I have an interview with Google senior management in London in the following weeks and I was wondering what is the dress code on such an interview at the most fancy company nowadays. Please understand that the role I'm interviewing for is NOT a development role so I can't afford to go in a mistake that only developers can. It is a business role that is considered pretty senior as well within the company. Tips ? Suggestions ?

Tomorrow at noon I’ll have my interview with Google. I went through a great deal of effort to be as prepared for this interview as I could be. I poured over my resume, I researched practice questions, I had friends and family run me through mock interviews. Let me share some of the things I learned, and tell you about some of the things I did.   I proofread my resume about a million times. When I printed it, I found that I spelled “laptop” as “laptpo”. Ouch! Whatever, I made it this far into the process with a typo, on my resume. On this plus side I did rig up this resume custom just for Google. Just goes to show that you cannot proofread or double check your work too many times.   I have a long document with all my skills in it, formatted the way I wanted my resume to look. When I want to apply somewhere I copy this document and delete out skills until it fits on one page. This only leaves the skills that the prospective employer cares about most. This is great because I can proofread the big document and benefit from it on all the resume I create later. Each employer I deem worth an hour of my time can get a custom version of my resume. It usually takes me about 15 minutes to snip the chaff, then about 45 minutes to put in company names and copiously proofread. I also made a generic PC Technician and Software Engineer Resume, for businesses that aren’t worth an hour of my time.   When printing my resume I always use some special kind of paper. I have been told that this make it stick out in the pile from other resumes. For this I purchased some 100% cotton 32# paper, it is thick, has a rich color and feels sturdy. Then I just printed it on photo paper. The photo paper is thicker, harder to rip, and this ink/paper combination is completely waterproof. I do not know if this works, but it can’t really hurt. I will post my interviewers reaction to a glossy waterproof resume later.   Next, I wanted to brush up on Linux and PC hardware skills. Not that I have let them lapse in any particular way, but I do not know everything. I started looking into Comptia’s practice tests and their Certification Objectives. I have taken countless A+ tests and passed them all, but judging by my knowledge of the objectives I am a little surprised I scored as well as I did. I studied the best I could in the few short days I had. Despite the objectives list, I feel that my real world experience will pull me through. For some scope on my experience, right now, in my house I have four computers I am fixing for other people. I will diagnose them all successfully, and suggest solutions to all the people who own them. I guess actually fixing computers is the best kind of study I can do.   I also searched for A+ practice tests, even though there are plenty out there I feel I came up empty handed. Most of what is out there is old and not worth studying. I stuck with Comptia as my guide, they had enough to fill my time well.   I asked three other people to ask me technical interview type questions. There where tons of technical questions, and there were Crazy Google interview questions. Many people have told me that an interviewer may throw crazy stuff at you just to see how you react. If this is true I think the worst things you can do is give up or say things like “I don’t know”.   I think the best way to respond to crazy questions is to give the kind of answer they are looking for and a creative answer. If a question relates to real world behavior then it may be wise to point out what could be done better to improve teamwork or leadership or one of those other key skills that all businesses are looking for. For example, on the bridge crossing question couple question from the crazy interview question page: I would start by explaining how I would carry the 10 minute guy because I would be the 2 minute guy or if he refused I would toss him the flashlight once I crossed. Then I would explain the ‘Proper solution’ which involves the fast people ferrying the flashlight back and forth so both the slowpokes can cross together to save time. Then finally. I would state that if the bridge is so unsafe that if a flashlight is mandatory to cross it and our flashlight has exactly the amount of time that we we need it, then it would be safer to wait until morning. My rationale is, if it is too dangerous to cross without the flashlight then it is too dangerous to mount a rescue mission when something goes wrong.   I will follow this up tomorrow with as much as I can say. I am sure that there will be mistakes, highlights and an amazing story about how I got my new job with Google. Original  story

If you’ve gotten through the first job interview and you’re moving on toward the second one, the odds of being hired have just gone up. With that in mind, you really want to be prepared for that second job interview. The questions will be tougher and things will be more complex in a second interview. Make sure that you dress appropriately and that you are on time. You probably did that for the first interview, too, but make sure you do it for the second one, since that’s likely going to be where the final decision is made about hiring you or hiring someone else who presented himself or herself better. If you find that you’ll be late for your interview for any reason, call ahead. Let someone know. That’s much more responsible than breezing in the door fifteen minutes after your scheduled appointment time and saying you’re sorry you’re late but traffic was bad, etc. Another thing you should do is make sure you know about the company before you go to that second interview. You can’t know everything, but you can Google the company and read what is said about it. You can visit its Website if it has one. You can also see if it has a Wikipedia entry. If it’s a big company, it probably does - and some smaller companies do, too. While it’s never wise to believe everything you read on the Internet, this kind of information will give you a lot of knowledge about the company overall, and you’ll notice things that don’t match up properly. If you’ve done anything very important in between a first and second interview, such as received an award or completed your degree, be sure to update your resume and bring the new one to your interview. There’s no shame in letting your potential employer know that you’re still moving forward with your goals. It shows your desire to work, and that’s important. Ultimately, relax and be honest at a second interview. Think about what kind of salary you’re really looking for, and know what’s common for that position. You might be asked about it. Honest answers are very important for success. This article was written by Tom Sangers on behalf of Martin Ward Anderson who offer recruitment services for finance jobs Original story

