Despite being in the search engine game, Google apparently like to put potential candidates for a role to the test by completely throwing them off with a question about a coffee shop.
Imagine finding out that the weeks of preparation you spent researching the ins and outs of the tech giant were a complete waste of time - and that you'd have been better off studying the intricacies of a café instead.
I mean, who would ever expect these two worlds to collide?
Advert
Hot caffeinated beverages and online information hubs don't have a lot in common, but according to a former Google employee, interviewers loved to incorporate the subject of coffee while quizzing candidates. Take a look at this:
According to the woman - who claims to have previously worked for Google, Wix, and Rocket Money as a Chief People Officer (AKA the Head of HR) - the coffee conundrum left the majority of applicants extremely confused.
I'd certainly take a stroll and a pint with Steve Jobs as part of his 'beer test' over this barmy query.
Advert
The ex-employee, who goes by @hrbitch online, took to TikTok to reveal what was one of the toughest questions which could be posed to people during a job interview at Google.
She explained: "There’s a coffee shop in San Francisco. It has unlimited supply and demand - meaning it has all the coffee beans, coffee cups, teas in the world and the customer line wraps around the block.
"The coffee shop is roughly 500-square feet. So, how many cups of coffee can this coffee shop produce in one day?"
Yeah, you can understand why so many people were flummoxed by it.
Advert
Loads of people on TikTok had their own theories about what the 'right' answer was and flooded the comment section.
One said: "Zero - no workers were mentioned."
Another wrote: "It takes 30 seconds to pour a cup of coffee. So that's 120 cups every hour. If your open for eight hours, that's 960 cups of coffee."
Advert
A third added: "It doesn't matter because the demand will always equal the supply."
Someone else chimed in: "The question is ‘produce’ not serve. The fact that customers wrap around the block is irrelevant. Don’t need cups either."
And a fifth joked: "I don't know, Google it!"
Thankfully, the former Google employee put people out of their misery and revealed what the 'answer' was - and brace yourself - but, basically... there isn't one.
Advert
According to the woman, it's all a bit of an elaborate mind game which shows off your problem solving and decision making skills without you realising.
She said: "There are no right or wrong answers, the interviewer's just trying to figure out your thought process. That's why they made it vague, to understand your decision making skills."
The good news is, Google has since scrapped their mind-bending brainteasers from the interview process, according to the search engine's careers site.
The tech firm explains: "Our data showed that brainteaser questions didn’t predict how well someone would do on the job so we no longer ask them. Instead, we do work sample tests and ask structured interview questions.
"In the end, we want above all to assess your skills and see if you and this role are a match (there aren’t any brain teasers, and who knows, you might even have some fun)."
Topics: Jobs, Google, TikTok, Technology
Olivia Burke