The numbers are not the point. In some sense it's exactly to weed out those who cannot just say A or B and stop at "well if you look at it like this then A, but perhaps B...". It's 12%, and that's it. You signal that you care about making money for your boss, which, however we twist it, is the reason and hope behind every hire.
Its a cultural thing. They fear ending up with a bunch of people who just want to have fun with elegant code and tech and polish some corner of the app for a esthetic satisfaction. They fear not even being able to communicate effectively about your role in the business.
Being able to say 12% is much better than not even thinking of trying to estimate it. Theoretically, a nuanced view would be even better but there is a time and place to be nuanced and witty and thats not on the HR desk.
Its a cultural thing. They fear ending up with a bunch of people who just want to have fun with elegant code and tech and polish some corner of the app for a esthetic satisfaction. They fear not even being able to communicate effectively about your role in the business.
Being able to say 12% is much better than not even thinking of trying to estimate it. Theoretically, a nuanced view would be even better but there is a time and place to be nuanced and witty and thats not on the HR desk.