Hedge Fund Brainteasers | | Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter

Hedge Fund Brainteasers: The Truth Teller & The Liar | JobSearchRadio.com

August 2, 2018August 2, 2018 by Jeff

Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gzeU7lHBgoc

Listen to the full episode here:
http://webtalkradio.net/internet-talk-radio/2018/08/02/hedge-fund-brainteasers-the-truth-teller-the-liar-jobsearchradio-com/

Hedge Fund Brainteasers: The Truth Teller & The Liar| JobSearchRadio.com

In this video, Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter explains how to answer another of those tricky brainteaser questions that hedge funds use — this one has two guards, one lies and one tells the truth. There is only one question that you can ask. What is that question?

Summary

Today I want to offer up another 1 of those "wonderful" hedge fund questions. There are different nicknames for this one, but I'm going to call it, "the truth teller and the liar."

Here's the scenario. You walking down the hallway and see 2 doors with one guard in front of each door. The they both know the correct answer, but one always gives the correct answer and the other one always lies. You only have one question that you can ask. Who do you ask and how do you choose?

Remember, only one question.

Here's how to answer the question. The short version is, whatever answer you get, choose the opposite one. The reason for it is simple.

Here's the answer the question one. Again, you choosing the opposite of what you were told. The question that you have to ask is, "if I ask the other guard which door to open, what would he tell me?" That's the question you want to pose in order to figure out the answer.

If you ask the honest guard about what the other one would say, he knows that the guy is going to lie. The liar would tell you to go to the wrong door. Right? If you ask the longer the question, he is going to lie to you.. He is going to tell you the wrong answer.

No matter what, you have to go to the opposite door of what you are told.

ABOUT JEFF ALTMAN, THE BIG GAME HUNTER

Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter is a career and leadership coach who worked as a recruiter for what more than 40 years. He is the host of “No BS Job Search Advice Radio,” the #1 podcast in iTunes for job search with more than 1100 episodes, “Job Search Radio,” “and his newest show, “No BS Coaching Advice” and is a member of The Forbes Coaches Council.

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Hedge Fund Brainteasers: How Many Golf Balls Fit Into a School Bus? | JobSearchTV.com

July 16, 2018July 16, 2018 by Jeff

Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JaneYzv1YHQ

In this video, Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter explains how to answer this hedge fund brainteaser, “how many golf balls would fit into a standard school bus?”

Summary

I've got another 1 of those tough interview questions. Now, I confess, neither the question nor the answer is one that I would've found without Google. The question is, "How many golf balls it a Standard school bus?"

I stumbled into this question on quora.com from someone who answered in this way:You make an assumption that the size of the bus is 35' x 7.5' x 6.5'. The volume of the bus equals 1706.25 cubic feet. One cubic foot equals 1728 Cubic inches. Therefore, 1706.2 5×1728 = 2948400 Cubic inches. Again, it is about the process. You can change the numbers anyway that you want.

The radius of a golf ball is .85 inches. Thus, the volume of a golf ball is for over 3 times pie times the radius of 3 equals 2.5 cubic inches.. The number of golf balls that could be accumulated in the bus is 2948400 divided by 2.5 Equals 1,179,360. However, assuming 25% of the space is occupied by seats in the bus, that really leaves about 75% of the space to accommodate balls. As such, 75% of 2,948,400 is 2211300. Thus, the number 2 million to thus, the number of golf balls that can be accommodated is 884, 520.

Notice that it all works with assumptions. That, at the end of the day, you are walking through a process starting off the size of the bus, determining the volume of the bus, translating cubic feet into cubic inches and, from there, progressing into the size of the golf ball, the volume of the golf ball, the number of golf balls that to be a common it bus and then noticing that there are Seats in there and making an assumption about them.

That's the process in; you can make up the numbers as you go along.

ABOUT JEFF ALTMAN, THE BIG GAME HUNTER

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Hedge Fund Brainteasers The Light Switches | JobSearchTV.com

July 4, 2018July 4, 2018 by Jeff

Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xPlWAQU4TKQ

In this video, Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter answers this classic hedge fund brain teaser– which switch controls which bulb.

Summary

I'm Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter. I'm called The Big Game Hunter because I hunted down leaders and staff organizations for more than 40 years.

Today, I’m going to talk with you about one of those tough interview, a hedge fund teaser that they sometimes pose. I must say other employers pose it sometimes as well. It's the one about the light switches. Here is the scenario.

