How to Land a Job at
a Top Tech Company
Gayle Laakmann McDowell
Author of The Google Resume
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My Background
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• Founder / CEO of CareerCup.com
• MBA from Wharton, BSE / MSE in CS
• Author of The
Google Resume
Experience
– Top 1% of interviewers at Google
– Member of Google Hiring committee
Resume
• Engineer at Google, Microsoft and Apple
Experience
Resume
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Tech Culture (The Good)
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•
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Perks galore!
Casual, fun culture
Innovation driven
Smart coworkers
Always driven to build
the “Next Big Thing.”
But…
Google Zurich
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Tech Culture (The Not So Good)
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• Innovation Driven
Engineers can be favored, since they’re the
ones who actually build the product
Experience
Resume
• Smart coworkers
Some arrogance
Over-emphasis of raw intelligence
And, yes, lots of geeks
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Resume
Experience
But… firms differ
• Very engineering focused
• Wants immediate results
• Flat hierarchy  hard to move up • Retail, not tech  thin margins
• Lack of strong management
• Lack of consistent culture
across groups
Apple
• More “businessy”
• “Fanboy” culture
• Highly secretive – even internally • Slower, more bureaucracy
• More risk averse
• Do skills transfer?
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Landing a Job in “4 Easy Steps”
Resume
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1. Develop the right experience.
2. Build a kick-ass resume.
3. Get someone to actually notice you.
Experience
4. Do a great interview.
Developing the Right Experience
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What do tech companies look for?
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• Intelligence
– GPA, School, etc.
• Field Expertise
– Finance, marketing, etc.
Experience
Resume
• Ability to “make an impact”
– Leading projects
– Specific accomplishments
• Passion for Tech
• Showing Initiative
Many of the
same things
as other
companies
very, very nice
to have
Interview
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Becoming a “Techie”
• CS / Engineering Major
• Keep up-to-date with tech
– Read TechCrunch, CNET, and
other tech blogs
Experience
Resume
• Explore
– Website / Blog / Twitter
– Explore Amazon S3 & other tools
• Dive in
– Learn to code (HTML, JavaScript,
etc.) See: codecademy.com
– Launch a tech start-up
Be more than
“just another
MBA”
Interview
Showing Initiative
Experience
Resume
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Leading is good; creating is better.
• Found a company
– iPhone app, etc.
• Create a new club, running
team, etc.
• Launch initiative within
existing group
– Annual charity auction for club?
– Mentoring program?
The more specific
and tangible the
accomplishment,
the better
Building a Kick-Ass Resume
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Interview
How We Review Resumes
1.
2.
Resume
3.
Pull resume out of giant stack
Spot-check: company names,
positions, projects, schools
Skim bullets to see if you’ve
made an impact
Experience
Reject
4.
Interview
Go to next resume & whine about
how many more you have left
“Glanced at,”
not read.
15 – 30
seconds
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Building a Resume (Anywhere)
• One page only
• Real resume template
– Multiple columns, use MS Word tables, etc.
• Accomplishment-oriented
Resume
– Quantify!
• Universally meaningful
– Limit industry technology
Experience
• Short 1 – 2 line bullets
– Paragraphs will not be read
– On every bullet, ask yourself, who cares?
Sample resumes available at www.TheGoogleResume.com
Interview
How is tech “special”?
Experience
Resume
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• Less rigid culture
more freedom to demonstrate strengths
• “Projects” or “Additional Experience”?
– Teaching experience?
– “Side projects” / start-ups
– Informal consulting roles
• Technical Experience?
– MS Office does not count.
– List programming languages (if any)
• What did you not include?
Getting a Recruiter to Notice You
Interview
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Resume
Experience
How to Land an Interview
• On-Campus Recruiting
• Online Applications
• Additional strategies:
– Build an online presence
– Get a personal referral
– Expanding your network
Interview
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Resume
Build an Online Presence: Why?
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•
•
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Makes you a “person,” not a just a name
(Hopefully) demonstrates writing skills
Demonstrates passion for technology
Offers additional context to experience
– Screenshots of your start-up?
– Online demos?
Experience
• Makes you accessible to recruiters
– Recruiters DO search online for candidates
Interview
Build an Online Presence: How
Apply
• Twitter
– Stick to a topic (more or less)
– Join the conversation! Don’t just post links.
Experience
Resume
• Blog / Webpage
– Professional (preferably technology), not
personal
– Post (HTML) resume, so that recruiters can
find you
– Provide link on resume
Interview
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Getting a Personal Referral
• Use your friends of friends
• Alumni database
• Build a relationship with an employee
Experience
Resume
– Comment on blogs, twitter, etc.
• Reach out to recruiters directly
– LinkedIn
– Recruiter’s email addresses are very
accessible. Search: recruiter *@amazon.com
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Expand Your Network
Most people get jobs not from their friends, but
from their friends of friends.
