Tips for Brainteaser Questions

Tip 1: Just keep talking

Remember, the interviewer wants to see your thought process. This is very important to know. The correct answer is actually less important than the way you try to figure out the answer. What does that mean for you in an interview? That means that you should tell the interviewer your thought process. This is difficult to do and may seem unnatural because in exams we have to remain silent and figure out everything in our head. But this is not the case in the interview! Do not be silent and do not think about it in your head. Think out loud! This helps for many reasons:

1. The interviewer can hear your thought process, which is what they want
2. If you are talking about a particular method to figuring something out, and the interviewer knows that that method will lead you to the completely wrong path, then they (hopefully) would maybe hint at you to try another method, which you would not have known if you had been thinking in your head.
3. Thinking out loud actually helps you to organise your thoughts better. By speaking your thoughts, you are forced to present these thoughts in a more coherent manner, which will help you keep track and organise those thoughts

Tip 2: Just keep writing

Make sure that you are allowed to write during the interview (some interviews have rules that you can not). If they allow you, then write away! “But Jessica, you told me to speak?” you say. Yes, indeed I did. So now you should be writing and talking. How do you do that? This might be the process:

• Think of a particular method
• Draw out the method
• Explain to the interviewer the method you just drew by pointing at the paper

By following these three steps, you will be able to think and present much more clearly.

Tip 3: Ask questions about assumptions

It is okay to ask questions when you are asked a brainteaser question during an interview. In fact, it is good because it shows that you are thinking about assumptions when approaching the question. If you are asked a question, and you are not sure about a certain condition, ask if it is okay to assume that the condition is true or false.

Tip 4: Start small

If you get asked a brainteaser about 100 dogs, simplify the problem to 2 dogs. With a lot of brainteasers, you have no idea where to start. Simplifying the problem helps solve that problem. Thinking about 2 dogs is much easier than thinking about 100 dogs. “So how do I arrive at the answer for 100 dogs if I have started with 2 dogs?” you ask. Great, if you have figured out the answer for 2 dogs! You are 60% there. Now try 3 dogs, then 4 dogs, then 5 dogs … etc. Soon, you should be able to figure out a pattern which you can then extend to 100 dogs.

Tip 5: It is not about the answer

I have already briefly talked about this tip. Remember, it is not about the answer. In my first interview, I thought that I had to arrive at the correct answer, so I kept on blurting out numbers I thought could be the correct answer. And I see this happen so many times. Whenever I tell people a brainteaser question, they start shouting out answers. NO. DO NOT DO THAT. First of all, it makes you more nervous. Second of all, that is not what the interviewer wants. Third of all, you are going to waste time thinking about the answer rather than the way to get to the answer. In fact, do not even think about the answer until you have figured out a method to solve the problem and have used the method. Your goal should be: ‘how can I find the right method to solve this problem?’ rather than ‘what is the correct answer?’