Former Google employee reveals impossible question they ask in all interviews

A TikToker who used to work at Google has explained the answer to the hardest question you could get asked in an interview, and it’s surprisingly all about coffee.

TikToker @hrbitch, who has apparently worked at Google and other big companies previously, now uses her platform to share tips and tricks for tough job interviews.

From good questions to ask to interviewers, to how to approach salary raises, she teaches you how to land even the hardest of job roles.

In a series of videos posted about interview questions at Google, she says that they will often ask candidates questions that are meant to stump them. Getting asked how many ping-pong balls can fit in a 747, what the size of Texas is, and how many telephone poles there are in California, are all crazy questions that have actually been asked to candidates.

The hardest Google interview question

According to the videos though, the point of these questions is not to get the right answer, but for the interviewer to see how potential candidates’ thought processes work.

These questions may seem tricky enough, but there’s one that really stumped people.

The question centers around a hypothetical coffee shop in San Francisco. The coffee shop is 500 feet squared, has unlimited supplies (like coffee beans and milk), and has a queue of customers snaking down the street. With all that in mind, how many coffees can it make in a day?

Viewers in the comments tried their hand at working this one out and were completely bamboozled. Most TikTokers just accepted that they would, “never work at Google.” The main issue that people seemed to have was that the amount of staff on shift at the coffee shop was not mentioned.

However, this can be estimated from the size of the coffee shop. One commenter worked it out this way: “Assume two employees, one at the register and one operating a double espresso machine. Two mins per drink.”

Another person tried their luck but was more ambitious with the staffing: “1500 brewed coffees. 6 baristas, one just brewing. Two minutes to serve each customer. 5 cups X 30/hr. Open 10 hrs, so 1500.” This one must have been close as the creator replied: “Good breakdown.”

Although the correct answer was never given, it is clear that there is no correct answer, much like the earlier questions about ping-pong and Texas. The TikToker commented: “They want to see your thought process, that’s why they made it vague to understand your decision-making skills.”

Apple had a similar drinks-themed interview tradition

Google isn’t the only company with wacky interview techniques that involve drinks. According to Apple, Steve Jobs used to use a ‘beer test’ on his potential staff members.

Because Apple is such a prestigious company to work for, Jobs reportedly used to take potential employees for a walk and a beer to see if he could get honest answers from them in a more casual setting.

The questions asked over beer would range from, “What did you do last Summer?” to “When was the last time you achieved something?”. This technique was also a way for Jobs to see if he would enjoy working with this person as he could ask himself whether he would ever grab a beer with them again.