• More than just LinkedIn:
Experience
Resume
– MeetUp.com, Facebook, Twitter, etc.
• Think long-term:
– Give, Don’t Take
– Be the Connector
Do a Great Interview
Experience
Resume
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Interview
Interview Research
•
•
•
•
Questions for Your Interviews
Company Strategy / Future
Product & Industry
Passion / Excitement
Interview
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Resume
Questions for Your Interviewer
• Prepare 10 questions to ask company
• Type 1: Stuff You Want to Know
– Ex: “What’s the typical promotion /
advancement path?”
• Type 2: Qs that Show Your Knowledge
– Ex: “Google used approach X, while others
used Y. Why? It seems Y was better because…”
Experience
• Type 3: Qs that Show Your Passion
– Ex: “I love learning the technical details of a
project. How can marketers do that?”
Interview
Company Strategy / Future
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• Challenges:
– What are their biggest challenges? How would
you solve them?
• Success:
Resume
– Why is this company successful (or not)?
• Competition:
– Who are their competitors? Who is better in
which areas?
Experience
• Predictions:
– What do you predict will happen to this
company in 1 year, 5 years, and 10 years?
Interview
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Resume
Experience
Know the Products & Industry
• Know two company products
• Know two industry products
• Understand:
Avoid the
superfamous
products.
– How does it make money? What is its
strategy? How does it struggle?
– What’s happened with it recently?
– How would you improve the product?
Interview
Passion / Excitement
Experience
Resume
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• Find something that excites you!
– Crowdsourcing? Cloud infrastructure?
• Learn the details so you can discuss it
– What’s the history of this field?
– Where do you think it’s going?
– Who are the leading companies?
– How does this company relate to it?
Interview
Common Interview Questions
Resume
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1. Behavioral Questions
2. Estimation Questions
3. Product Design Questions
Experience
4. Business Questions
Interview
Behavioral Questions
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Tell me about a time when you
had to influence a team.
Resume
Tell me about a time when you faced a
hostile attitude from a coworker.
Experience
Tell me about something you
accomplished in an unexpected way.
Behavioral Questions
1
Interview
Great Responses to Behavioral Qs
Experience
Resume
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• Answer the question you were asked
• Make you look awesome
• Show strong communication skills
Behavioral Questions
1
Interview
Resume
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Behavioral Qs: Preparation
Experience
Download grid at www.thegoogleresume.com
Behavioral Questions
1
Interview
Resume
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Behavioral Qs: Preparation
Experience
Download grid at www.thegoogleresume.com
Behavioral Questions
1
Interview
Resume
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Behavioral Qs: Preparation
Experience
Download grid at www.thegoogleresume.com
Behavioral Questions
1
Interview
Behavioral Qs: Responding
Experience
Resume
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• Be specific – not arrogant
“I did all the hard work for the team”
“I created a strategy to …, which enabled
the company to …”
• Be concise and structured
– Nugget First
– S.A.R.: Situation, Action, Result
Behavioral Questions
1
Interview
Behavioral Qs: Nugget First
Experience
Resume
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• Lead with your “thesis” / nugget
– Grabs the listener’s attention
– Gives them context for where you’re going.
Q: What accomplishment are you most
proud of?
A: I’m most proud of the work I did on
revamping our call-in support system,
which ended up saving about $3 million per
year. Previously, the company was…
Behavioral Questions
1
Interview
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Resume
Experience
Behavioral Qs: S.A.R.
S ituation
A ction
R esult
What was the issue?
What did you do about it?
What was the impact?
Behavioral Questions
1
Interview
Estimation Questions
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How many tennis balls
can fit in an SUV?
Resume
How much money does Gmail make
from ads every year?
Experience
How much do New Yorkers
spend on electricity each year?
Estimation Questions
2
Interview
Estimation Qs: Why?
Experience
Resume
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• Evaluates:
– Math skills
– Logic skills / problem solving / intelligence
– Ability to deal ambiguity
• “It’s the journey, not the destination”
Estimation Questions
2
Interview
Estimation Qs: How to Approach
Resume
Apply
1. Ask questions to resolve ambiguity
– Don’t make assumptions (yet)
2. Outline / Structure Your Approach
3. Break down the components
– Assume numbers when necessary
– State assumptions explicitly
– Round numbers to make your math easier
Experience
4. Sanity Check
– Do your numbers make sense?
Estimation Questions
2
Interview
Estimation Qs: Example
Experience
Resume
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How much money does Gmail make from ads every year?
Step 1: Ambiguous Information
• Just in the US? Or Worldwide?
• Side and top ads?
• Past year? Or average over gmail
history?
• Gmail only? Or include Google Apps?
Estimation Questions
2
Interview
Estimation Qs: Example
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How much money does Gmail make from ads every year?
