All of us would have come across the puzzle about the hunter and the bear at least once, either in an aptitude test or on the long list of e-mail forwards we receive everyday. For the benefit of the uninitiated few I am repeating the puzzle.

A hunter walked one kilometer south from his camp. Then he walked one kilometer west. There he shot a bear. Then he walked one kilometer north, and found that he was back at his camp. What color was the bear?

The correct answer is that the color of the bear is white. Why? , because only at the North Pole can the conditions of the above puzzle be satisfied and the bears you find in the arctic region are the polar bears which are white in color. Well all the directional clues provided by the question are also satisfied by the South Pole, yes obviously that is also true but there are no bears in the Antarctic region.

Does It Really Measure Up ? 

The point of discussion here is not to test your geographical or directional skills it is meant more for generating a discussion on the need for asking such a question in an interview or for that matter in an aptitude test. The general dilemma that faces every HR/Recruitment manager when he sets such a question is whether the question actually measures what it sets out to measure.

Moreover how does an awareness of the fact that Polar bears are found only in the arctic and not in the Antarctic improve your possibility for better performance in a job as a computer software developer? Well, the answer that any Manager worth his salt would give you is that it is not the answer that matters what they really look for is the thought process. Which brings us to the big question of how do we measure potential to work in a job.

Theoretically a skills examination would measure a persons ability to perform the current job while an aptitude test also allow you to take a peek into your interest areas as well as to help check your personality fit for the job. So it is a very potent tool in the hands of a recruiter to test the aspirants fit for the job. Coming back to the question of the polar bear where does the question help us?

Everyone Knows The Answers ! 

A software developers work involves developing codes within certain constraints these constraints are the walls that bind our free movement but even then there is scope for out-of-the-box thinking which would help develop new insights into how to work with these constraints and still deliver valuable output. This is precisely the reason why many successful companies are sure to question you on your ability to think and analyze data.

But unfortunately there is the other side of the coin too. Where you get companies rolling out the same questions across tests at different times and candidates have by providence or by tenacity have come across the same puzzle in a Shakuntala Devi compilation and are so aware of the so called “intricacies” of the puzzle, that one glance at the puzzle and they know the answer.

Here one has to question the need for such a futile exercise. It makes a mockery of the whole process and the answer to reason for this exercise is that when you need people in masses then maybe the sanctity of the process can suffer.

Short Circuit, Or What ? 

Does a huge need for talent justify short-circuiting the process. A point for all of us to think… and also, what does a hapless HR person do, when, in his hurry to set the questions he never asked for the logic but just left some blank spaces for the answer and the street-smart candidate who does not know the geography involved but is smart enough to assume that since the “bear” question has been asked it can be no ordinary bear and hence gives right answer!!!! Maybe he is the right guy they were looking for anyway !!

Ajith Sankar R N

Management Trainee-HLL
Alumni: XLRI Jamshedpur