{"id":775,"date":"2013-03-12T10:00:38","date_gmt":"2013-03-12T10:00:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.clearbooksltd.com\/?p=775"},"modified":"2014-01-13T17:26:47","modified_gmt":"2014-01-13T17:26:47","slug":"a-curveball-question-to-put-a-candidate-on-the-spot","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.clearbooks.co.uk\/blog\/a-curveball-question-to-put-a-candidate-on-the-spot\/","title":{"rendered":"A curveball question to put a candidate on the spot"},"content":{"rendered":"

 <\/p>\n

No calculator, pen or paper permitted. What is 49 squared?<\/p>\n

This is the question I ask interviewees at Clear Books. I particularly like this question because someone asked me the same question in an interview when I was at KPMG so I can benchmark against my own response.<\/p>\n

It’s great for putting the pressure on, seeing if the candidate can do some sums in their head and also if they can think logically to simplify the problem.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

  No calculator, pen or paper permitted. What is 49 squared? This is the question I ask interviewees at Clear Books. 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