You're going to enter a room. There are 3 light switches. You can only enter one time and which switch controls which bulb?

Now, you cannot use the obvious dumb answer-- turn on each switch and you’ll know which one does it. You have to figure it out a little differently.

So, this is how the answer works. You turn on two switches and leave them on for a while. Then, what you do is turn off one switch.

Now, obviously the bulb that still on is controlled by the switch that you turned on stayed on, right? You, then, touch the other bulbs the ball that's warm is controlled by the switch you turned off, right?

Then, the 3rd switch controls the 3rd bulb. It's very easy isn’t it?

So, firms are going to use tricks like this to trying to weed out people who freeze, but if you stop and think about it, most of the questions you are ever asked on an interview are pretty logical. You just have to take a moment. Take a deep breath. Don't be frozen because someone is sitting there and watching you. Just use that brain of yours and figure it out.

ABOUT JEFF ALTMAN, THE BIG GAME HUNTER

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Hedge Fund Brainteasers: The Boat and The Ladder | JobSearchTV.com

June 27, 2018June 27, 2018 by Jeff

Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=odWNrbM7MHU

In this video, Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter poses a situation to you and asks you for your answer to this brainteaser.

Summary

Let's do another 1 of those fun and tough interview questions. Here's the scenario: there is a boat at sea. It has a 10-foot ladder off the side and the rope ladder is 1 foot underwater. It starts raining incredibly hard, sufficiently hard that there is about 2 feet of rain every hour. How long will it take for the ladder to be covered in water halfway?
Ready for your answer?
It won't.
Let me put it simply. The boat is going to rise, too. With that amount of water. It's only going to be 1 foot underwater.

ABOUT JEFF ALTMAN, THE BIG GAME HUNTER

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The “Find The Heavier Ball” Brainteaser

June 2, 2018June 2, 2018 by Jeff

Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OPu08XqN2o0

You are given 12 balls, 11 are identical, one is heavier. How do you find the heavier ball in only 3 moves?

Summary

Here's the problem. You are given 12 balls and a scale. Of the 12 balls, 11 are identical and one way slightly more. How do you find the heavier ball amongst these 12 using the scale only 3 times.

Here's the solution.

Take 5 balls and 5 balls and weigh them. If the scales are equal, you can discard the 10 balls and just weigh the other 2 to get your answer. That would be the 2nd use of the scale, in which case you have found the heavier ball into moves.

If on the other hand, the 1st weighing of 5 and 5 balls, one group is heavier, then, of the heavier group, way too against 2 (that's the 2nd use of the scale) and if they weigh the same, the 5th ball is the one that you are looking for.

If 1 of the groups of 2 balls is heavier, then take the heavier group of 2 balls and weigh them against each other (that's the 3rd use of the scale) and you'll find the heavier ball is the one that you are looking for.

ABOUT JEFF ALTMAN, THE BIG GAME HUNTER

Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter is a career and leadership coach who worked as a recruiter for what more than 40 years. He is the host of “No BS Job Search Advice Radio,” the #1 podcast in iTunes for job search with more than 1100 episodes,“ Job Search Radio,” “and his newest show, “No BS Coaching Advice” and is a member of The Forbes Coaches Council.

Connect with me on LinkedIn. Like me on Facebook.

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If you want to know how to win more interviews, order “Winning Interviews.” You’ll learn how to win phone interviews, in-person interviews, the best question to ask on any interview and more.

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The “What Color is My Hat” Brainteaser| JobSearchRadio.com

May 29, 2018May 29, 2018 by Jeff

Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CX50EBM5mOw

Listen to the full episode here:
http://webtalkradio.net/internet-talk-radio/2018/05/29/the-what-color-is-my-hat-brainteaser-jobsearchradio-com/

A wonderful little problem that will stump quite a few of you.

Summary

I have got a lovely little brainteaser for you. I haven't heard is used on interviews but I think it is a good one and I thought I would share it with you.

A teacher puts on 10 hats of either red or blue on 10 students. Each 1 can see the hats on all other 9 students but not his or her own. The teacher tells them that at least 1 of the hats is blue and they then ask the students to write down the color of the hat that they are wearing if they are sure about it. Or, the student can write down, "Don't know." Everyone reveals their answer at the same time and all the right, "don't know." On the 2nd day, they gather in the teacher puts on the same hats on each student. Each 1 of them has to think about the color of their had again. This time, no one can still figure out the color of their hat. Everyone writes down, "don't know."

