The Google Resume (12 page)

Controlling the Interview

Hopefully, you’re walking into the interview with a host of stories behind you. But what if the interviewer doesn’t ask the right things? If they’re not headed in the direction you want, lead them there. Here’s an example:

Interviewer:
What was your project at Google?

Candidate:
I joined just after Google acquired YouTube, and I was responsible for figuring out a plan for merging YouTube’s technology with Google’s. The two companies were working with some of the same basic technologies, but I needed to figure out how much—if at all—to merge them. I quickly discovered that YouTube could be made much more cost effective by leveraging the Google Video libraries. I spent most of my time working on the video compression library, which is where I hit some of the most interesting challenges.

What do you think is the next question she’ll ask? If she’s at all interested, she’ll probably ask you to elaborate on the challenges you faced. If she’s not interested, then aren’t you glad you didn’t ramble?

By leading your interviewer like this, you’ll be able to drive the conversation in a way that’s positive for both you and your interviewer, rather than drown her in details.

Alternatively, you can be more direct and say: “I can elaborate on that if you’d like.” This is a good way of skipping over details in a story that an interviewer may or may not want to hear.

Four Ways to Keep the Interviewer’s Attention

I wish I could tell you that interviewers were eager to speak to you—that they open your résumé well in advance, research your projects, and maybe even check out the web site that you conveniently listed on your application. For some—especially the newly minted interviewers—this might be the case.

But, as interviewers become more experienced, their enthusiasm tends to wane. The walk over to the interview room becomes the ideal slice of time for résumé preparation. While you’re diving into the nitty-gritty details of how you saved your current employer from impending doom, your interviewer is picturing the ever-growing mountain of work waiting for them. They know the importance of the interview both to you and to the company, but at the same time, they just want to be done already!

You can’t really blame your interviewer (too much), but you can be proactive in detecting when they’re losing focus and in bringing them back to you.

Keep an eye out for your interviewer glancing at their computer or phone. (If you’re on a phone interview, look for unusual silences.) This is a sign that they’re losing focus.

Don’t call them on it—it won’t earn you any points. Rather, try these tips:

• Vary your speech.
  Try varying the volume or tone of your speech. Speaking a bit louder or a bit quieter may be the kick needed to grab your interviewer’s attention. Or, if you can show some additional passion or enthusiasm in your voice, your interviewer might absorb some of this emotion.
  
• Tell a story.
  Minor changes in word choice can flip your response from a bland description of what happened to a memorable story. Consider the difference between “The servers were experiencing significant downtimes during peak ordering times, which made us lose money” and “I answered the phone to hear a customer screaming at us because our web site was down. As we looked into it, we discovered this was a widespread issue that caused our department to lose about $10,000 each month.” Adding action to the story will grab the listener’s attention, while quantifying the impact will ground what you’re saying in fact. Be careful not to go overboard, though—you don’t want to drown the person in details either.
  
• Talk less.
  Rather than giving all the aspects of a story, consider limiting yourself to just the important facts—that is, the things that are essential to understand what you did and why it mattered. Does the interviewer need to know that the coworker in your story is French? Unless the story is about a language barrier, probably not.
  
• Structure your responses.
  Ever listened to someone speak and ask yourself, “Where is this story going?” Sometimes this is because the person is talking too much, but sometimes it’s just due to a lack of structure. Picture your response as a set of bullets and sub-bullets—and use them while speaking! For example: “We had two major issues with this design: one, our customers are very cost-sensitive, and two, it would take too long to implement. As far as the first point, we believed that . . .” Hand gestures can help make the division between your points even clearer.
  

With all of this advice, remember the 80/20 Rule of Body Language. If your interviewer’s attention drifts, she’s probably just like that in general. Don’t lose hope or get discouraged, but
do
act on it.

Projecting Confidence

Confidence is a delicate balancing game: too much confidence and you appear arrogant; too little confidence and you appear insecure. You need to find the “sweet spot”—the point where you are assertive with your own opinions, and are bold enough to take some risks, but you also listen and respect others.

Whether you have lots of confidence or little, keep in mind this advice:

• Eye contact.
  Making eye contact with your interviewer shows confidence and—short of starting a staring contest—you probably can’t go overboard with this. If you are the type to stare at the desk or up in the air while trying to construct an answer, then make sure to maintain steady eye contact.
  
• Match your volume.
  Roughly matching your voice to your interviewer’s will ensure that you speak at an appropriate volume that doesn’t get read as too aggressive or too passive. Of course, don’t go overboard on this—if your interviewer is barely audible, you should just soften your voice only as much as it easily comfortable for you.
  
