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+ Possiole Math Question
They may ask you about your quantitative skills. This could be followed by a small math question such
as, “What’s 100 divided by 7?” Or, “9 is what percentage of 72?” The questions aren’t hard, but they
might take you by surprise. It may be time to break out the flash cards.
During the first part of the interview, you’re being judged. The interviewer is asking herself whether or not
she’d like to work and travel with you. Are you interesting? Engaging? Do you have a sense of humor
and like to have fun? This is better known as the “airport test.” The name comes from the question, “How
would I feel if I were snowed in with this candidate for nine hours at the Buffalo airport? Would we have a
lot to talk about, or would I have to pretend that I was in a coma so I wouldn’t have to talk?”
The interviewer is also measuring your maturity, poise and communication skills, while thinking, “Would I
feel comfortable bringing this candidate in front of a client?”
An important component of the “maturity test” is to determine whether you think before you speak. I had a
Harvard student, when asked what percentage is 3 of 17, he blurted out 80%. (I don’t know how he got
into Harvard either.) For him that interview was over. He might as well have gotten up and walked out
because nothing was going to save him. Not because he got the wrong answer, but because it was clear
that he didn’t think before he spoke. If he does something like that in an interview, what is he going to do
in front of a client? I couldn’t trust him, and if I can’t trust him, I am not going to hire him.