Phoebe Gates asks everyone she interviews this unexpected question. 🤔

Key Concepts

• Bottoms-Up Estimation: A problem-solving approach starting with fundamental components and building upwards to a total estimate.
• Logical Thinking/Problem Solving: Assessing a candidate’s ability to structure thought and approach complex questions systematically.
• Role-Agnostic Questioning: Utilizing the same type of challenging question across different roles to evaluate core cognitive skills.

Assessing Logical Thinking in Hiring – The California Healthcare Budget Question

The core discussion revolves around a novel interview technique employed to assess a candidate’s logical thinking and problem-solving abilities, regardless of the specific role they are applying for. The technique, borrowed from another founder (unnamed in the transcript), involves posing a complex, open-ended question – specifically, “How much do you think California State spends on healthcare?” – and observing the candidate’s process for attempting to answer, rather than the accuracy of the final number.

The speaker emphasizes that the correct answer is not the primary goal. Instead, the value lies in understanding how a candidate approaches the problem. The speaker intends to use this question for all roles – sales, marketing, and engineering – highlighting its versatility as a gauge of fundamental cognitive skills. The speaker acknowledges not knowing the answer themselves ("I don't know that answer off the top of my head. I feel…") but stresses the importance of asking the question.

The Bottoms-Up Approach & Its Significance

The technique specifically leverages a “bottoms-up approach.” This means the interviewer is looking for candidates who will break down the problem into smaller, manageable components. Instead of attempting to guess a total figure, a strong candidate would ideally start by considering factors like:

• Population of California
• Average healthcare spending per capita
• Percentage of the state budget allocated to healthcare
• Different types of healthcare programs (Medicaid, Medicare, private insurance)

By observing how a candidate structures their thinking – identifying these components and building towards an estimate – the interviewer gains insight into their analytical skills and ability to tackle ambiguity. The speaker notes that the question doesn’t need to be about California’s healthcare budget; it can be any similarly complex, real-world estimation problem.

Actionable Insights for Interviewers

The speaker’s primary takeaway is the power of using unexpected, complex questions to reveal a candidate’s thought process. This method moves beyond traditional behavioral questions and focuses on how someone thinks, rather than simply what they have done. The speaker explicitly states, “it shows you how like a random question like that, how someone goes through like a logical approach to solving that question.” This suggests a preference for candidates who demonstrate structured thinking, even when faced with unfamiliar challenges.

Conclusion

The presented technique offers a valuable addition to the hiring toolkit. By prioritizing the process of problem-solving over the correctness of the answer, interviewers can gain a deeper understanding of a candidate’s analytical abilities and logical reasoning skills – qualities applicable across all roles within an organization. The emphasis on a bottoms-up approach highlights the importance of breaking down complex problems into manageable components, a skill crucial for success in various professional contexts.