

• Analysis. Can they look at the big picture and analyse all the information to find a solution?

• Creativity. Do they think outside the box?

• Performance under pressure. Can they keep it together, when faced with the unknown?

If performance under pressure is the most

important factor for you, check out our recent blog

post:

6 Left-Field Questions to Catch Someone off Guard…

Asking questions that have no

relevance seems like a great idea…right?

Q1. “If you were a pizza delivery man,

how would you benefit

from scissors?”Apple Inc.

A2: There is no right answer!

But….

There are certainly good signs…

A candidate who deliberates, comes up with a remotely relevant answer and explains their reasoning…

What is it like to be a pizza delivery man?

How will those scissors come in handy?

Clever sods might even give reasons why you shouldn’t take scissors, turning your question on its head.

And bad signs…

• Candidates who won’t answer the question!

It’s an interview…YOU make the rules.

• Candidates who can’t answer the question!

Where’s the creativity?

Q2. An apple costs 40 cents, a banana costs 60

cents and a grapefruit costs 80 cents. How much

does a pear cost?Epic Systems

Did You Get An Answer?

Take another look…

“An apple costs 40 cents, a banana costs 60 cents and a grapefruit costs 80 cents.

How much does a pear cost?”

A2: It’s all about the vowels.

If each vowel is worth 20 cents, then apple would be

worth 40 cents, banana would be worth 60 cents and grapefruit would be

worth 80 cents.

If a candidate answers correctly, in such a

high-pressure situation, you should

be impressed…

However…

Don’t be too quick to judge!

Surely there are other answers that could impress you?

Other Good Signs…

Is their answer sensible, thought-out and practical?

Bad Signs…

Blurting out an answer without fully considering the

consequences could give you a little hint about how they’ll

make decisions in the future…

Q3: How would you test a calculator?

IBM

A3: There is no right answer!

(But there’s plenty of wrong ones!)

Good Signs:

Anyone who offers a method that is…

StrategicDetailedEfficient

Systematic

…and that would actually work!

Bad Signs…

Anyone who offers a method that is…

× Thoughtless× Unjustified × Impossible× Confused

What does this tell you about their general organisational skills?

Q4: “A farmer needs to cross the river with his chicken, a sack of corn and a fox.

His boat unfortunately only fits himself and one other item.

If he leaves the fox with the chicken, the chicken will get eaten, whilst if he leaves

the chicken with the corn, the corn will get eaten.

How will the man get safely across with all 3?

“ “

It’s easy when you know how…

A4: The man takes the chicken across and then goes back for the fox.

He can’t leave the fox and chicken together so when he drops the fox off, he picks up the chicken.

He then goes back for the corn.

He can’t leave the corn and the chicken together so when he picks up the corn, he drops off the chicken.

When the corn is safely with the fox on the right side

of the river, he goes to collect the chicken.

““

The REAL question..?

Why’s the farmer hanging out with a fox in the first

place?

Other Good Signs…

If you use the question as a team activity during a group interview or assessment day you can look out for…

• Leadership Skills• Team Work Skills• Interpersonal Skills

…look out for those who sensitively facilitate the successful completion of the task.

Bad Signs…

• Misunderstanding the question

• Reaching the wrong conclusion

• Sacrificing the wolf or the chicken

• Beware of candidates who’ve heard it all before!

Q5. “How many potatoes (in kg) does McDonald’s sell in a year in the UK?”

Oliver Wyman

A5. 200 Million KG

(Roughly)

There are loads of variations on this question…

How many square feet of pizza are eaten in the UK every year?

How many petrol stations are there in the UK?

How many pennies, if placed on top of each other, would it take to reach the top of Big

Ben?

Good Signs…

• Any candidate who’s answer is remotely close!

• Sensible presumptions

• Evidence of mathematical ability

Bad Signs…

Incorrect mathematical sums, hasty deductions and unreasonable

reasoning…

If you actually care about their numerical reasoning capabilities

that is…

Q6. Tracy’s mum had 4 children. The

first child was named April, the

second was named May, the third June.

What was the 4th child called?

Did you notice the cheeky little trick?

Look again…

“Tracy’s mother had 4 children. The first child was named April, the

second was named May, the third June. What was

the 4th child called?”

Bad Signs…

Anyone who incorrectly answers the

question!

Q7. How do you know if the light in the fridge is

on or off when the

door’s closed?

A7. There is no right answer!

You could…

• Use a camera• Drill a hole in the fridge• Find the sensor and test it with

your thumb• Touch the light bulb (if you’re

careful)

Be creative and the list is endless…

Bad Signs…

No answer at all implies a

sincere lack of creativity!

So…when should I use

brainteasers?

At any stage of the interviewing process!

From telephone and face-to-face, to panel and Skype

but they’re most effective during the…

Group Interviews

Warning. Brainteasers are the most

difficult questions to answer during an interviewer.

(So much pressure…so little time!)

Even great candidates might

get put off and completely fudge the answer up!

We prefer a mixture of…

The BasicsBehavioural Questions

Questions to put candidates at ease!

Click on the links above to find examples for you to swipe and deploy in

your own interviews!

Who are Coburg Banks?

We’re an award-winning UK-based, multi-sector recruitment consultancy.

Since 2002, we’ve headhunted and interviewed thousands of candidates.

We’ve racked up a wealth of knowledge about how to attract the most

prestigious employees to a business…

We’ve started spreading the word with our blog, which delivers…

• Cutting edge guidance, revealing how to attract and retain the best candidates, without wasting precious time on inappropriate ones.

• More insider secrets revealing how to draw out the best (and the worst) in your interviewing candidates.

• Shocking and embarrassing true confessions from recruiters across the globe; we’ve all made mistakes, now you can learn from them!

…and we’re not keeping it to ourselves!

So if you’re interested in learning…

How to attract high-calibre interviewing candidates.

How to assess those high-calibre interviewing candidates.

How to hire and retain those high-calibre candidates.

Click on the links above to check out our respective blogs today!

Enjoy and Good Luck from the Coburg Banks Team!