There are many stories about job interviews at Google. But the most interesting part of any story is the list of questions: Zach had a phone interview in October 2005 and he was asked things like: "Google gets queries from around the world. Write a function that will return a two character string representing a country code given an IP address as its input." Here is the answer: "Essentially, you have to create a tree structure with the country codes as the leaves at the very bottom. I chose to split the IP addresses by octets. So the top level would contain all of the starting and ending numbers corresponding to the first octet on the IP address. So this tree structure would be very wide but only 4 levels deep." Pete Abilla was a little luckier and knew how to answer this question: "You are at a party with a friend and 10 people are present including you and the friend. Your friend makes you a wager that for every person you find that has the same birthday as you, you get $1; for every person he finds that does not have the same birthday as you, he gets $2. Would you accept the wager?" "The answer has to do with the number of days in the year and the probability the person’s birthday falls on the same day as mine (without replacement). I eventually solved it, but it took time learning how to apply probability with no replacement." An interesting problem from Google's aptitude test: Given a triangle ABC, how would you use only a compass and straight edge to find a point P such that triangles ABP, ACP, and BCP have equal perimeters? (Assume that ABC is constructed so that a solution does exist.) The moderator of gamedev.net had a phone interview with rather odd questions: Explain a database in three sentences to your eight-year-old nephew. How many gas stations would you say there are in the United States? You are shrunk to the height of a nickel and your mass is proportionally reduced so as to maintain your original density. You are then thrown into an empty glass blender. The blades will start moving in 60 seconds. What do you do? Niniane Wang, who works at Google, has some tips for a job interview: Practice using the same medium (e.g. paper and pencil) and time limits (e.g. 30 minutes) as the real interview.  During the interview, don't obsess over little mistakes that happen. Don't be rude to your interviewer. Don't hijack the interview (if you really want to talk about a project, ask your interviewer). When answering questions expecting a specific answer, give a high-level summary first. So if you want to work at Google, get ready and good luck!

Q: What should I expect from a phone interview with Google? I have a phone interview which I never done this kind of interview by phone. What should I expect? Learn? Prepare? Any tip may help. A: First of all, congratulations on having the opportunity to work at a top company... You must have very attractive credentials on paper.  I believe you live in Austria.  I think Google is headquartered in Mountain View, CA with offices all over the world. There are a couple reasons well run corporations conduct telephone interviews. It provides them with a cost-effective way to screen you, without having to pay to fly you to Milan, Zürich, or the US for an in person interview. It offers the HR function the opportunity to gather basic information about you and do a high level corporate fit test. Be sure you are fluent in your strengths and "weaknesses". Make yourself focused about where you want to be in 5 years...whether you are or not. Think of the 2-3 top things that you bring to the table.  Be sure they come out in the Q&A somehow.  And, prepare 3-5 good questions you want answered by them.  You may only get time to ask one. Make it a good one. If you pass this first screen, you will be interviewed by someone in the area/function in which you would be working.  These interviews can sometimes also be done by telephone, especially if the candidate who looks attractive on paper lives far away. Eventually, you will be brought in for face to face meetings, possibly supplemented by videoconference interviews. I don’t know the type of job you are interviewing for--business? engineering? staff? etc.?  But, Google has a reputation for hiring the best and the brightest.  On the phone, they have the ability to evaluate how well you communicate and how you think.  Depending upon how important the latter is, they have the ability to give you "brainteasers" or cases to solve.  Typically, solving the problem is secondary to seeing how you structure your solutions and go about problem solving. Don’t be nervous. It will help you to prepare for the interview.  Show that you have done your research into the company and in particular into the division in which you are hoping to work.  Do what you can to find out specifics about Google’s recruiting process from other Google candidates who have gone through it successfully.  Perhaps there are alumni from your university employed there.  Speak to them. Hals und Beinbruch! (not literally, of course...) Viel Glück! Sources: decades of interviewing experience on both sides of the desk Q: What is the protocol after a phone interview? Do I write a thank you note/email? I know that after a regular job interview, one should write a thank you note. Should a thank you note be written after a phone interview? Also, is it acceptable to send an email thank you note if you do not have the person's work...... A: Definately Speaking from Human Resources experience, something as small as a thank you will make a huge impression.  It's not much effort on your part, and it will help solidify a phone conversation in the minds of the interviewers and company. I myself would never do a formal letter after a phone interview or phone screen, but e-mail is perfect.  Also, keep it short and sweet.  Thank them for the opportunity, not the interview (this keeps it positive).  If by some chance you can put a quick sentance in that personalizes the thank you, do it . If you spoke with the interviewer about something non-interview related, making a light, one sentance comment about it is fine.  Something you would say to your grandmother or pastor/priest/reverend will be the test on appropriateness. EXAMPLE: Mr. Smith -   Thank you for the phone conversation and the opportunity, and looking forward to the next step of the process.  Hope that your Cubs make it past this weekend!   Regards,   Employee X   One last thing:  Stay away from animated e-mails, backgrounds, and use a general font (Arial, Times New Roman, Helvetica, etc.)  Q: Do you care about A ‘Dream’ Come True?: US Approves The First Google Phone! A ‘Dream’ Come True: US Approves The First Google Phone New York Times, United States - Aug 18, 2008 The new phone is an important step in Google’s plans to expand the company’s presence beyond the personal computer and into the mobile...... A: Google seems to be a company that is determined in dominating the technology market. I don't care about their phone, but I can imagine it giving a run for its money to Blackberry and iPhone.

