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Ace the Google Interview by Reading About Google’s Plans for the Future

August 23rd, 2010 by lewis

The Wall Street Journal has an excellent Eric Schmidt interview, Google’s CEO. In the article, the author gets Schmidt’s perspective on Google’s future including the future of search, mobile advertising, and privacy.

This is an excellent read for those of you who are preparing for Google job interviews.
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How to Respond to a Job Offer

August 15th, 2010 by lewis

Alison Green wrote a great article on titled “5 Things to Do When You Get a Job Offer.” Out of the 5 tips, my two favorite tips are:
Negotiate
It never hurts to negotiate. Who knows? You might get what you ask for.

Ask for the offer in writing
Verbal offers, while helpful, do not offer all the details. Always insist on a written offer by paper, fax, or email. A written offer allows you to consider the offer in its entirety.

In addition to Alison’s 5 points, here are two more tips that I’d consider when responding to a job offer:

Do your salary research
Get a sense of what the company is paying other candidates for a similar role. Glassdoor.com is a great resource for corporate salary information. During negotiations, you can use salary calculators from Salary.com and PayScale to help establish your market value. Lastly, if you need a refresher on negotiation, my two favorite negotiation books include Getting to Yes and Bargaining for Advantage: Negotiation Strategies for Reasonable People.

Ignore the pressure
Before receiving a job offer, you are chasing after the company. Once you get the offer, the employer is now chasing you. They’ll be very aggressive in pursuing you. You’re the one for them! Not only is there an emotional attachment, but also finding a replacement candidate is quite costly.

With this in mind, the employer wants you to accept the job offer as quickly as possible. Don’t succumb to the pressure. If you need more time to assess the offer, ask for it. Finding the right job takes time. There’s no reason to rush your decision-making process, only to regret it later.

Speaking Tips for Your Next Job Interview

July 20th, 2010 by lewis

TheLadders has a wonderful article on speaking successfully at your next job interview. Here are my two favorite tips from the article:

  • Learn to listen (and answer the question). The article discusses the importance of paying attention, staying focused, and showing appropriate body language. To take it one step further, it’s critical that interview candidates answer the question being asked. Don’t hesitate to ask for additional detail or a clarifying question if you’re not clear on what the interviewer is asking for.
  • Slow down your rate of speech. Many job seekers are nervous during the interview. When we’re nervous, we have a tendency to mumble or speak more quickly. Articulate your words and project your voice. You can have the best interview responses, but it won’t matter if the interviewer doesn’t understand what you’re saying. How can you determine what your proper speech rate should be? Time yourself. An effective speaker talks at 130-150 words per minute.
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Ask Questions at the Beginning of the Job Interview

July 14th, 2010 by lewis

Paul Anderson writes how job seekers should ask clarifying questions at the beginning of the interview. He notes that candidates who do so can tailor interview responses to the interviewer’s needs. Anderson goes on to say that the best candidates use stories that match company’s situation and develop rapport throughout the interview.

It’s an excellent strategy to develop stories to match one’s interview responses to the company’s needs. If at all possible, rather than wait for interview day to understand the company’s needs, get the information in advance. You’ll have more time to prepare before the interview.

Ingrid Stabb, author of “The Career Within You,” is Visiting Seattle on June 28th

June 25th, 2010 by lewis

One of my favorite authors, Ingrid Stabb, is coming to Seattle! She will give a presentation called “The Career Within You,” based on her new book with the same title. I reviewed The Career Within You a few months ago, and I loved it.
I’ve included more information below about this free event, in Ingrid’s own words.

Dear Seattle Interview Coach Fans,

You’re invited on Monday, June 28th! I’ll be giving a talk on “The Career Within You” at the University Book Store in Seattle. We’ll also hold a career networking happy hour prior to the talk at Kai’s Bistro and Lounge.

For more details and to RSVP, please see: http://careerwithinyouseattle.eventbrite.com/

A few alumni and career interest groups will be in attendance to mix and mingle. Feel free to invite your friends who are interested in networking or the topic of careers. I hope to see you there!

Warm regards,

Ingrid Stabb

Co-author of The Career Within You: http://www.harpercollins.com/author/microsite/about.aspx?authorid=34935

About The Book Talk:

The Career Within You: Mapping Out The Perfect Career Path For Your Personality

By co-author, Ingrid Stabb

Description: To be successful and fulfilled, your work life must reflect your true self, including calling upon the strengths you already possess. The Career Within You helps you achieve just that. The book’s individualized approach determines your career type, then helps you forge leadership and job decisions that best suit you, making it the ideal career management guide for job hunters and career changers of all stripes.

