These brain teasers come up in interviews that are held in the field of investment banking, business analysis and research, capital markets, marketing, applications systems and technology. All these fields look for people with high analytical skills.
Deductive reasoning
Normally quantitative questions are designed to gauge your logic and deductive reasoning skills, mathematical skills and your knowledge in a particular field. The questions like ‘How many gas stations are there in the US?” “How many times a day do a clock’s hands overlap?” “What is the best valuation method to be used in evaluating technology?”
You may not know answers to any and every analytical question. An experienced interviewer knows where your knowledge ends and at what point you would admit that you don’t know. The best way to tackle such questions is to carefully listen, take your time to think and talk aloud. If you come out with a right answer the interviewer will naturally be happy and even if are wrong he will equally be happy because your method to understand the question is correct. If you fail to exhibit your analytical thought process, the interviewer thinks that an analytical career is not your cup of tea.
Cautious approach
Make sure you understand an analytical question before you respond to it. You can always ask questions to know what the interviewer wants, modify your answer or seek explanation but you must not ask stupid questions. That is the thumb rule. Think quietly and perhaps you may jot down notes as well. Once you come to know that you are on the right path, answer the question in a conversational style. Whether you have a correct answer or not, you should be able to display your analytical skills to crack the question.
Suppose you suddenly notice that you are on a wrong track, stop and tell the interviewer that you would like to answer the question in a different way.
If your realization comes after some time or while you are on way your home, don’t hesitate to send an email to the interviewer correcting your analysis. Your email may say that after thinking about it for some time it struck you that the correct answer to the question could be …… ‘Don’t you think it is so?’
Keep stupidity at bay
Don’t exhibit your stupidity even if you don’t know the answer, admit you don’t know the answer and explain as to why you don’t know it. Then try to tread a familiar ground and divert the conversation to an area of your strength.
Nowadays many interviewers resort to behavioral rather than analytical questions. In such a situation highlight your analytical skills by using examples of your accomplishments or what you had done when you were faced with a particular challenge and so on. In such a situation you would do well in combining analytical and behavioral patterns.
Often times, you may fail to land an analytical job with your smartness and brilliance alone. Work in a way is nothing but environmental adjustment. You are expected to display your communication skills, exhibit your pleasant personality, and put on a pleasing smile even while cracking a hard nut – don’t show any uneasiness.
Body language and eye contact are extremely important to get the attention of the interviewer. Try to make an impression even if you fail to come to terms with an analytical question. Put up an intelligent upfront and even if you have the right personality, the recruiting manager may not see you as a right fit but may accept you as a pleasant guy to work with.
