eBay Israel adds riddle solving to employee requirements

Do you ever just wish that the job application process was a little more stressful? Well, you’re in luck because to apply for a job at eBay Israel there is one simple request, Crack three riddles and gain the opportunity to enter their selection process at a more advanced stage.

According to CTECH, eBay’s R&D center in Israel posted the riddle on their website in hopes that they would find applicants to fill their 20 developer positions. In a day they received 1,000 applications from candidates who had solved 3 different steps of developing Java code. Once completed the candidates were then required to look for riddle solutions in a virtual tour of the company’s offices. Despite the riddle being specially designed for developers, it also means that anyone who solves the riddle would get through to the more advanced stages of the application process.

“We hope that through this fair that we organized together with the Innovation Authority, we will be able to strengthen the Israeli tech industry, which needs talented employees, so that it may continue to prosper despite the difficult financial crisis. That is why this week we joined the Israeli Employment Service to create a new vocational training program, where employees can develop a new career and learn a new trade simultaneously, while working in a factory. We anticipate that the plan will be a success, and create a win-win situation for everyone. The employee will receive a full salary from the first day on the job, and the company will gain a new employee who will receive professional training that is built precisely to fulfill the needs of the factory.”
– Ron Tomer, President, The Manufacturers Association

Those who would rather not solve the riddle can apply in a more traditional way, eBay Israel have linked their open positions without any riddle solving requirements.