I sat in the waiting room with one other applicant. He was older than me by about ten years. Judging by our clothes, it was clear that we were taking different approaches to this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. He dressed professionally. Black suit, white shirt, striped tie. His dress shoes were polished, and their shine matched well with that of his belt buckle. I dressed casually. Blue jeans. Sneakers. A brown collared sweater that hid the geeky maroon “Computer Wizard” t-shirt that I was using as an undershirt. I was trying to dress the part. I had heard that Google’s dress code was simply “You must wear clothes,” so I wore something I might wear to the office if I got the job. Sitting across from Mr. Business Suit, I started wondering if I made a huge mistake. For whatever reason, Mr. Business Suit hadn’t acknowledged my presence since I arrived. He sat cross-legged with a magazine in his lap, half-heartedly thumbing through it without looking up. He kept this up until the Hiring Manager opened the door to the adjacent office and called his name: “Don?” Don set his magazine down and stood up. “Good luck,” I said hopefully. He nodded at me and followed the Hiring Manager out of the room. I took pleasure noticing that the Hiring Manager wore sneakers and jeans. Now that I was the only applicant left in the room, I started reviewing the materials I brought with me to the interview. In my “Portfolio” (a thin 3-ring binder) I had: Loose copies of my resume How-To Instructions and Screenshots from three of my Open Source Projects Two Letters of Recommendation from previous Employers A Thank You Card that I planned to mail immediately following the interview I imagined that I had at least ten minutes until the Hiring Manager asked for me. I was therefore surprised when a petite woman entered the room and called my name: “Shaun?” “Yes?” “I’m Stacy,” she said, extending her arm. I stood up, tucked the Portfolio under my arm, and shook her hand. “Shaun Boyd. How do you do?” “Just fine, thanks. I have good news for you.” “Oh? What’s that?” “Your application has been fast-tracked. I’ll be giving you a quick tour of our facility, and then I’ll introduce you to the team that’s interested in your background.” “Oh my, that is good news,” I said through a huge smile. “How exciting!” “Definitely. Follow me.” As I followed her through the double doors and down the corridor, Stacy filled me in on what being “fast-tracked” meant. She explained that I still needed to be interviewed, but because my application was unanimously selected by an existing project team I was exempt from the first-tier “initial screening” interview. I would start at the second-tier interview, which would be conducted by current members of the team I might be working with. Stacy, a Senior Hiring Manager, would sit in during this interview to see how I interacted with the team members, and to answer any HR questions I might have about the position. Stacy led me into her office and told me to have a seat. She typed an instant message onto her screen, sent it, and then proceeded to copy and paste the same message to four or five other people. She toggled through the responses for a few minutes before speaking to me again. “We have almost 30 minutes until the entire team will be available to meet with you. Would you like to join me for some Free Lunch in the cafeteria?” “Absolutely,” I said. The cafeteria was intimidating. Nearly every station had at least half-a-dozen Google employees in line for their Free Lunch. Since they were already familiar with the selection and ordering process, they moved around the cafeteria with ease while I stood in place holding an empty tray. Stacy pointed to the different stations, told me the type of cuisine that was served there, and encouraged me to not be shy. “Everything is always free, tasty, and nutritious,” she said, more or less reciting everything I had heard about Google’s cafeteria verbatim. I got into the line for Chinese cuisine. I asked for a helping of General Tso’s Chicken over white rice. The chef asked me if I’d like some orange slices to go with my entree, and I said “Yes please!” I joined Stacy at a round table in the center of the cafeteria. She introduced me to Tom and Anu, two of the team members who would be interviewing me once we finished our lunch. She then busted my chops a little by telling them how I chose to get Free Lunch instead of a tour of the facility, but they said I made the right choice. Anu scolded me for not taking advantage of the Slurpee machine. Tom asked about the Portfolio I was carrying. I paged through it briefly, and explained that it was basically a detailed addendum to my application. I said that I’d like to show it to the entire team during the interview, if they’d be interested. He gave me the impression that they would be. Once we finished lunch, we returned our trays and left the cafeteria. The four of us rode the elevator up together and got off on the floor where the meeting with the entire team would take place. I followed Stacy around a corner and through a large wooden door. I stepped onto the boat and felt disoriented. I suddenly found myself on a sailboat with my father, in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, rocking violently in a complete mess of a thunderstorm. My dad was signaling for me to grab the lines near the bow, but before I could grab a hold of them a giant wave crashed into the broad side of the boat and knocked me overboard. Right before I hit the surface of the water, I woke up. … I’m jobless in Michigan. For the past month, I’ve been relentlessly applying to and interviewing for various local jobs with little to no success. As of last night, the job hunting process has permeated my subconscious mind to the point where I’m literally dreaming about it. What I experienced in my dream was so vivid that I felt compelled to share it above. No, it never happened. No, it’s not an accurate representation of the application and interview process at Google. It is, however, more interesting than my recent experiences in the real world. If I misled you, I’m sorry. I just wanted to take a break from writing cover letters to write something enjoyable. I hope some readers will enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. Original story

