Are you smarter than a Fifth Grader?

The answer is... No

After finishing the last post I feel compelled to tell you how terrible my interview went today.

AWFUL.

The position was Junior Analyst at a M&A firm. I was dead nervous since it was my first interview of the kind. I had two 40 minute interviews with two very nice interviewers, but I am not smarter than a fifth grader, so I can't have passed both interviews.

After talking for a while about my CV (that's easy) the first interviewer asked very quickly if 17% of 38 was larger than 38% of 17. I remained quiet for a while and opened my mouth just to say:

"17% of 38 is larger" and the interview carried on without me worrying about the stupid question.

I was doing more or less fine when the guy asked in how many different ways could six people be ordered in a queue, and I fell silent again. Mind totally blank... I give a very wrong answer, which I'm not going to tell you and the interview carried on.

I realise my mistake and try to fix it only to keep giving a wrong answer.

Interview number two was less embarrasing since my mistake was a lack of financial knowledge and not basic math. Still embarrasing though.

Once on my way home I keep going through the interview and suddenly realise something:

17% of 38 = 38% of 17. OH NO, I ignore one of the basic rules of math: a x b = b x a, how could I go through school????

And then I couldn't even come up with the answer to question number two, my mom did (and my sister*): 6!, and that is not an excited 6 but 6x5x4x3x2x1...

I feel mighty stupid... but hey! I was too nervous to think clearly. Next time I'll be a little more ready, but I have the feeling these guys won't give me a second chance no matter how good I am talking to people... Oh well, such is Life.

Worst of all is I have realised life has been spoiling me these last 23 years, and now I suffer from failure intolerance. All I can say is I thought I was smarter, not only smarter than a fifth grader but plain smarter. Yet again, I proved myself wrong. I need some rest...

* My sister was reading this post as I wrote it and insisted on my writing that she knew that basic detail too, I have to let the world know she is intelligent and I am not. Well, lucky she knows math, unlucky she wasn't doing my interview today.