I read an article detailing how Jeff Bezos hired this lady after asking just 2 questions.

I was enthralled.

Not just at the fact that it was just 2 questions, but the thinking process and ideology behind it.

“Bezos started the interview by promising that he was only going to ask two questions and that the first one would be a “fun” brainteaser. I took a deep breath as he stood up and uncapped a pen at the whiteboard wall. “I’ll do the math,” he said. “I want you to estimate the number of panes of glass in the city of Seattle.””

She took a deep breath, slowed down, understood the question carefully before beginning.

That is a strong approach for seemingly “insurmountable” tasks.

You calm down, focus, get all the details before breaking it down into bite-sized pieces to solve.

She started with the population of Seattle, estimating how many houses, transport and so on.

It was methodical and logical.

It was not about being precise or accurate.

There will be another time for that.

It is about observing how does a person approach an impossible problem and their thinking process behind it.

Do they crumble and fall into an abyss of self-defeat?

Are they calm under pressure?

Are they logical and sensible in their assumptions?

Are they able to justify and reason it out thoughtfully?

Can’t believe Jeff personally wrote on the board and calculated along with her.

The second question was about her career goals.

“I explained that I had no idea how to be an assistant, but that I knew the importance of being consistently outside of my comfort zone. I wanted to jump into an astronomical learning and growth curve.”

It is interesting how just 2 question can uncover so much about a person.

“By the end of the interview, we both knew I would do anything to be successful, despite being a very junior candidate. And then I was done. Exhausted, exhilarated, done. Bezos ended up hiring me on the spot. He gave me the open desk just three feet away from his own. It was the closest desk to him at the company.”

Their motivations, their thirst for excellence, their thought process and attitudes towards problem-solving.

We really need to rethink our approaches to these issues and spend some time to be more thoughtful about it.

Nobody has answers to everything and everyday, new things will arise to challenge us.

We need to have the tenacity to overcome them, the ability to thoughtfully process issues and logically work them out.

Those are not taught in university or learnt by watching Netflix.

We have to be salient and actively acquire such skills as we mature.

Oh and I am not too sure how this will work if you start asking such questions in your own interviews.

I’m saying Jeff did a great job with them, I’m not sure anyone else can replicate the results.

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Is it difficult to find good talent these days?

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