Glassdoor.com’s annual list of the strangest questions asked in job interviews this year is in, and tech firms are featured a lot with some strange questions. Do you think you could answer these?

My personal favorite is one said to be from a Google interviewer who asked “A man pushed his car to a hotel and lost his fortune. What happened?” This question sounds like something plausible if you forget to fill up in Vegas. Here are some other winners…

“How many people are using Facebook in San Francisco at 2:30 p.m. on a Friday?” — Asked at Google, Vendor Relations Manager candidate

“If Germans were the tallest people in the world, how would you prove it?” — Asked at Hewlett-Packard, Product Marketing Manager candidate

“Given 20 ‘destructible’ light bulbs (which break at a certain height), and a building with 100 floors, how do you determine the height that the light bulbs break?” — Asked at Qualcomm, Engineering candidate

“How would you cure world hunger?” — Asked at Amazon.com, Software Developer candidate

“You’re in a row boat, which is in a large tank filled with water. You have an anchor on board, which you throw overboard (the chain is long enough so the anchor rests completely on the bottom of the tank). Does the water level in the tank rise or fall?” — Asked at Tesla Motors, Mechanical Engineer candidate

“Please spell ‘diverticulitis’.” — Asked at EMSI Engineering, Account Manager candidate

“You have a bouquet of flowers. All but two are roses, all but two are daisies, and all but two are tulips. How many flowers do you have?” — Asked at Epic Systems, Corporation Project Manager/Implementation Consultant candidate

“How do you feel about those jokers at Congress?” — Asked at Consolidated Electrical, Management Trainee candidate

“If you were a Microsoft Office program, which one would you be?” — Asked at Summit Racing Equipment, E-commerce candidate

I guess the idea is to get the potential hires to think out of the box and see how they react to the strange and unexpected. I’ll paste in some of the questions from other tech firms below for you to answer in the comments.

[Glassdoor.com via Mashable]

One of the photos showed a student planking on a canteen table with a school guard looking on in disapproval in the background. Gamestop apparently frowns in disapproval at planking as well, because word has spread that they’ve just fired an employee caught planking in one of their stores.

John Mazzocchi must have been pretty bored at work because he decided to plank right there at the store, had someone take a photo, and posted it on Twitter with the following Tweet: When I go #planking I go hardcore..

Someone from management probably saw him plank in real life or got wind of it via Twitter, because he got fired, and so did his colleague who took the photo.

Mazzocchi had been working at Gamestop for around 5 years, which translates to a pretty long time in the retail world. He seems to be fine about the whole firing situation though, because he’s been tweeting jokes about being the first person getting fired for planking.

[via TFTS via Geeky Gadgets]

On the other hand, if you’ve slept in line waiting for the latest wonderphone, know your Kindle from your Nook and can tell the difference between LCD, OLED, LED, and SED, you could be the one.

You’ll need to be able to source (at least some of) your own stories, and demonstrate both technical knowledge and a keen grasp of the English language. You’ll also need to have some experience using blogging software like WordPress, and be able to do some basic image cropping and scaling using Photoshop or something along those lines. You’ll also need to stick to a regular posting schedule of 2+ posts a day. If you’re already writing for another blog, that’s cool too – you just will need to provide original content for us.

You’re not going to get rich writing for us, but it’s a great opportunity to do something you enjoy, get exposure for your writing, and build up industry cred for your resume.

If you think you’re up to the challenge, just e-mail an appropriate writing sample or two to tips@technabob.com, along with your contact information. Be sure to include a brief e-mail explanation of why you think you’d be a good fit for the Technabob editorial team. You get extra points if you tell me what the Satio, QRIO and Mylo all have in common (besides the letter O).

[image: Journal of the Good Girl]

You’ll need to be able to source your own stories, and be able to write with wit, sass, attitude or at least be slightly charming. You’ve also got to be consistent. I’m looking for people who can write 7 to 10 posts a week, maybe more if the readers fall in love with what you have to say. A solid grip on the English language is also a must. You should also have at least some experience using blog software such as WordPress, Blogger or Movable Type – and basic image cropping and sizing in Photoshop or other image editing tools is required.

Now before you get dollar signs in your eyes, I’ll tell you that blogging for Technabob won’t make you a millionaire. But it’s a great opportunity to expose your literary talents to hundreds of thousands of readers each month.

Want to give it a shot? Pick a topic that you think will appeal to Technabob readers, and send along at least two appropriate writing samples to tips@technabob.com. Be sure to include your contact information, and a brief note on why you’d be the perfect addition to the Technabob crew.

I look forward to reading your submissions.