Tough interview questions can be an indicator of future job satisfaction, survey shows

A 10 per cent increase in interview difficulty is associated with a 2.6 per cent increase in employee satisfaction

(REX)

“How many times a day do a clock’s hands overlap? ”

That’s one of the brain teaser questions you might get if you are interviewing for a position at Google. If it sounds tough, don’t be put off. A new report reveals tougher interview questions can lead to greater job satisfaction.

A report by Glassdoor found that a 10 per cent increase in interview difficulty is associated with a 2.6 per cent increase in employee satisfaction.

“The interview process is like a dating process between companies and workers,” Andrew Chamberlain, Glassdoor Chief Economist, said.

“What both sides are doing is trying to test out the other one to see if they are a good match. What this research is telling us is the best way to get good job fit is to have an interview that 's very specific about skills and pushes people to demonstrate they are the right fit for the job,” he said.

The research looked at over 150,000 cases across six countries - Australia, Canada, UK, US, Germany and France - where employees rated the difficulty of their interview and their job satisfaction (after getting the position) on a scale of one to five (where five is the most difficult and the most satisfied).

Although in all six countries the link is highly significant, the relation is strongest in Australia (3.6 per cent), followed by Canada (3.0 percent) and the U.K. (2.9 per cent) and weakest in France (1.5 per cent), followed by Germany (2.4 percent) and the U.S. (2.5 per cent).

But there is a limit. The most difficult interview questions of all can be overwhelming, according to the study, which found that staff had lower satisfaction in comparison to employee who rated their interviews as a 4 difficulty.

The optimal interview difficulty allows hiring managers to carefully screen candidates for ability and cultural fit among other skills without leaving the candidate feeling confused or defeated.

“Good hiring processes encourage quality job matches, boosting employee satisfaction and, ultimately, worker productivity. By contrast, poorly designed interview processes—either too easy or too difficult—both are associated with less healthy company cultures over time,” said Dr Chamberlain.