First, let's make it clear: I never worked at Google, but the following post is the result of my extensive research of google's interview process. This is my version of their interviewer guide, and I can't promise that it is totally accurate. Google's interview process is build around the idea that the candidate must never know or be able to claim that he passed the interviews sucessfully, until they actually hire him. The reason is that if Google will end up rejecting a candidate that aced the interviews, he will be able to sue them for discrimination with regard to his search history. Since it is perfectly legal for them to look at it, and it is their obligation to do it, the candidate does not have to show a proof that they actually did that - it is obvious. They will obviously do not admit that, or will say their opinion about his search history - because it is something internal, a secret they hide from the candidate (just like his previous employers opinion of him). They hide it for the benefit of the candidate too, because to be rejected because of a suspicion of a mental illness that is implied by the search history is obviously endlessly embarassing. Google uses the following techniques for this purpose: 1) They never give you feedback right after the interview. 2) There are many interviews, and Google says you have to be good in all of them in order to succeed. 3) There might be many interviews in a single day, so the candidate will probably not be at his best in some of them. 4) They ask you to code, ask you about your past projects, and all kinds of not too personal questions - like what are your hobbies. It is very hard to know if they liked your answer. 5) They ask you really hard questions, and say it is because they are interested in your "thought process". 6) You see many different people from various backgrounds, some might be from abroad. The interview process usually includes flights to abroad. 7) They ask you questions about things that you are not supposed to know. 8) They might use body language readers in the interviews. 9) They ask for a references list, and call each person there. 10) There are interviews with multiple interviewers (they are all supposed to like you). 11) They tell you that they are interested in people with all kind of strange hobbies and unique personal traits. 12) They write everything you do during the interview, and submit it to Larry and Sergey. 13) The interviewers do not speak among themeselves, and they give the results of the interviews to Larry and Sergey. This way they also make sure that if they do look at your personal information, nobody but Larry and Sergey, that make the final decision, knows about it (i.e. it is done in the most discrete way possible). There is obviously nothing evil about it, it's the only way they can make sure that the candidate will never be left suspicious that the reason they rejected him is his personal information (most people don't know that it is legal for them to check it). The worst case scenario is that a very naive candidate with mental problems (for example, he searched for suicidal content) will approach them, and they will reject him in a way that it will be clear to him that it is purely because of his personal information. The entire interview process is built so as to prevent this.

I have realized that I have a perfect recipe to passing a Google interview. It's not easy, but if you do it, you have 95% or more chance of success. The good thing is that the result is portable - you will be equally employable by Microsoft, as well as most other good software companies. Here it is. Read and do all exercises in the following books: (1) Introduction to Algorithms (Except chapters on advanced data structures (including B-trees, binomial and Fibonacci heaps, representing disjoint sets in data structures); sorting networks; polynomials and the Fast Fourier Transformation (FFT)) (2) Computer Architecture, Fourth Edition: A Quantitative Approach and (3) Hacker's Delight If you do this and you're not hired (but you can prove that you've done all the exercises and tried to pass the interview in good faith), I will pay you $200 :-).

Among many IT professionals, working at Google is seen as a dream job. And no wonder. The burgeoning company is a driving force in Internet development. Its Web-based word processing app, Writely, sends a shiver of nervousness through Microsoft. Its Adsense program is changing e-commerce. And its acquisition of YouTube earned grudging admiration from Big Media. Heck, the very word “google” has entered the language, earning a coveted spot in the august confines of Webster’s Dictionary. Working for Google means working for an organization that’s extraordinarily well funded – the words “layoff” and “Google” aren’t likely to be paired anytime soon. It also means working alongside top talent. With as many applications as Google receives, the company has its pick of the best. If that’s not enough, Google serves a free lunch – every day – to its employees. (“Yummy, and made with love,” according to the company.) The good news is that Google is hiring. A lot. The company is hoovering up IT staffers like a Boy Scout at an all-you-can-eat. Its job board lists scads of openings, and with the company’s breathless growth it’s likely there’ll soon be more. The bad news is that getting hired at Google isn’t easy. It requires a unique set of characteristics to land a gig with the search giant. With that in mind, Datamation spoke with Google’s Director of Staffing, Arnnon Geshuri, about the company’s hiring process. Google, being Google, doesn’t just call its staffers “employees.” No, that’s far too traditional. So what’s its special term of endearment for workers? With a laugh, Geshuri spills the secret: “When they come on board, they become Googlers.” However light-hearted, the term is revealing. It suggests a unique corporate culture, especially in the tech world. (True, Microsoft workers are called ‘Softies,’ but how many other big tech companies give workers a nickname? After all, IBM staffers aren’t called ‘IBMmers.’) And what makes a Googler? “We have a core belief that a Googler has certain aspects to themselves,” Geshuri says. “They’re really motivated, enthusiastic, entrepreneurial.” The word that stands out in that otherwise generic description is entrepreneurial. While working in the IT department of, say, a large manufacturing facility might not require entrepreneurial spirit, working at Google most certainly does. With the search giant’s rapid growth – and its aggressive moves in arenas held by competitors – the need for staffers to possess self-starting business smarts seems clear. Does that mean that an IT pro needs strong business skills to get hired? “It’s always a plus, but it’s not necessarily itself a deal breaker,” Geshuri says. Google prefers it when, “from a business sense, you can relate to the technical aspects and look at the mission-critical needs to the company, and really understand some of the context around why we’re building some of the infrastructure.” In short, “It helps if the person can align the business needs to the technology.” This may be more important at Google due to the company's innovative “20 percent time” policy, in which IT staffers are free to pursue projects they're passionate about on company time. It takes an entrepreneurial (and disciplined) spirit to use this unstructured time in ways that benefit the bottom line. If