Step 2: Outline Your Approach
Resume
1. Estimate # of Gmail users
2. Estimate annual clicks
a. Top clicks
b. Side clicks
Experience
3. Estimate $ per click
a. Top clicks
b. Side clicks
Estimation Questions
2
Interview
Estimation Qs: Example
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How much money does Gmail make from ads every year?
Step 3: Break down components
Estimate # of Gmail users in the US
1. Assume 300 million people in the US.
Resume
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–
2. Assume 80% of people use email
–
But 50% only use their work email acct
3. Assume 80% use a “major” email provider
–
Experience
Exclude 0 - 12 years old and 65 - 75 years old
 ~ 200 million
Gmail, Yahoo, Hotmail, AOL, etc.
4. Assume Gmail has 50% of the <35 market, but
20% of the >35 market
… and so on …
Estimation Questions
2
Interview
Estimation Qs: Example
Experience
Resume
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How much money does Gmail make from ads every year?
Step 4: Validate Numbers
• Suppose you get US rev. = $5 billion.
• No, because…
– Google’s annual revenue is ~$30 billion
– $16 / US citizen (not just gmail users)
Estimation Questions
2
Interview
Product Design Questions
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How would you design an
calculator for the blind?
Resume
Design an elevator for a building.
Experience
Pick a Google product.
How would you improve it?
Product Design Questions
3
Interview
Product Design Questions
Experience
Resume
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• Evaluates:
– Communication
– Ability to understand the user
– Creativity
– Business instincts / skills
Product Design Questions
3
Interview
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Resume
Experience
Product Design Qs: Approach
1. Ask questions to resolve ambiguity
2. Understand the user
– Who is your target user?
– What are their problems?
– Know your market!
3. Structure the problem
Product Design Questions
3
Interview
Product Design Qs: Example
Experience
Resume
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How would you design a calculator for the blind?
Step 1: Ask Questions
• Adults? Children? Professionals?
• Where are they using it?
– School, work, etc
Product Design Questions
3
Interview
Product Design Qs: Example
Experience
Resume
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How would you design a calculator for the blind?
Step 2: Understand the User
• What’s important to a blind child?
– Keeping up with the rest of the class
– Not feeling “different”
– Efficient input / output
• What about teachers, parents,
classmates, etc?
Product Design Questions
3
Interview
Product Design Qs: Example
Resume
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How would you design a calculator for the blind?
Step 3: Structure
1. Make a list of essential features
– Which functions do you support?
– Input/output for blind?
– Input/output for non-blind?
Be creative –
but
structured.
Experience
2. Design each component
– Remember the needs of the
users!
Product Design Questions
3
Interview
Business Questions
Apply
How would you introduce
YouTube to Turkey?
Resume
How would you calculate the price of
an Amazon Prime membership?
Experience
How would you determine which of
two business ideas to pursue?
Product Design Questions
3
Interview
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Resume
Experience
Business Questions
• Heavy overlap with Product Design
• Where your MBA comes in handy
• The Approach:
– Ask questions
– Outline a structure
– Solve piece by piece
Business Questions
4
Interview
Business Questions
Apply
How would you price Amazon Prime membership?
Step 1: Ask Questions
• Who?
Resume
– Just for US users? Or worldwide?
• “Features”
– What does Amazon Prime offer?
Experience
• Price structure?
– Single price point? Or promotions, tiered
pricing, etc.?
Business Questions
4
Interview
Business Questions
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How would you price Amazon Prime membership?
Step 2: Outline a Structure
• Understand Priorities:
Resume
– Short term vs. long term? Barriers to entry for
competitors?
• Financial impact:
– Short term
– Long term
Experience
• Evaluate potential price structures
– Single price point
– Tiered pricing
Business Questions
4
Interview
Business Questions
Resume
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How would you price Amazon Prime membership?
Step 3: Solve Piece by Piece
Step (b): Financial Impact
• Short Term
– Increase in purchases
– Lost revenue from shipping fees
Experience
• Long Term
– Improve customer loyalty
– Enhanced barriers to entry
Business Questions
4
Interview
The Curve Ball Question
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when the question is something totally different…
• Remember: Questions come down to:
structure
+
Experience
Resume
• So:
1. Ask questions
2. Structure the problem
3. Solve the pieces
• Don’t rush yourself!
communication
Experience
Resume
After Your Interview
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Interview
Interview
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Resume
Experience
After Your Interview
• Follow-up with your recruiter
– No response != rejection
• Thank you notes
– Nice to do… but most people don’t
• Lots of randomness
– So if you fail, get up and try again.
Interview
More Resources
Experience
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The Google Resume
How to Prepare for a Career and Land a
Job at Apple, Microsoft, Google, or Any Top
Tech Company
Find Me At
Blog: technologywoman.com
Twitter: @gayle
Email: gayle@careercup.com