[wastedyears]

It seems like Google’s interview process needs some looking-at. If somebody is going for a basic administrative position and they start asking them questions about robotics, don’t you think that’s a little out of hand? It’s the difference between someone graduating from NYU and MIT. Obviously, there’s a chance the MIT student might know about robotics, while the NYU student would know very little.

It sounds to me like a stupid interview process. They shouldn’t expect someone going for one specific thing to know every little detail about the company if they don’t know someone in it.

[Tolerance Sucks Rocks]

A good interviewer asks all sorts of tough questions, some of which may not seem at all related to the position you're applying for. Believe me, I've been on the receiving end of such.

However, good interviewees can prepare:

Knock 'em Dead contains about a zillion sample interview questions, IIRC.

One example: name 10 people that you admire. When you ask "Dead or Alive?", he says, "10 of each."

[AnotherUnixGeek]

It sounds to me like a stupid interview process.

If so, then Google will suffer the consequences. So far, their interview methods are working for them, going by their balance sheet. Silicon Valley companies in general (and Microsoft, of course) tend to be pretty demanding and will ask questions not in the area of the interviewee's expertise, or brain-teasers. They want to see how you think, how you react to and solve problems that aren't in your comfort zone - because most work won't be.

[mountainbunny]

It seems like Google’s interview process needs some looking-at. If somebody is going for a basic administrative position and they start asking them questions about robotics, don’t you think that’s a little out of hand? It’s the difference between someone graduating from NYU and MIT. Obviously, there’s a chance the MIT student might know about robotics, while the NYU student would know very little.

The point of those strange, off-the-wall questions probably isn't what the person knows about robots (especially when interviewing for an administrative position). The point of those questions are to show how the person thinks under pressure and how well they maintain their composure.

It sounds to me like a stupid interview process. They shouldn’t expect someone going for one specific thing to know every little detail about the company if they don’t know someone in it.

They seem to be doing something right.

FTR: I know two people who work at Google. They're both engineers and they both love it.