This seemingly innocuous question has stumped many candidates applying to this renowned Silicon Valley company.
Job interviews are a somewhat unique process. There’s an entire technique to adopt, whether it concerns your body language or the answers you provide. All these little details are scrutinized by employers and can cost you the job.
So, to avoid being caught off guard, many candidates practice and prepare in advance for possible questions from the employer. One question in particular has been especially disconcerting for candidates applying to Google. This was revealed by a human resources director on TikTok, in a video titled “How Google Baffles Candidates.”
When Google Asks About… Coffee in a Job Interview
The person with the pseudonym @hrbitch recounted having worked for Google in the past. During job interviews, the American giant used to pose a very specific question to test candidates. Here is Google’s question:
“There is a coffee shop in San Francisco,” begins the HR person, speaking to the camera. “Supply and demand are unlimited, which means this coffee shop has every coffee bean, every coffee cup, and all the coffee in the world. And the line of customers wraps around the block. The area is about 45 square meters. So, how many cups of coffee can this establishment produce in one day?”
Netizens got caught up in trying to solve the riddle. One of them noted that it depended on the number of employees present, while another made a quick calculation of the average time it takes to serve a coffee to a customer. If you are wracking your brain, don’t waste any more time. The TikToker cut short any suspense. In another video in which she finally reveals the solution to the riddle, the former HR person announces, “There are no right or wrong answers; the interviewer is simply trying to understand your thought process.”
However, potential Google candidates can be reassured. According to the company, this brain-teaser question has long been abandoned. The results obtained did not effectively predict a candidate’s performance at work, Google explains. Nowadays, the company conducts small exercises instead.