you’re wondering if Google has an opening in your particular tech area, the answer is probably yes. “The great thing is that we have almost every type of IT opening available,” Geshuri says. “From networking to security to sysadmins. If you look at our job board, we have tons and tons of amazing openings.” He’s not exaggerating. The openings range from the data center, global infrastructure, and security to video conferencing, telecommunications, and Web site engineering. The locations, too, are diverse. “It’s not necessarily centralized, so it’s a broad set of roles in all the locations we have,” he says. The company has facilities from Phoenix to New York to Dallas, not to mention Egypt, the Ukraine, Latvia, Ireland, Azerbaijan, and many others. (Azerbaijan? Does Google need outposts in every little corner of the world? Is it…planning on taking over the planet?) “Not one location is hiring more than the other,” Geshuri explains. He refers to the global growth of the company, how it’s always building infrastructure, always trying something new, always innovating. “So each location, we want them to be just as fully staffed as any other location since we’re growing very rapidly.” Google receives about 3,000 job applications per day, Geshuri says. This number represents applications for all the company’s jobs, not just tech positions. However, “Because we’re always looking for great IT talent, a great portion of that [3,000 applications] is IT professionals.” If your resume is one of those that attract attention, your phone will ring. For IT job applicants, “It’s a phone screen first, with…a series of folks internally,” he says. “Once that occurs, the qualified candidates are invited to one of our campuses to interview in that respective area.” If all goes well, you’re on your way to becoming a Googler, and earning what Geshuri refers to as “very competitive compensation and benefit packages.” If you think you’re qualified, Geshuri stresses that Google is very interested in hearing from you. “We are very open to new personnel and new ways of doing things, and we’re always looking for the greatest talent to come join the Google family," he says. “This is a wonderful environment for someone to grow in.”  

Before the interview Your objectives To obtain information about the company/position to see if you would like to continue with the interview process To successfully answer the interview questions and prove that you are worthy of a face-to-face interview To appropriately “close” the interview (express your interest and thank the interviewer) Inquire about the rest of the interview process (timeline) Have ready Pen and paper, a computer(with fast internet :) ), your calendar. The job description and the resume and cover letter which you submitted. A list of your accomplishments which relate to the job you are discussing. Research you have done on the company, a short list of questions about the job. Prepare three to five key statements about your strengths and successes (also a few statements on your limitations and difficult situations you’ve encountered).Make sure you have a space set aside that is free of distractions. If you are taking the call on a cell phone, make sure you have strong reception. Know your comfort zone. Plan where you are going to sit (at a desk, table or couch). Prepare responses to typical interview questions Tell me about yourself. Why do you want to work for our company? What are your leadership skills? Give an example. What are your strengths and weaknesses? Tell about a time where you and a group were given a task and successfully completed it. What was your role? What was the result? Describe a time where you were faced with a high pressure or stressful situation. How did you handle it? Describe one work related mistake that you’ve made and what would you do differently? Are you willing to relocate? Travel? What would you like to know about us? During the Interview Who calls who? If you have been asked to call at a specific time, call precisely at that time. Too early makes you appear overly eager. Too late shows lack of interest - excuses won't be tolerated. If you can't get through (manager busy), leave a message with the receptionist to show that you called at the right time. If you have been told that the hiring manager will call you - do not expect the same rules to apply. They will call you when they can. Call objectives If the call is a straightforward screening call, the caller will likely ask about your experience, availability and related skills. Your strategy is to provide facts that support your resume, with some context about your performance. Make every effort to sound professional but also personable. Your goal is to secure an in-person interview with the person who has the authority to hire. Approach the call with that attitude. Things to remember: • When you answer the phone say: “Good Morning, Ms. X”. • Sound interested, energetic and enthusiastic. Speak slowly and enunciate clearly. • Enforce a dress code. Dressing in at least business casual attire will positively impact your ability to focus on the interview. If you wear earrings, remove them before the call. • Relax and be ready. Be sure to take the time to prepare for the interview. • Smile. Smiling will project a positive image to the listener and will change the tone of your voice. • Don't use slang, jargon and don't swear. • Avoid uh, er, um and like. This habit is especially noticeable on the telephone. It’s okay to pause and take time to think - it’s better than saying empty “filler” words. • Avoid simple yes or no answers. • If you need time to think, say so. • Focus on what you have to offer and can do. Be factual in your answers. Be prepared to give a positive two minute summary of your professional career Rehearse this! Employers hire people for what they can do for them. • Be a good listener, don’t interrupt. • Be careful of small talk. • Take notes on long questions. This will help you remember all aspects you need to touch on in your answer. • Be comfortable with silence. The interviewer might be writing as you are speaking. • After the interview, write down key words or interesting questions This will help you prepare for the face-to-face interview Ending the Interview Closing the interview Thank the interviewer (using their name) for their time and tell them that you are interested in the position (assuming that you are). Say you hope to be considered further and meet them in person. Ask about the next steps in the interview process as well as the hiring timetable. Follow up with a thank you note or email as soon as possible (for sure within one week). If you are offered a face-to-face interview Thank the interviewer and express your enthusiasm, and ask for details: When? Where? How to get there? (Are you responsible or will they pay for it?) With whom? What will the process be like?

