How to Ace the Brainteaser Interview [Paperback]

John Kador (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 23, 2004

The inside track on how to beat the "logic puzzle" job interview

As if job interviews weren't nerve-wracking enough, many companies, in their pursuit of the brightest and best, have begun beleaguering applicants with tests of logic, creativity, and analytical abilities. Many firms have replaced traditional interview questions such as "Tell us about yourself" or "What's your biggest weakness?" with mind-benders such as:

• Why are beer cans tapered at both ends?
• How many piano tuners are there in the world?
• How many Ping-Pong balls can you stuff into a Boeing 747?
• How would you design a bathroom for the CEO of the company?
• If you could remove any one of the 50 U.S.states, which one would it be?

In How to Ace the Brain Teaser Interview, bestselling careers author John Kador gives readers the inside track on this new interview technique. He provides 75 puzzles actually used by HR departments across the nation, and he offers tips on how to solve them and present the solutions so as to make the best possible impression.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

Learn to solve the world's most puzzling interview questions

Company recruiters are asking tough, new brain teasers during interviews that test your skills, creativity, and ability to think on your feet. How would you respond to puzzlers such as "What weighs more on the moon than on the earth?" or "How much money does the tooth fairy distribute worldwide each year?" In How to Ace the Brain Teaser Interview, bestselling career author John Kador presents a wide variety of questions, and shows you the type of responses interviewers want to hear.

Inside you'll find:

• 151 brain teasers used by human resources departments across the country
• Suggestions for handling business cases
• Basic hints for solving logic and puzzle questions
• Proven strategies for finding creative answers every time
• Helpful appendices with bonus questions and extra resources

"In the arms race between interviewers and interviewees, Kador gleefully furnishes job applicants with more ammunition."--Joel Spolsky, Founder, Fog Creek Software

"This book helps you to grease up your mind a little so that when riddle questions come at you, you can respond intelligently, even if you don't know the answer."--Chris Sells

"What weighs more on the moon than on earth? Kador not only tells us the answer to this brainteaser and many others, he explains how each question can launch an incisive interview conversation."--Ed Milano, VP of Marketing, Design Continuum

"A must-have book for job seekers so that they will always be prepared for what may seem off-the-wall questions!"--Matt DeLuca, co-author of 201 Best Answers to the Most Frequently Asked Interview Questions.

About the Author

John Kador (Geneva, NY) is the author of eight books, including 201 Best Questions to Ask on Your Interview.

Product Details

• Paperback: 239 pages
• Publisher: McGraw-Hill; 1 edition (August 23, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0071440011
• ISBN-13: 978-0071440011
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #312,268 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

John's latest book is Effective Apology: Mending Fences, Building Bridges, and Restoring Trust. Learn more at www.effectiveapology.com


John is an author, consultant, and speaker who acts as if every word is a moral choice. His work centers on identifying and describing best practices in leadership and promoting the highest standards of personal accountability, humility, and transparency. This book, which describes the benefits that leaders accrue when they embrace apology rather than shy from it, is squarely in that tradition. His personal credo is that different is not always better, but better is always different.

He is the author of over 10 books, including Charles Schwab: How One Company Beat Wall Street and Reinvented the Brokerage Industry , 50 High-Impact Speeches & Remarks: Proven Words You Can Adapt for Any Business Occasion, and the NY Times bestseller Net Ready: Strategies for Success in the E-conomy (with Amir Hartman and John Sifonis). His career books include The Manager's Book of Questions: 751 Great Questions for Hiring the Best Person, How to Ace the Brainteaser Job Interview, and 201 Best Questions to Ask On Your Interview. As a corporate ghostwriter, John has distinguished himself as a writing partner to a number of Fortune 1000 executives who credit him for his willingness to embrace the hectic and unpredictable schedules of busy executives.

John began his writing career in Washington DC at a high-tech advertising and public relations agency. For the past 30 years he has been the principal of Kador Communications, providing editorial assistance to dozens of corporate and media clients. John's insights have been featured in more than one hundred magazines and newspapers, including The Chicago Tribune, Computerworld, Working Women, and Business to Business. John has columns in Chief Executive, Registered Rep, and Human Resources Executive.

John holds a master's degree in public relations from The American University and an undergraduate degree from Duke University. John was born in Budapest, Hungary. He came to the U.S. when he was six and settled with his family in New York City. John currently lives in Winfield, Pennsylvania, with his wife, Anna Beth Payne, a psychologist at a university counseling center. He has two children, Dan, a software engineer in San Francisco, and Rachel, an undergraduate at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst. When he isn't working, he likes to fence, a sport which he has practiced since high school.

To inquire about having John speak about apology at your event or if you have questions about any of his writing services, email him. John welcomes your questions and suggestions about effective apology at www.effectiveapology.com.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

30 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Many Answers...Not Much Insight, September 19, 2005

By 

Redmond Geek - See all my reviews

This review is from: How to Ace the Brainteaser Interview (Paperback)

From the title of this book, you might expect that it would teach you techniques for coping with brainteaser questions. For the most part, it won't. Instead, what you'll find is a large collection of puzzles and their answers - but very little discussion of the PROCESS of solving brainteasers. Unless your plan is to memorize the contents of this book, and hope that an interviewer's question matches one of your canned answers, you won't find much value here.

Much of what's in Kador's book can also be found here:

"How Would You Move Mount Fuji: Microsoft's Cult of the Puzzle" by William Poundstone

Specifically for software developer interviews, this is also helpful:

"Programming Interviews Exposed: Secrets to Landing Your Next Job" by John Mongan

Just a hint: Canned answers seldom fool capable interviewers. Your time would be better spent mastering the actual techniques of problem solving, rather than trying to memorize things.

0 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Really useful, August 19, 2010

By 

Robert Kadar (edgewater, nj USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: How to Ace the Brainteaser Interview (Paperback)

This book helped me a lot as it prepared me for some tough job interview questions. John's other book is really good too called the Flawless Interview - [...] -- lots of job interview strategies, tips, advice and more.

1 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great item!, March 11, 2008

By 

M. Hutter "Book lovers" (Novi, MI) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: How to Ace the Brainteaser Interview (Paperback)

This is a great book and we give it to business advisors for 'ice breaker' ideas.