Downloadable Resources: http://www.careerwithinyou.com/downloads.html

Bio: An innovator in business applications of personalization, Ingrid Stabb holds a BA from Columbia University and an MBA from the Yale School of Management. She has worked with hundreds of individuals on their career development, writes a column for TALK Journal, organizes workshops, and co-chairs the Yale SOM Career Management Committee. Stabb has been featured in the New York Times and on local Channel 7 ABC’s The View From The Bay ( http://bit.ly/ViewBay). Her multi-sector management career spans Fortune 500 companies, international startups, non-profit work and the U.S. government. As an expert in personalization, she has helped major companies better target specific demographics and increase customer loyalty. Stabb was a key developer in SCORE! Educational Center’s business model, which employed personalized educational software—the first of its kind. Stabb is currently a social media technology marketer for Lithium Technologies, Inc.

Praise for The Career Within You

  • “Take your time in reading this book. Be brutally honest with yourself. Why? Because it will free you! It will free you to become the person you know you really want to be. The book is of immense help in understanding yourself and your colleagues. It will empower you to take those steps that will result in new and even joyful professional satisfaction.” – Gil Garcetti, former Los Angeles County District Attorney, Consulting Producer of “The Closer,” author and photographer
  • “What a tragedy it is to posses such natural gifts and to hide them from ourselves and the world. Wagele and Stabb are great detectives who will help you understand your perfect habitat for all you can bring to the workplace.” – Chip Conley, Founder & CEO, Joie de Vivre Hospitality, author of PEAK: How Great Companies Get Their Mojo from Maslow
  • “This book is full of valuable information on developing one’s career. A great strength of the book is its entertaining style – I loved the charts, cartoons, exercises, etc. which add a light touch to the serious material covered in the book.” – Subrata K. Sen, Joseph F. Cullman Professor of Marketing, Yale School of Management
  • “An eminently practical application of the Enneagram’s insights, punctuated with many real-life examples. This book is an excellent guide through times of change. It will help you fine-tune your career goals, improve a job search strategy and show you how to always play to your strengths.” – Thomas Condon, Enneagram teacher, author, The Enneagram Movie & Video Guide
  • “A groundbreaking work. For each Enneagram style you will find thoughtful and clear descriptions, how each style relates to the spectrum of career choices, and a powerful method to determine the path that best fits you. You will discover what career best fits for your style and in the process a more fulfilling life.” – David Daniels, M.D., Clinical Professor Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Science Stanford Medical School, and author of The Essential Enneagram
  • “The Career Within You will help you recognize who you are in the working world, the kind of job you’ll thrive at and how to find it.” – Jonathan Feinstein, John G. Searle Professor of Economics and Management Yale School of Management
  • “Wagele and Stabb have a delightful way of describing the nine Enneagram styles and their drawings add whimsy and clarity to understanding the types. With their career finder tool, Wagele and Stabb introduce the nine career types with a potpourri of careers. They offer concrete suggestions for soliciting, auditioning for, and closing on their favored career positions.” – Jerome Wagner, PH.D, author of The Enneagram Spectrum of Personality Styles

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Ace the Job Interview By Minimizing Gobbledygook Phrases

June 21st, 2010 by lewis

How often do you use the following words and phrases during the job interview?

  • “next generation”
  • “flexible”
  • “robust”
  • “world class”
  • “scalable”
  • “easy to use”
  • “cutting edge”
  • “well positioned”
  • “mission critical”
  • “market leading”
David Meerman Scott discovered that these were the six most commonly used phrases in press releases. His research was based on 388,000 news releases in a nine-month period.
What’s the problem? As Scott points out, these overused phrases are not only trite, but also meaningless. It’s like a cursory cocktail party conversation — it’s a whole lot of nothing.
Experienced interviewers can detect when you’re filling up interview time with fluff. Just because your marketing or public relations department uses gobbledygook to describe your products and results, it doesn’t mean you have to do it too.
During your next mock interview, have a friend count the number of times you use gobbledygook. Then go back and determine whether you can replace the gobbledygook with a more specific description or example. If not, consider removing that phrase from your response.
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How to Answer Awkward Interview Questions

June 2nd, 2010 by lewis

According to Forbes magazine, hiring managers are spending more time assessing an employee’s attitude and cultural fit during the job interview. As a result, you’re more likely to get awkward interview questions such as:

  • How happy are you, on a scale of one to 10?
  • How lucky are you, on the same scale?
  • What books are you reading?
  • What do your parents think about your career aspirations?
  • How would you describe the work environment in which you would like to work, and how does that compare to your current environment?
  • What values in an organization are most important to you?
The Forbes article offers suggestions on how you might answer these questions.
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Five Little Known Ways to Research a Company Before the Interview

May 24th, 2010 by lewis

Many years ago, a good friend shared the following interview story:
Microsoft Interviewer: “What’s your favorite Microsoft product?”
Interview Candidate: “Microsoft Adobe Photoshop.”