Attention, job hunters. Google is hiring. In fact, it’s having a problem finding enough people with the right talent and skills to fill all its openings.  So what’s the best way to get your foot in the door? When you visit Google’s career page, you’re greeted with the question: “Can one conversation change the world?” To find out what that means, Associate Editor Richard Gincel had a meaningful conversation with Judy Gilbert, staffing program director at Google, who covered the bases for anyone interested in working for a company that, according to its own description, “offers the freedom of a startup with the stability of a large, profitable, and growing company.” InfoWorld: So, how do I get a job at Google? Judy Gilbert: The first thing is to figure out what kind of job you want. If you go to our Web site, we’ve got all kinds of opportunities all over the world, and they’re changing all the time. So whatever your area of expertise is, there’s a good chance you’ll find an opening that fits what it is you want to do. IW: What kinds of cutting-edge work is Google doing to attract top talent? JG: If you look at our labs page of new products and services, and updates to things we’ve already released, you’ll get a pretty good idea, though you’re still only seeing the tip of the iceberg in terms of our R&D. We recently announced Google Apps for Your Domain. And that’s just one that was announced in the last three days. In a typical week around here, we may be doing three separate product releases. IW: What skills and talents are most in demand at Google right now? JG: Well, we’re always looking for software engineers. But it really varies. We look for folks that can work in groups -- that’s critical to what we do in all departments, not just engineering. We want people who can contribute on their own and, more than pull their own weight, enjoy the collaborative process of making things better. IW: Am I going to be working 50 or 60 hours a week? JG: We don’t have a culture where we have people burning the midnight oil all the time. With that said, there are products to be shipped and time lines [to be upheld]. Sometimes you stay late. But the joy in delivering on time can make all the hard work worth it as you’re sprinting toward the finish line. Then, you take a couple days off. IW: What will make my résumé pop? JG: We look for people who have a track record of achievement; they’ve gone above and beyond in some way. It might mean that they’ve worked on open source projects, which shows that’s how they want to spend some of their free time. Volunteer work is something that can show real commitment. We’re looking for those who find ways to go above and beyond. IW: What should my résumé omit? JG: If people bother to call out that they’re familiar with word processing programs, we’ll be less impressed. IW: Will Google fly me out to Mountain View to interview me? JG: If we decide to move forward after a first-round phone interview, we’ll fly the candidate to whichever office is interviewing them. IW: What are some qualities that almost all Google employees share? JG: We look for people who take initiative and make things happen. You’re the one who says, “I have ideas how to fix this, so who’s going to help me?” And then you go get the work done. IW: What should I know about the culture at Google? JG: There’s a lot to like. There are pictures and things on our Web site that are worth checking out. I guess the thing to understand is that we’re always seeing interesting problems to solve and we want to put smart people against them. IW: What’s the average length of employment? JG: I’m not sure. But we’re growing very quickly and have a very low attrition rate. The people who have been here a while tend to stay. IW: What should I wear to the interview? JG: You’re going to find people in all sorts of different outfits. Business casual is always good because it’s right down the middle. Pair of pants and a shirt. Shoes are also recommended. IW: How much should I know about the company before I come in? JG: If you’re going to spend the time to be out here, it helps a lot to ask questions that pertain to how our business works. There’s a lot of info out there about us. We don’t typically use pre-existing knowledge of our own products as a way to screen out, but then again it’s a good indicator that the candidate has done their homework. I’d recommend opening up an AdWords account. Most of our products are free, so there are plenty of ways to get to know the company. IW: Would it be wise to bring up Google’s competitors, let’s say Yahoo? JG: That could be an appropriate topic, especially if you’ve got something insightful to offer. We don’t want anyone to disclose anything they’re not supposed to, but comparing and contrasting products can be a great way to get a discussion going. IW: I think the interviews went great, but I haven’t heard back. How long should I wait until I follow up? JG: It’s always fair game to reach out to your recruiter and check in on the process and get an ETA. It depends. Different groups have different processes, so your best route is the recruiter. Original story

I found an interesting set of answers to interview questions. I found the answers first, and sadly, I knew what the questions were. If you haven’t seen the questions before, consider yourself lucky. Very early in my career, I lost out on a job because of these two: 1. Why are manhole covers round? 2. There are three switches in one room and one light bulb in another. How can you tell which switch controls the bulb if you can only make one trip from the switch room to the bulb room? The goal of these questions is ostensibly to assess your problem solving skills. Given that none of the people I hire will ever be working with manholes, testing lights or studying angles on analog clocks, I take a different approach in interviewing. There are two questions I ask everyone I interview. “What’s your favorite Internet product and why?” To some extent, I don’t really care what your favorite product is. I interviewed one woman whose favorite product I considered to be a dumb product. I pushed her on all the reasons I thought it was stupid, and she was able to defend her position. She thought the interview had gone poorly, but I recommended we hire her. She turned out to be a great hire. I’m also looking to see what you look for in a product. If you picked it because it’s blue and blue is a pretty color, that’s not very interesting. The product someone picks can also tell me about how deep they’ve dug into the Web. Bonus points for picking a relatively obscure or new product. “How would you improve it?” There are no perfect products (not even mine). Once we’ve established your favorite product, I want to know how much you’ve thought about it. Good product people are those who are thinking all the time. They get annoyed when things don’t work right and think “if only it did…” If you’ve thought critically about it, you should be able to make some solid suggestions. Suggesting improvements that already exist in the product shows that you haven’t really explored it. I’ve found these questions to be more effective than trite questions like “What’s your biggest weakness?” My biggest weakness is that I don’t know how to use a manhole cover to turn off lights in a room I can only visit when the hour and minute hands are at a 7.5 degree angle. Original story