This game repeats itself on the 3rd day, 4th day until the 9th day and still no one can figure it out. However, on the 10th day, everyone writes down the correct color of their hat. What happened? What is the color that they wrote down? The assumptions here are that throughout the 10 days, the students do not communicate with one another and they assume that everyone is smart in those that everyone else is smart as well. That's the problem we have to solve.

The correct answer is that they are all wearing blue hats. There is a proof to it. Follow the logic here. Credit for the answer goes to Pratik Pradar.

If there are k number of blue hats and, but all of them can tell at time k that they are wearing blue hats. This can be proved by induction. If there is only one blue hat, it would seem that no one has a blue hat. But there has to be someone with the blue hat so it must be him. He gets it in day one.

If there are 2 blue hats, they will think there is only one blue hat, then the person would've said on the 1st day, so it must be a blue hat. And so on. On the kth day, all K people realize that they have blue hats. Since here K equals 10, there are 10 people with blue hats.

That's her solution. If it leaves you puzzled, that happen sometimes! That's what you call brainteasers, got it?

ABOUT JEFF ALTMAN, THE BIG GAME HUNTER

Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter is a career and leadership coach who worked as a recruiter for what more than 40 years. He is the host of “No BS Job Search Advice Radio,” the #1 podcast in iTunes for job search with more than 1100 episodes,“ Job Search Radio,” “and his newest show, “No BS Coaching Advice” and is a member of The Forbes Coaches Council.

answering your questions.

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Hedge Fund Brainteasers: Which Should You Light First? | JobSearchTV.com

May 23, 2018May 23, 2018 by Jeff

Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZB1ZwWnHuOE

Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter explains how to answer this tricky brainteaser.

Summary

Here's another 1 of those tough interview questions that is actually a classic deflection question. It's really not hard period. I'm going to pause after I pose the question in order to give you time to answer. I'm going to do Jeopardy music in the middle.

So ready? Here's the question.

If having only one match on the freezing winter day, you enter the room which contained a lamp, a kerosene heater and a wood burning stove, which is you like 1st?

I'm going to repeat that.

You have only one match. It's a freezing winter day. You enter a room containing a lamp, a kerosene heater and a wood burning stove, which should you like 1st?

I gave you a clue before when I talked about this being a deflection question.

Ready?

The correct answer is . . You light the match 1st.

See some questions are designed to deflect you away from the correct answer. It's kind of like when I was growing up, there was a question that the kids would ask, "If a rooster laid an egg on the top of a pointed building, which way where the egg fall? And you kind of make the gesture of the steeple and while speaking and the hand gesture would deflect the audience from thinking about rooster? Roosters don't lay eggs. Chickens do.

So, the correct answer to that one is roosters don't lay eggs. Chickens do. It's 1 of those tricky questions. So back to this, you would you like the match 1st

ABOUT JEFF ALTMAN, THE BIG GAME HUNTER

Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter is a career and leadership coach who worked as a recruiter for what more than 40 years. He is the host of “No BS Job Search Advice Radio,” the #1 podcast in iTunes for job search with more than 1000 episodes,“ Job Search Radio,” “and his newest show, “No BS Coaching Advice” and is a member of The Forbes Coaches Council.

Connect with me on LinkedIn. Like me on Facebook.

Join and attend my classes on Skillshare. Become a premium member and get 2 months free.

Don’t forget to give the show 5 stars and a good review in iTunes

If you want to know how to win more interviews, order “Winning Interviews.” You’ll learn how to win phone interviews, in-person interviews, the best question to ask on any interview and more.

Would you like to talk through a salary negotiation or potential negotiation you’re involved with? Order and schedule time with me.

Do you have questions or would like advice about networking or any aspect of your search. Order and schedule time with me.

Would you like me to critique your resume. Order a critique from me

For more about LinkedIn, order “Stacked: Double Your Job Interviews, Leverage Recruiters and Unlock LinkedIn.”

Jeff’s Kindle book, “You Can Fix Stupid: No BS Hiring Advice,” is available on Amazon.

Hedge Fund Brainteasers: Blindfolded at a Table | JobSearchTV.com

June 22, 2018May 21, 2018 by Jeff

Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4HlWUonGtss

Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter explains how to answer this delicious brainteaser.

