In the event that you receive this question during a job interview, how would you answer?

An interview is the process in which the employer discusses with the candidate to determine an overall and comprehensive view of the candidate's abilities and qualities, thereby finding the right person for the company's recruitment position. For candidates with different abilities, employers also offer many evaluation methods. On the one hand, they focus on testing the candidate's professional abilities, on the other hand, they test their thinking ability.

In job interviews, employers often ask many questions to candidates. There are many special questions that are asked, not only revolving around professional abilities and work experience, but also helping employers evaluate the candidate's thinking, ability to adapt, and problem-solving.

The case of going to a job interview and receiving a somewhat strange question from a male candidate named Vuong below is also a typical example.

After graduating from university, Mr. Vuong continuously sent his CV to companies to apply for jobs but still could not find a suitable job or position. One day, Mr. Vuong's old teacher called and said that a large company was recruiting, in line with his major. Mr. Vuong immediately submitted his CV to the employer and was accepted for an interview.

After asking clearly about the time and location of the interview, he began to prepare for the interview. As the interview time approached, he could not help but feel a little nervous and worried. On the day of the interview, Mr. Vuong brought his application and went to the company. It turned out that there were many people waiting for the interview, all of them dressed very neatly.

At the interview, the employer conducted a round of professional skills testing for all the candidates present. After that, the employer selected the 4 best candidates, including Mr. Vuong. Then, the recruiter immediately asked a question to the 4 candidates: “There are 23 candles, blow out 15, so how many are left?”.

After hearing the question, the first candidate used a common calculation: “There are 23 candles, blow out 15, how many are left? The answer is very simple. Obviously, just take 23-15 equals 8. The answer is 8 candles left”. However, this candidate was rejected by the recruiter.

The second candidate said: “This is a question to test the intelligence of elementary school students, does the recruiter have any other questions?”. The second candidate continued to be the next to be eliminated.

The third candidate looked impatient, after hearing the recruiter’s question, he immediately replied: “There are 23 candles, blow out 15, how many are left? Don’t waste our time anymore, okay? Obviously there are 8 candles left, can you ask another question?”

Mr. Vuong was the fourth candidate. He thought for a moment and then calmly answered: “There are 23 candles, blow out 15, how many are left? The answer is 23 candles. The number of candles is still the same because “blowing out the candles” and “remaining” are not related to each other. Even if the candles are blown out, there are still 23 candles on the table. This is a clever “deception” in your question, I hope to have the opportunity to learn more from you in the future.”

Right after Mr. Vuong answered, the recruiter immediately smiled, praised him for being smart, having a high EQ, and hired him.