Posted on 03/11/2014 6:56:40 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
The computer giant can afford to abandon traditional measures of intelligence. Most companies can't.
Laszlo Bock, the head of human resources at Google, made quite a splash with his announcement last year that the technology firm has changed the way it hires people. Gone are the brainteaser-style interview questions that so many candidates abhorred. But also gone, it would seem, is any concern with discovering how smart applicants really are.
"GPAs are worthless as a criteria for hiring, and test scores are worthless.... We found that they don't predict anything," Bock told the New York Times.
Let's take Bock at his word and assume that the data-obsessed firm has crunched the numbers rigorously and found that the test scores of the people it hires really don't predict how well they perform once they are on the job. If Google ranked its new hires by their SAT scores, and found that those in the bottom 10% of the list performed just as well as those in the top 10%, would it mean that traditional measures of intelligence are useless in the business world?
(Excerpt) Read more at latimes.com ...
I've always wanted to be a Vice-President of a Fortune 500 company.
People that think they are the smartest and try to administer intelligence type questions are arrogant and stupid. What if they are morons? How can they judge intelligence if they are stupid? Often we see dumb people think they are smart and show their stupidity with these arrogant types of interviews and drive away qualified candidates. Who wants to work with an arrogant idiot.
That looks suspiciously like the post-entry exam for the Secretary of State position.
Google as an advantage, they already know everything about everyone.
1. about 4 degrees
2. with chances being only 10% for any two people, not just you only, it ain’t worth the bet.
3. if you broke down in a rainstorm, the chances are nil.
4. 100%
5. Nothing. If you are trying to find A shirt, as opposed to a particular shirt, just reach in and grab one.
This is an example of the “smart” people at Google not being smart at all. Ambiguous questions show a lack of clarity and precision in their thinking and communicating.
RE: What if they are morons? How can they judge intelligence if they are stupid?
The assumption at places like Google is — if you can be hired at Google, you aren’t stupid ( not that I agree with them )...
The answer to each of these questions is, “You are totally f***ing with my head. Hahaha, I totally get it. Just give me the job already.”
Some of the dumbest people I have ever met are at google and the fact they use these childish and rather easy questions in an interview prove it.
A smart person knows how to ask pertinent questions relevant to the job and at a professional level.
I work in this space. Intelligence is not a great predictor of performance, although one must have certain minimum levels to function. I’ve seen people with average intelligence make $500k per year or more as VP’s and SVP’s. Want to know the “secret”? They work their butts off (80 hours or more per week), and they are effective people managers. As for the best predictor of future performance? Past performance.
I’ve been in IT since 1983. He’s right.
1) “I wouldn’t know, its been 40 years since I last drove a school bus”
3) “CEO of AT&T so I can fire you for asking such a stupid question”
11) “Same as every tech company now. (shut up and get back to work)”
14) “It kind of works like OFA but without the arm breaking”
15) “Based on Apple’s track record, 6 months before the product is actually available to purchase.”
I’ve been in IT since 1983. He’s right.
Laszlo Bock, I mean.
With a caveat: A degree (and test scores) are your ticket into the cubicle farm. Once you have been there a few years they SHOULD be useless. Your performance should tell the real story.
2. Expected payout is 1 + 11/ 365 - 8008/365 = $20.91 loss.
3. 1 - 3√0.05 = 0.632
4. You can't form a triangle if one length is greater than half the total. Then do some handwaving to come up with a number, but that realization is the real trick.
5. (Downton Abbey version) I'll just have my valet do it.
Microsoft used to use brain teasers as well but they stopped that too a long time ago I heard.
Correct. That is a refinement of the principle "the best predictor of future performance is past performance." For a fresh-out, that's GPA and a degree. For an old hand, those things matter less than how you've been doing.
Some of these “questions” seem geared at just throwing a curve at the contestants (I mean applicants) to see how they react. Or to provide “justification” when they discriminate against a candidate (well, he didn’t answer the superhero question the way I would’ve liked).
Rather arbitrary criteria, really.
And there are companies that want applicants to undergo a “personality test”. One such company I applied to (and didn’t work at, although I’ve run into people who did and hated it) took a degreed accountant and turned him into a software programming because the test “said so”.ve liked).
Rather arbitrary criteria, really.
And there are companies that want applicants to undergo a
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