Comments on: Your resume looks great, but how’s your Jenga game?

By: Scott M

Scott M — Fri, 21 Jan 2011 21:20:21 +0000

What a silly manipulative interview technique.

I hate jenga. It’s a silly game. Every time my turn would come I would deliberately remove a piece to knock the pile over just so I could take solace in the amount of time it took to reset the game, during which perhaps I could get some real interviewing in.

By: James Schneider

James Schneider — Thu, 25 Mar 2010 15:43:36 +0000

Great idea. I used a logic test as part of the hiring process in a past career. Helped me evaluate if applicants were capable and willing to think on their own which was essential in our office. Some people thought it was weird but those were the people we didn’t want to hire (or be around) anyway.

Maybe I should buy stock in the company that makes Jenga. I have a feeling they’re about to have a jump in sales.

By: Alex

Alex — Tue, 23 Mar 2010 20:09:26 +0000

This is a great idea. It’s very hard to break through someone’s hardened interview shell.

@Johnnie: love that quote!

By: Carla

Carla — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 13:13:09 +0000

I love Jenga!! This is a great idea, throwing a curve ball at an interviewee is going to really cause them to open up and show their true colors.

By: David Gruber

David Gruber — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 12:03:24 +0000

I love this. My question is how to do it on the flip side. I am currently looking for my next day job (my business, which operates on weekends brings in half of my income), and companies try to put on their best face too. I have worked for companies that once you are in there you discover they have all the bad attributes we know many companies have. How do you as a potential employee discover the true character of a company?

By: rantersparadise

rantersparadise — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 11:04:12 +0000

Agree.

This would struggle in the UK were I am based because people are inherently uptight and reserved but nevertheless it is something I have always done in all previous projects I have started or business.

I don’t do uptight. Life is miserable enough as it is and life is too short to now want to sustain a happy atmosphere at work or online.

I’m starting up a new company and it’s hard trying to communicate this to business advisors who just don’t get that I am making this type of people management theory, intergral to my business model!

Won’t stop trying though!

By: Johnnie Moore

Johnnie Moore — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 07:37:27 +0000

As Plato said “You can learn more about a person in an hour of play than you can from a lifetime of conversation”

By: ChrisFizik

ChrisFizik — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 03:57:01 +0000

great idea of course. Things like this in interviews are super useful. Another one, minus the ‘prop’ of the game, the my boss, and I guess I as well, like to use is conversing with the applicant about their taste in music. That sort of highly opinionated/personal aspect of one’s life tells alot about them (of course, you kind of have to be a big music fan to use this tactic)

Another note — getting a Jenga set for the office is a great idea — think I’m gonna get on that.

By: Annie

Annie — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 21:37:31 +0000

I think any unique way of seeing how well someone can multi-task is a great HR tool!

By: Laura Galindo

Laura Galindo — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 19:38:36 +0000

this is a very clever idea, I got a Jenga set once at a holiday party hosted by Pointroll. I brought it in to work the next day and it immediately became “the” lunch activity. You could hear the whole team laughing away in the kitchen every time those pieces came down. Truly an icebreaker game.