I recently noticed that a fellow Googler posted some thoughtful tips about interviewing at Google, and -- now that I'm a bit more comfortable blogging about Work -- I figured I'd contribute to the conversation a bit by offering my own, unofficial tips. Note the unofficial part. I work in Search Quality; aside from occasionally being asked to interview candidates (like most Googlers) -- I have nothing to do with our recruiting, recruiters, etc., nor do I pretend to speak for the HR folks. The stuff below is based on my own observations and opinions. * * * Application and interview tips Broadly: be interesting, be humble, demonstrate outstanding competence in your direct area, briefly highlight your well-roundedness (academically, workwise, and personally), and clarify how you are an excellent fit with both the position you're applying for and Google overall.  Admittedly, with an insane number of applications a year, it is a bit of a numbers game.  Some outstanding people get rejected.  And, though I haven't witnessed this personally, I'm sure some jerks get offers.  Luckily, Google's been overhauling its hiring processes, and I'm optimistic that particularly the percentage of great people getting overlooked (in relation to the number of apps) will decrease. Some specific tips and notes: Write a decent cover letter Write with a tone that's professional yet warm... not stiff or dry.  Your (discernible) voice should come through. Keep it to one page (max!) or less.  Maybe even a lot less. Convince Google of the fits described above -- that's critical!!! Your resume can be in PDF, Word, HTML, or text formats (unless otherwise requested, of course!) But note that it will be ultimately printed out.  This means that reasonable pagination can be helpful and also suggests that a comprehensive 20 page document is perhaps not a great idea.  When you want your recruiter and interviewers to know more about your background & interests, links are your friends. Respectful persistence can be appropriate If you genuinely have another offer on the table, let your recruiter know! If the recruiter promised to get back with you in [x] days, and in [x+1 or x+2] days you haven't heard back, politely e-mail them. If you have a friend at Google who can articulately and sincerely vouch for you, that can work in your favor. Your association / relationship with that person matters.  They'll be asked how they know you and how well they know you (and your skills). Passion matters and is skillfully perceived.  You're probably wasting your time unless you really are excited about a particular position. Getting turned down for one Google position does not mean you're ineligible to apply for another position down the road. General interview advice that probably applies for pretty much any company: Ask thoughtful questions. Allow time for traffic and parking and finding the right building.  Google -- at least the Mountain View campus -- is a big place! Dress one or two steps better than you expect your interviewers to be.  Less than that, and people may wonder about your judgment.  More than that, and people may think you're clueless or arrogant. The "right" dress at Google probably varies by department.  Engineering folks tend to be more informally dressed than sales folks.  If you're interviewing for a senior management position, I'd probably dress a bit more formally than you would for an intern interview.  But the official advice also really makes sense here:  dress comfortably.  If you feel comfortable and confident, it'll show. Get a good night's sleep the two nights before.  Sleep deficits are cumulative.  If you have a morning interview, make sure you're getting up early the two or three mornings before to get yourself ready to be mentally and physically alert during your interview time.  On a similar health note, drink and eat smartly the day of your interview.  Hunger pangs are distracting. Invest in a good pen to take to interviews.  The heft and reliability can be a real-even-if-small confidence booster.  Taking occasional notes can help you remember info or questions for later, and also might indicate a sense of thoughtfulness and interest to your interviewer. On the whole, think of interviews kind of like first dates.  You don't want to do all or even most of the talking.  You're there to impress, to learn, to help determine whether there's a good potential for a relationship.  First impressions are important.  Show you are caring and thoughtful by asking good questions.  Avoid having spinach in your teeth (floss beforehand!). Possibly-little-known factoid: No Googler -- not even Larry or Sergey -- can singlehandedly extend an employment offer to anyone.  While candidates don't have to go through as many interviews nowadays, most candidates -- regardless of level -- typically interview with quite a few peers; team-fit is critical! * * * I expect to offer some more Google-thoughts in the future, but -- as a reminder -- this is my personal blog, and as such, I expect to generally blather on about anything I feel like discussing, ranting, dissecting, punning, lamenting, etc... which is more likely than not to be boring to the impatient sort. Oh, and one last thing: please keep comments on-topic as a courtesy not only to me, but to the cool folks reading my blog. Thanks! Original story

Below is a short list of tips and thoughts regarding the Google interview process that might be helpful to anyone interested in interviewing with Google -- but (as LeVar Burton would say) you don't have to take my word for it -- I didn't get the job. Know Someone (Networking): Like I had mentioned, I believe the statistic was that 1 million resumes were sent to Google but only 5000 people were actually hired last year. From that perspective, that means if you apply to Google, you have a .5% chance of actually getting hired. If you know a Googler who can refer you, the recruiters will most likely consider you before they consider a random applicant. Going through a referral will get you noticed quickly. From the time I was referred to the time I was contacted by the recruiter was a matter of days. Dont let this be your first interview in a long time: I'm copying this word of advice from a current Google employee who wrote a blog entry about interviewing and I can definitely agree. He said do not interview with your dream job first. If you are a bit rusty, you may have trouble interviewing at your 'dream job'. I think that was one mistake I made. I think after interviewing with Google I became a bit more refined in how I handle myself, what my career goals are, how I talk. Interview with other companies, let your thoughts, opinions and skills really sink in and then have a go at your dream job. Hammer down on the fundamentals: The recruiter will probably tell you this, that at Google algorithms and data structures are the 'bread and butter'. The interview will most certainly center around problem solving using algorithms and data structures. Given certain conditions, ie memory, environment, language, etc, what would