One of the questions that keeps taunting me reading this interviewing book is “Am I hungry enough?”

A lot of the interview process at Microsoft is about pushing you. Finding your limits, finding something you aren’t good at and pushing you at it. I love that kind of atmosphere… I’m just not sure I’m hungry enough.

A lot of the true logic questions are easy enough (how to find 7 litres when you have only a 5 and 3 litre bucket… Easy, figure out how to get 2 litres (pour out the 5 into the 3); and then add 5… it’s math). Some make me wonder if I’ve got ‘the stones’ to do it. I don’t get easily frustrated, but it makes you wonder.

So, if I do get an interview, I’ve determined that maybe I should look at bringing a notepad with me, and only writing 2 thinigs on it (maybe over and over to remind myself?):

WHY ARE THEY ASKING THIS QUESTION?

and:

THINK MORE!

The first is obvious. Most hard interview questions are hard because people either give up (because they don’t know enough) or provide an answer too quickly (because they don’t know enough). Not enough interviewees will look at the big picture. Asking myself the first question actually covers many of the tips in the book (if you’re asking yourself this question you are by default stopping, taking a deep breath, composing yourself, looking at the big picture, forcing yourself to see what you can’t see, etc).

The other kind of interview question people have problems with are ones which seem obvious. You give a snap answer, but don’t have enough reasoning to back it up. In this case you’ll want to try and ask questions (which you may not get answers to); but at least be thinking. Be reasoning. Be abstract.

The goal of these questions isn’t just to get to ‘the right’ answer (if there is one); and it isn’t just to get to ‘a right’ answer. It’s to get there with a reason.

Update: This actually reminds me a lot of boot camp when I was in the army. It’s hell, but I loved every minute of it, and a large part of me wanted to do it again (though another large part was so glad it was over). There’s something thrilling about surmounting impossible tasks. The few, the proud, the techies ;-)