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arXiv · 1706.07185

The Best-or-Worst and the Postdoc problems

L. Bayon·P. Fortuny Ayuso·J. M. Grau·A. M. Oller-Marcen·M. M. Ruiz
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Abstract

We consider two variants of the secretary problem, the\emph{ Best-or-Worst} and the \emph{Postdoc} problems, which are closely related. First, we prove that both variants, in their standard form with binary payoff 1 or 0, share the same optimal stopping rule. We also consider additional cost/perquisites depending on the number of interviewed candidates. In these situations the optimal strategies are very different. Finally, we also focus on the Best-or-Worst variant with different payments depending on whether the selected candidate is the best or the worst.

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L. Bayon, P. Fortuny Ayuso, J. M. Grau, A. M. Oller-Marcen, M. M. Ruiz. 2017-06-22. The Best-or-Worst and the Postdoc problems. https://arxiv.org/abs/1706.07185

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