Summary

I have 1 of those fun hedge fund is today. I'm going to read it and the answer off my screen. I'm going to give credit to a website,, thebrainteaserBible.com where I found this.

You are blindfolded and sit in front of the table. On the table and many coins, 10 of which have heads facing up. How do you split the coins into 2 groups such that the same number of coins are heads up in each group? You don't know how many coins there are. You cannot tell which coin is facing up in any way?

This is a two-step answer to it.. The 1st is that you take time coins from the group of coins you have. Let's say there are 50 points, you take 10. You take all the coins of the group of 10 and Turn them onto their opposite side. Now you're done. Here's how it works..

If there are 50 coins, and you separate them into 10, you now have a group of 10 and you now have a group of 40. Let's say there are 3 groups in the group of 10. There will be 7 in the group of 40. From the group of 10, There are 3 coins their heads, and 7 coins that are on tails. Turnover the coins in the group of 10. Now there are 7 heads and 3 tails. Now, there are 7 hands in the group of 40. Now there are 7 in each group.

ABOUT JEFF ALTMAN, THE BIG GAME HUNTER

Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter is a coach who worked as a recruiter for what seems like one hundred years. His work involves career coaching, all as well as executive job search coaching and life coaching. He is the host of “No BS Job Search Advice Radio,” the #1 podcast in iTunes for job search with more than 1000 episodes,“ Job Search Radio,” “and his newest show, “No BS Coaching Advice” and is a member of The Forbes Coaches Council.

Connect with me on LinkedIn. Like me on Facebook.

Join and attend my classes on Skillshare. Become a premium member and get 2 months free.

Don’t forget to give the show 5 stars and a good review in iTunes

If you want to know how to win more interviews, order “Winning Interviews.” You’ll learn how to win phone interviews, in-person interviews, the best question to ask on any interview and more.

Would you like to talk through a salary negotiation or potential negotiation you’re involved with? Order and schedule time with me.

Do you have questions or would like advice about networking or any aspect of your search. Order and schedule time with me.

Would you like me to critique your resume. Order a critique from me

For more about LinkedIn, order “Stacked: Double Your Job Interviews, Leverage Recruiters and Unlock LinkedIn.”

Jeff’s Kindle book, “You Can Fix Stupid: No BS Hiring Advice,” is available on Amazon.

Hedge Fund Brainteasers: How Many Typists Will It Take? | NoBSJobSearchAdvice.com

May 19, 2018May 19, 2018 by Jeff

Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gAbmBLKqpX0

Listen to the full episode here:
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/thebiggamehunter/2017/10/25/hedge-fund-brainteasers-how-many-typists-will-it-take-no-bs-job-search-advic

EP 906 This is a quick little brainteaser. Hope you like it!

Summary

I found a brainteaser I hadn't done before! Here's the question: if two typists can type 2 pages in 2 minutes, how many typists will take the type 18 pages in 60 minutes?

Oooooooooooooh! The drama!

2. typists can type 6 pages in 6 minutes.

What you do is have 3 teams of 2 typists, each working in parallel and within 6 minutes to be able to type the 18 pages the required.

ABOUT JEFF ALTMAN, THE BIG GAME HUNTER

Connect with me on LinkedIn. Like me on Facebook.

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How Did The Dog Cross The River Without Getting Wet? | JobSearchTV.com

May 17, 2018May 17, 2018 by Jeff

Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZM_lOgiAYXs

Another fun brainteaser used on job interviews.

Summary

Today, I am 1 of those shows that as a brainteaser for you. Here's how it goes: a man stands on one side of the river, his dog on the other. The man calls his dog who immediately crosses the river without getting wet and without using a bridge or a boat. How did the dog do that?

The answer is they were at the North Pole or Minnesota in the middle of winter or Wisconsin in the middle of winter and the river was frozen.

Firms use brainteasers like this to see if your mind is creative enough to explore different options from different angles. In this case, why was the river not getting the dog wet?

ABOUT JEFF ALTMAN, THE BIG GAME HUNTER

Connect with me on LinkedIn. Like me on Facebook.

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If you want to know how to win more interviews, order “Winning Interviews.” You’ll learn how to win phone interviews, in-person interviews, the best question to ask on any interview and more.

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Jeff’s Kindle book, “You Can Fix Stupid: No BS Hiring Advice,” is available on Amazon.