be the most efficient way to solve a problem. Know your basics and be prepare for the twist. Old text books and even the AP Computer Science book are actually a great resource because they do just that. The chapter teaches about the topic but the question section always puts a tweak and presents a unique problem. Paper and pencil coding: As I prepared for the interview, I tried to code out problems on paper and pencil to mimic the actual interview process. I soon realized how much I relied on the IDE to help me code. There are so many things the IDE does for the coder that I was just kind of mentally screening out such as certain syntax or structure. Do your best to code using paper and pencil because that's definitely what I experienced. Talk a lot: I don't mean be annoying and just babbling, but speak your mind as you grind down into an algorithm or a problem. This shows a thought process and gives clues to the interviewer about your skills and personality. I believe the interview is meant to be somewhat of an exchange between the interviewer and interviewee. By keeping open, intelligent dialog, I think I was able to get through my questions much easier and even get help from the interviewer. Be prepared for a long process: I can't say this for sure (since my interview process ended rather shortly) but from what I understand and what I was told, the process lasts more than a month. With the myriad of interviews and reviews, the length of time is no surprise. Fortunately it just gives the interviewee more time to study and sharpen up. The interview process isn't always an accurate representation of a person: After having gone through what I have, I've been able to at appreciate what Google is trying to do. They are trying to produce the most effective interviewing process laden with tough questions meant to bring in the best of candidates. It seems to work, but at the same time an interview may not best represent a candidate. I know of interviewees who are bright, capable, technically strong and interpersonally gifted who did not get the job, but this just shows the arbitrary nature of interviews, which brings me to my next point. A bad hire is worst then screening out a good candidate: Anyone who has ever worked knows just how much a bad hire sucks the life out of an organization. A phone screen is named as such to show that it is meant to 'screen' out people who aren't a good fit. This interview process is so rigorous that bad hires presumably do not make it through. Unfortunately at the same time, the rigorousness will screen out some great people, but the ones who make it through all have a strong chance at actually being great employees. Contract to hire is good: From what I understand, a lot of the new hires are being brought on as a contractor before being hired full time. This is a really good idea in keeping the integrity within the organization's engineers. The probational period is just another screen to make sure candidates really do meet the needs and requirements of the company. If you make it far through the interview process, this may happen to you. Have Fun: So I didn't get the job, I never got to experience the free world class dining, the trip to Mountain View, or the subsidized massages, but through it all I'd say it was a pretty wild yet short ride which I enjoyed. If you are a software engineer and you are applying to Google, there must be a part of you which is genuinely interested in challenges and problems. There must be a part of you that gets geeky over these kinds of things. Go into an interview and do your best to enjoy and have fun in the moment. If you get it then great. If you don't then hopefully you gained something from it and enjoyed the thrill whatever the outcome -- I did. Original story

This a follow-up to my previous post about my interview process with Google. Once a post gets as long as that one did, I’m sure to forget to say some things. Rather than updating that post, I thought I had enough new to say to warrant a new post. First is the picture I got of their development process. There are plenty of other places on the Internet about their development process, so I won’t go into detail about what they told me–it pretty much matches up with the available information. It really sounds like they try to match the amount of process required to the specific project at hand. Projects with a huge public impact have lots of process (Google’s front page, indexing, etc.), while those that are newer and much lower impact (stuff in the Labs section, and even graduates of the Labs) have a much more flexible, agile process, designed to get improvements out the door very quickly. I like that–no mandatory bureaucracy where it doesn’t make sense. Aside from process, however, it seems that they are very intent on giving developers an environment designed to help them succeed. From what I understood, the company actively tries to remove stupid barriers to productivity (needless paperwork, poor IT, bad workstations) and give you whatever you need to do your job how you think best. Obviously, there are rules and standards, but it just sounded more flexible. It really sounded like an ideal development environment: Obstacles removed, needs granted. Now, how much of that is the official “show” they put on for all interviews, who knows, but Google is obviously doing something right. Bottom-line is that Google is a company of engineers for engineers. They’re the ones in charge of what the company does. That is a very nice place to be if you love coding. Also, I should mention that the Google Boston office is MUCH smaller than their Mountain View headquarters. The way things are done, while it will still be “Googly”, will most likely have a different feel and pace than at headquarters. I had read many reports on the web about how people worked late hours, on weekends, and basically sacrificed their lives for the company. I did NOT get that impression in Boston. They were definitely smart and very hard working, but it sounded more like the company was flexible and if you got your work done, who cares? (That’s the way things ought to be done for sufficiently self-motivated employees). I did ask about inordinate over-time (mistake on my part?) and work-life balance and I came away with a satisfactory impression. Whether this means Boston is special, or the accounts I read on the Internet were not representative, I don’t know. Probably a lot of the latter, for sure. I also wanted to address my final link in my last post. I know it can be a little disappointing to read that kind of post and realize it’s not talking about you, because you’re interviewing for jobs. I wouldn’t take it too literally. Maybe my link text is a little black and white. I think the principle is definitely valid, though. The better you are, the more freedom you have to choose where you work and what you work on and the less chance your going to fall into a company’s hiring process. It’s really more about statistics from a company’s point of view of finding the best, not necessarily for individuals. Hopefully, that’s all I have to say on the subject, but if you have questions, just leave them in the comments and I’ll try to answer them! Original story