Faux pas! Lesson learned: do your homework before the interview. Aside from company websites, what are the best ways to research a company? Here are my little known favorites below:

Annual reports
Investors have relied on annual reports to make investment decisions. Also known as 10-K’s, annual reports can help savvy job seekers prepare for job interviews. I received my 2009 Google annual report a couple weeks ago. Google’s annual report is an easy-to-read, well-written document that includes the following:

  • Business overview
  • Corporate mission statement
  • Product overview and value propositions
  • Risk factors
  • Financial information

The Google annual report also includes the Founders’ Letter. In the letter, the co-founders, Larry Page and Sergey Brin, discuss the corporate vision and offer hints of the corporate culture.
Many job seekers spend hours compiling basic corporate information. No need to do this. The annual report aggregates this information for you. You can find annual reports on the investor relations section of a company’s website.

Earnings call transcripts
Most companies do an earnings call after announcing their quarterly financial numbers. Earnings calls usually last 45-60 minutes and can be boring, especially when the CEO and CFO offer their prepared remarks. However, the real gold is the question and answer (Q&A) session. During Q&A, analysts from top investment banks ask some of the most incisive and hard hitting questions. And more often than not, you get candid responses to how a company’s top executives view the business including:

  • Product pipeline
  • Competitive threats
  • Sales opportunities
  • Macroeconomic risks

Listening to an earnings call may test your patience. No need to get frustrated. Save time by reading the earnings call transcripts instead. Just like annual reports, you can find earnings call recordings and transcripts in the investor relations section of a company’s website.

Glassdoor.com
If you’re looking for information about a company’s corporate culture, Glassdoor.com is a good place to go. Employees offer their perspectives on what they like and don’t like about the company.

Industry publications
Read industry publications to keep up with current events at a particular company. Don’t know which industry publications to follow? No problem. Just setup a Google Alert with the company’s name as the search term. You’ll receive an email when Google finds news, websites, or blogs pertaining to your search term. Google will send you an email once a week, once a day, or as-it-happens.

Former employees
One of the best resources for the inside scoop. They’ll have first-hand experience of what it’s like working at the company. Unlike current employees, former employees are more likely to speak frankly about what they like and don’t like about the company. Talk to friends and family to find contacts; LinkedIn is another good resource for contacts.

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Insights into the Google Culture

May 22nd, 2010 by lewis

For those of you who are preparing for Google interviews, it’s a good idea to get familiar with their corporate culture. This Business Week article on How to Be a Better CEO discusses what makes Google’s corporate culture unique. I’ve included the most relevant excerpts below.
Google makes its mission, strategy, and principles clear
“Google reveals its direction to everyone who works there. No joking. Strategy and priorities are available online to everyone, regardless of level, and everyone is expected to know what matters to the company.”
Google empowers its employees
“Google treats talented, principled, creative people like talented, principled, creative people. That lets them keep recruiting exceptional technologists and business people. Visionary doers go where they will have an impact.”
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Now You Can Get an Amazing Job by Having a Great Interview Conversation

May 17th, 2010 by lewis

One of the keys of having a great job interview is to have an excellent conversation. In the June edition of Psychology Today, Matthais Mehl, a researcher from University of Arizona, shares four tips on how to get deeper conversations:
Dare to disclose
Substantive conversations don’t need to be driven by emotion; they can be about politics, technology, even what you watch on TV, but they must involve some personal disclosure. Next time you’re having a dialogue, try inserting something revealing about yourself. You might be surprised how the other person opens up.
Be a full participant
Give your full attention when you’re talking to someone, instead of going through that laundry list of to-do’s in your head, and you’ll inevitably have a more involved tete-a-tete.
Find common ground
Mehl says people look for commonality as a way into having more profound conversations. If you can identify that common ground, you’re on your way to having more meaningful exchanges. (“You’re from Los Angeles? Me too! I also work in finance. Can you believe California is more in debt than Greece?”)
Embrace your environment
Find a place where you feel secure and confident. For some people, that might be a corner of a crowded coffee shop–for others, a secluded part of a park. Whether a discussion is one-on-one or in a group, it’s important to go somewhere everyone feels comfortable. When people feel relaxed, guards go down. The conversations you’ll have will astound you.
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