Psychology Behind High-Stakes Job Interviews



Number of words: 135

“Let’s play a game of Russian roulette,” begins one interview stunt that is going the rounds at Wall Street investment banks. “You are tied to your chair and can’t get up. Here’s a gun. Here’s the barrel of the gun, six chambers, all empty. Now watch me as I put two bullets in the gun. See how I put them in two adjacent chambers? I close the barrel and spin it. I put the gun to your head and pull the trigger. Click. You’re still alive. Lucky you! Now, before we discuss your résumé”, I’m going to pull the trigger one more time. Which would you prefer, that I spin the barrel first, or that I just pull the trigger?”

Excerpted from page number 8 of ‘How Would You Move Mount Fuji?’ by William Poundstone.

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