Job Interviewers Ask the Wackiest Questions

 

How many cows are in Canada?

 

Interviewers at Google asked that question to prospective hires this year, according to Glassdoor.com’s Top 25 Oddball Interview Questions for 2013.

Google wasn’t the only company asking for outlandish estimates. Bain & Company wanted to know, “How many windows are in New York?”

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JetBlue was curious about a well-known New York landmark. They asked how many quarters the interviewee would need to reach the height of the Empire State building.

One Glassdoor user took a minimalist approach: “How much does it cost to take the elevator up? Take that dollar amount, divide by 4 – that’s how many quarters it takes to reach the height of the Empire State Building.”

Other firms sought to determine how much trigonometry their interviewees remembered from high school. “Calculate the angle of two clock pointers when the time is 11:50,” Bank of America asked.

 

Those who are not mathematically inclined but good at karaoke night might want to consider interviewing with LivingSocial. “What’s your favorite song? Perform it for us now,” they asked interviewees.

Clark Construction Group also wanted to see interviewees’ creative sides and asked them to construct a story: “A penguin walks through that door right now wearing a sombrero. What does he say, and why is he here?”

That question stymied one Clark interviewee.

“I was obviously thrown off by the question and felt it was irrelevant,” he said on Glassdoor’s fourm. “I answered, ‘Where's the sunscreen?’ ”

One firm sought to test prospective hires’ entrepreneurial spirit. Amazon.com asked, “Jeff Bezos walks into your office and says you can have a million dollars to launch your best entrepreneurial idea. What is it?”

In contrast to the eccentric questions, Glassdoor.com’s interview advice for jobseekers boils down to the plain and simple. “Not sure what to expect in an interview? Be prepared... for anything.”

Employees Willing to Hand Over Retirement Savings Reins

Employees want to improve their retirement savings and want employers to share more of that responsibility with them, a survey suggests.

Seventy-one percent of employees surveyed by State Street Global Advisors (SSgA) indicated that automatic deferral increases of 1% each year would help them save more. Seventy-four percent want employers to provide them with clear examples of how what they save today will pay off in the future.     

“In many cases employees think it’s a joint responsibility between them and plan sponsors to get them to adequate retirement savings,” Frederik Axsater, global head of defined contribution (DC) at SSgA, told PLANADVISER.  He pointed out that 30% of survey respondents feel determining how much to save is a shared responsibility with their employer, including 37% of those ages 18 to 25.      

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In addition, 42% feel the decision of what investments are appropriate for retirement investing is either a shared responsibility with their employer or completely their employers’ responsibility. Thirty-two percent indicated the monitoring of their retirement needs is a shared responsibility with their employer or completely their employers’ responsibility, including 45% of employees ages 18 to 25 and 39% of those ages 26 to 35.

“Having an understanding of employees’ mindsets and priorities is the core of this business,” Axsater said. “One of key findings [of the study] is participants have high aspirations; they want to thrive, not just survive, in retirement.” He noted that the top three things employees are looking for from employers are guidelines for how to invest, ideas about how to save and information about how to reduce spending.     

Axsater added that it is important for employers to make things easier for employees when they enter and exit plans. Only 45% said enrollment forms were well-designed and easy to read, and just 32% said guidance from human resources was helpful. Only 44% found it easy to transition savings when they changed jobs.     

He noted that younger participant segments have unique attributes; among the younger cohort, 27% cashed out their retirement savings when they changed employers—more than twice the percentage of the general population. Very clear stats and worksheets about the effect of cashing out is particularly important for younger workers; employers need to show them other options when exiting the plan, including the power of compounding, Axsater said.     

About one-third of survey respondents suggested they were 10 years or less away from retirement, and these employees also want guidance. More than half said their employers should engage with them more frequently as they approach retirement by sponsoring seminars, newsletters and webinars that focus on investing strategies for near-retirees.

According to Axsater, 48% of survey respondents approaching retirement want help managing investments, 47% want information about events and circumstances that may affect retirement, and 46% admit they do not understand Social Security. He suggests employers hold seminars to discuss retirement planning and other benefits, such as Social Security and Medicare, and provide worksheets and booklets that are easy to understand.      

Plan sponsors can also create a community with social media for those closer to retirement. Axsater said plan sponsors should determine the overall objective and target audience for the campaign and select the type of media that fits with the company, plan and participants (video, Facebook, etc.).     

“One key takeaway [from the survey] is plan sponsors are incredibly powerful in helping participants make the right decisions to achieve retirement readiness, and the survey shows participants want sponsors’ help with saving and investing appropriately. Together sponsors and participants can make retirement work,” Axsater concluded.    

The DC Investor Insights Survey was conducted by SSgA in collaboration with Boston Research Group in October 2012. In total, 1,396 online survey interviews were conducted among individuals ages 18  to 55 and older who actively participate in their employer-sponsored retirement plan.    

The survey report is available at www.ssga.com/dc/theparticipant.

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