Former Google employee reveals the one interview question most candidates fail

Job interviews are stressful enough without having to be faced with, arguably, one of the most mind-boggling questions to answer right there and then on the spot.

However, there is one particular interview question most candidates fail and a former Google employee has come forward to reveal exactly what it is.

The woman, who goes by the handle @hrbitch online, took to TikTok to share the bizarre question to her followers.

She began: "This question stumped most interviewers at Google. I'll share it with you.

"There's a coffee shop in San Francisco. It has unlimited supply and demand - meaning it has all the coffee beans, coffee cups, teas in the world and the customer line wraps around the block.

"The coffee shop is roughly 500 square feet. So how many cups of coffee can this coffee shop produce in one day?"

The former Google employee captioned the post: "How Google stumps interviewers."

I'm pretty sure the best response I could muster up with all my brain power would be something along the lines of: "Huh?"

People were eager to share their answers to the question with one TikTok user: "Here goes... 500 square feet assume each person and machine needs 10 square feet so 50 ppl in the shop at once, so 50 cups going at once..."

"It takes 30 seconds to pour a cup of coffee. So that's 120 cups every hour. If you're open eight hours that's 960 cups of coffee," quantified a second.

TikTok/@hrbitch

A third chimed in: "Zero - no workers were mentioned."

"No answer possible other than unlimited without more information," piped up a fourth while a fifth broke it down: "1,500 brewed coffees. Six baristas, one just brewing. Two minutes to serve each customer. Five cups x 30/hr. Open 10 hrs, so 1,500."

Another admitted: "Guess I’m not working at Google."

A seventh declared: "I would answer 'unknown'. Too many factors missing, hours of operation, # of employees, types of drinks sold."

"Not enough information to determine the outcome," echoed a final TikTok user to which the ex-Google employee thankfully revealed the answer to put all the theories to bed once and for all.

Drum roll please...

There is no answer.

Guido Mieth / Getty Images

According to the former Google employee, the question is simply just an elaborate mind game which shows off your problem-solving and decision-making skills without you realising.

She explained: "There are no right or wrong answers, the interviewer's just trying to figure out your thought process. That's why they made it vague, to understand your decision making skills."

For anyone looking to bag themselves a role at Google, you'll be happy to know the tech giant has since done away with the mind-boggling brainteasers from their interview process, according to the search engine's careers site.

Google explains: "Our data showed that brainteaser questions didn’t predict how well someone would do on the job so we no longer ask them. Instead, we do work sample tests and ask structured interview questions.

"In the end, we want above all to assess your skills and see if you and this role are a match (there aren’t any brain teasers, and who knows, you might even have some fun)."

Thank goodness for that.

Topics: Money, Real Life, TikTok, Life

Rhiannon Ingle

Rhiannon Ingle is a Journalist at LADbible Group. She graduated from the University of Manchester in 2021 in English Literature. Alongside her studies, she was the Lifestyle Editor of The Mancunian, the largest student newspaper in the United Kingdom. Her favourite topics to write about include sex and relationships, bizarre lifestyle trends and all things travel.