• Don’t argue (too much).
  Occasionally, your interviewer might say something you disagree with—and you might even be correct. Speak up, but gently. Use wording like, “Interesting—I thought that Apple had stated they wouldn’t enter this market,” and then if your interviewer stands firm, “Oh, all right, I must be thinking of something else.” No matter how sure you are, always remember that your interviewer thinks you’re wrong. And it’s your interviewer’s opinion that matters.
  
• Watch out for nervous habits.
  Fidgeting with your watch. Chewing on pencils. Twirling your hair between your fingers. Any of these sound familiar? Nervous habits like this not only suggest that you lack confidence, but they can also be distracting or even offensive to your interviewers.
  

Special Interview Types

While much interview advice is broadly applicable, there is some advice that is most applicable to specific types of interviews.

The Phone Interview

Phone interviews are usually conducted early in the interview process, as a precursor to the on-site interview. Some companies may additionally use instant messenger or a document-sharing site when sending code or other text.

What to Bring

Though you’ll usually be doing your phone interviews from your own home or office, make sure to have the following out in front of you:

• Calculator.
  In case you need to do quick calculations.
  
• Pencil and paper.
  Use this to jot down notes or potential questions to ask the interviewer.
  
• Your résumé.
  Your interviewer will be using your résumé to ask you questions, so it’s helpful to be able to look at the exact document to know what he’s reading from.
  
• Computer.
  Have it out in front of you in case your interviewer needs you to open up a document or reference a web site. But
  keep it closed until then
  . If you try to look up answers on your computer, it’ll only distract you and it’s unlikely to fool your interviewer.
  
• Your interview prep grid.
  Remember the interview prep grid we discussed earlier? A phone interview is a perfect time to have it out in front of you.
  
• Notes.
  It’s fine to keep some reference material out in front of you, but keep it simple. If you have to read anything more than a couple of words, it’s more likely to distract you than help you.
  

How to Do Well

• Find a quiet place.
  Dogs barking or babies crying will not only distract you from an interview, but they’ll also show a lack of professionalism and responsibility on your part. Find a nice, quiet place to conduct your phone interview.
  
• Avoid rescheduling (but do so if necessary).
  Try not to reschedule your interview. However, if you need to, then do so! Mike, a Google candidate, was so afraid of rescheduling his interview that he ended up conducting it standing up in a maintenance closet. He did not get the offer.
  
• Smile!
  Even though your interviewer may not be able to see you, smiles are reflected in your voice (and psychology tests show it’ll actually make you happier). And who doesn’t want to work with a cheerful person?
  

The HR Screening Interview

The HR screening interviewer is “just” a recruiter, right? Wrong!

While the screening interview is usually performed by recruiters or another HR representative who are unlikely to deeply evaluate your technical skills, do not blow off this interview. The screening interview is the company’s first impression of you and, like all first impressions, they matter!

What Is It?

The screening interview is usually performed by a recruiter or another HR representative over the phone and serves as an efficient way to determine if a candidate meets the basic requirements. The screener is essentially trying to match you against the backgrounds of those who have done well. Are you a match?

Matching this skill set is often simply a matter of educational background and work experience, but may at times delve into extracurricular. One interviewer mentioned how she loved to hire soccer players. This seems silly (and it probably is), but she said the strongest two interns from the year before were both varsity soccer players. After all, she said, soccer players possess determination and teamwork—and aren’t those attributes you want in your colleagues?

The HR screen is often skipped when a candidate’s background is clearly and directly relevant (for example, a Microsoft developer applying for a developer position at Google). Therefore, do
not
assume that the first interview is automatically an HR screening interview—even if it’s called a “phone screen.” If you are unsure, ask your interview coordinator what position your interviewer has.

What Happens?

The HR screener will likely ask questions to evaluate your character, background, and basic intelligence. Any skill-specific questions should be at a cursory level. Questions may also be designed to probe any potential red flags, such as frequent job hopping.

These interviews are usually conducted over the phone, but may also employ video chat or computer tests.

How to Do Well

In addition to the usual guidance for interviews, consider this advice:

• Look for red flags.
  A core goal of the HR screening interview is to evaluate any potential red flags on your résumé. Do you have several jobs of less than two years? Did you switch from a seemingly more prestigious company or position to a less prestigious one? Give your résumé to a friend and ask him what the weakest point on your résumé is. What would his biggest concern be if he were a recruiter?
  
