Is recruitment really this weird at SocGen in France?

As part of our iPad competition, we've received an email from someone who purports to have interviewed with SocGen in France.

Needless to say, we're unable to verify this, so what follows may have happened at JPMorgan, or could be a figment of a fertile imagination. However, given SocGen's French reputation for challenging personality tests and the like, we're not dismissing it altogether. Please note that insiders at SocGen say they've never come across anything like it and that it's certainly not common practice.

"I was interviewing for a position as a fundamental equity analyst on a trader's desk at SocGen in Paris.

The interviewer (a trader), said to me: "We are going to play a game. If you beat me, you get the job. If you lose, you don't."

He then drew a number of bars (like a barcode) on a piece of paper. In turn, he or I had to cross off 1, 2 or 3 bars at a time. The person left with the last bar to cross off would lose.

I analyzed the possibilities by looking at the bars. It took me several minutes to conclude that I could not win the game. I pointed this out, and declined to play.

At first, he didn't respond. Finally, he agreed that I could only lose. The interview ended immediately after that.

I can only assume that he did not want to give the job to me. He therefore created this game to make me lose on purpose."