Guesstimates

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What is a Guesstimate?

Well, as the name suggests, it is an estimate based on some intelligent guesses. There is no exact answer to a guesstimate.

What the interviewer is looking for is the approach taken by you. He/she is least interested in the correct answer or any numerical values involved.

What you have to prove to the interviewer is that while handling any problem:

• you look at it from every possible angle
• take into consideration even the minutest details
• have a good common sense and approach to things
• relate the problem to practical scenarios and take valid & practical assumptions
• can give some good approximations with the help of easy to understand calculations
• explain your thought process to any third party

Guesstimates are fairly easy to crack if you get a hang of them. So, the best possible way to master them is to practice as many as you can.

Some example guesstimates which were asked in various companies are given below:

• What is the average daily sale of a Pizza Outlet in your locality?
• What is the average number of cars per person in Delhi?
• How many Dominos outlets are there in Delhi?
• How many cell phone customers are active in the Delhi-NCR region?