• Be prepared for salary questions.
  Like it or not, HR screeners will often ask you for your salary requirements. They need to know if you’re too expensive. Before your interview, use the Internet and your friends network to get a feel for salary ranges. If you are asked for your salary requirements, you should try to avoid giving a specific answer so as not to set your sights too low or too high. However, the interviewer may continue to press you on this question, in which case you will be prepared to give an answer.
  

Lunch Interviews

Almost all on-site interviews will include a mealtime interview because, frankly, they can’t let you starve. Mealtime interviews also have the additional value of being a bit more social and allowing you to let down your guard. After all, companies want to know what you’re like on a day-to-day basis.

Lunch (or dinner) interviews also offer you a great chance to ask a lot of questions about the company. Your interviewer is also relaxed and might offer more honest responses.

Depending on the company, your lunch interviewer may or may not ask “real” questions, and she may or may not submit feedback. Even if your interviewer does not submit feedback officially, you should still be on your best behavior—people talk.

How to Do Well

• Don’t order messy foods.
  Ribs, spaghetti, and anything else likely to mark up your clothing is off-limits.
  
• Take cues from the interviewer.
  Order food that’s in a similar price range as your interviewer. If your interviewer is talking about personal topics, like his vacation, it’s probably OK for you to as well. If your interviewer is sticking to work topics, then you should, too. And, no matter how well you and your interviewer are getting along, always remember to be wary of socially sensitive topics—yes, that means no discussing your views on gun rights. Unless you’re interviewing with the NRA, it’s probably not appropriate.
  
• Limit your liquids.
  Need I say more? You don’t want to be running to the bathroom constantly.
  
• Check your teeth afterwards.
  Though hopefully no one would reject a candidate simply because she has food in her teeth, it’s still probably not the impression one wishes to make. Find a convenient time to use the restroom and check for this.
  

Follow-up Interviews

In rare cases, you might be scheduled for a follow-up interview after completing a full set of on-site interviews. This can happen because they have a specific concern with your application or because they didn’t test something thoroughly enough, or simply because an additional manager wishes to speak with you before giving a final decision.

If this happens to you, try asking your recruiter if there’s any particular focus for this interview or if it’s standard procedure. He might not tell you, but it doesn’t hurt to ask!

If you aren’t given any specific direction for this interview, you should reflect on your last set of interviews: what do you think you did more poorly on, or were there gaps in what they asked you? This may offer one focus area, but remember that you might not be correct in your assessment. You should therefore do general prep, with just a slight focus on certain areas.

Finally, you should be prepared with two to three new questions that show additional thought or research. What you learned in your prior interviews is a great source of inspiration for your questions.

After the Interview

That unmistakable relief that you’re done with your interview is soon replaced by an unmistakable anxiety about how it went. You replay the entire interview in your head: Did you do OK? Did you make any mistakes? What did the recruiter mean when he said, “We’ll get in touch with you soon”? I’d tell you not to sweat it, but it probably won’t do any good. Instead, let’s focus on what you need to do after your interview.

The “Thank You” Note

Although post-interview thank you notes are essentially required in many interviews, they’re fairly unusual in tech companies. Howard Wu, a T-Mobile and former Amazon interviewer, estimated that he received thank you notes from fewer than 10 percent of his candidates. For engineering candidates, this number is probably closer to 1 percent.

Eric, a former Amazon interviewer, joked that “for tech companies, a thank you note is like wearing a suit to the interview. It’s out of place, and it looks like you’re trying to compensate for something.” While other people may be less negative, it’s generally agreed that a thank you note won’t help you. Feedback is usually submitted so quickly after your interview that you couldn’t impact their decision.

However, a short note to your recruiter thanking her for coordinating your interview can certainly be nice. If you decide to send a thank you note, either to your recruiter or to an interviewer, they usually follow a format similar to the one below:

This sample thank you note does several things that you should look to replicate in your own letter:

• Specificity.
  While I could have borrowed the occasional sentence from a prior thank you note, the references to a specific discussion make it impossible for it to be completely cut-and-paste.
  
• Highlighting of skills.
  I’ve mentioned how my background has offered me the ability to learn about a major required skill set. For a job that’s potentially less relevant (implementing desktop software), I’ve highlighted how that actually is relevant to the position.
  
• Enthusiasm.
  I’ve explained why I’m interested in the position. I don’t need to go into a lengthy explanation—a brief mention will do.
  

If you’re sending multiple thank you notes to the same company, you should vary the format and word choice a bit. People talk.