Interviewing at Google has become something of a legend in job-hunting circles.
- Fs 2 5 2 – Note Manager Interview Letter
- Fs 2 5 2 – Note Manager Interview Question
- Fs 2 5 2 – Note Manager Interview Question And Answer
The company realized early on that it didn’t necessarily just want the right person for a particular job description, it wanted the right person for Google. Because the company places a premium on employees who will move up within the company, they wanted to hire for the right personality more than the just the right skills for any particular job.
So they started asking some slightly ridiculous questions like, “How many piano tuners are there in Chicago?”
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The job has nothing to do with piano tuners (or even Chicago, probably) and interviewer isn’t necessarily looking for the correct answer. He or she is looking for how you get there. Your thought process, your ability to problem solve, your comfort thinking on your feet are all a much bigger indicator of whether you’ll be a good fit at Google than knowing the right answer.
Fs 2 5 2 – Note Manager Interview Letter
- Second interview: When you're called back, don't expect to follow the usual question-answer pattern. You will be asked a series of questions that will be rated numerically 1-10. Qualifications and experience: All of your experience, qualifications, and education will be rated numerically, as well, and added to your question scores.
- Could You Handle These Interview Tasks? (Some Are Pretty Crazy) Published on August 12, 2015 August 12, 2015. 1,262 Likes. 364 Comments.
Lots of companies have since adopted similar practices, asking applicants to answer seemingly ridiculous questions or perform crazy tasks as part of the interview process. Here are some of the craziest I’ve heard of:
- Bring an item with you to the interview that best represents your personality.
This could be a very interesting and revealing question for an interviewer, and a frustrating one for the interviewee! What to bring that represents your personality and paints you in a favorable light? - You just got back from a 2 week vacation and have 300 emails to process in the next hour. Go.
This is called an in-tray, or sometimes an e-tray exercise, in which you are given sample work tasks to perform and asked to do them in a set time period. They’re usually a high volume of tasks to complete in a short period of time, and in some simulations, you may be given a new project to work on half-way through or receive a phone call that you have to deal with. - Move these three chairs from one end of the room to the other.
Seems like a simple enough task. But it may be designed to see if you try to tackle a task quickly or methodically, or how you think through a problem. - Name as many uses as you can for a lemon.
Questions like this were asked as part of an admissions test for flight school for commercial airline pilots, because pilots need to be able to think quickly and creatively in an emergency situation. - How many people flew out of Chicago last year?
According to Glassdoor.com, this was a question asked at Redbox, the video rental kiosks. The point of these questions is not to get the correct answer, but to show how you can use estimations and creative thinking to arrive at an answer. The simplest answer of all? Zero. People don’t fly; airplanes do. - How would you unload a 747 full of jellybeans?
This was reportedly a question asked at Bose, the audio company (which has little to do with jellybeans or aircraft). In this case, the correct answer almost certainly starts with, “It depends…” Many people might assume that the jellybeans are loose, but what if they are in containers? Do they need to be able to be eaten later or can you let them spill out on the tarmac? How did they get in there in the first place? These kinds of probing questions (whether the interviewer has an answer for them or not) helps show how you analyze a problem. - Describe the color yellow to a blind person.
This question is almost certainly directed at showing your communications skills. - What is your favorite song? Perform it for us now.
This question reportedly comes from Living Social, a Groupon-like site that sells local deals, and clearly has a very particular company culture. This might be about seeing how your personality will fit in with the culture, how you feel about wacky requests, how you handle embarassment, and so on. - If you were a pizza delivery man, how would you benefit from scissors?
Another infamous question supposedly asked by Apple. Similar to the “how many uses” type question, this question is designed to show your skills at creative problem solving and thinking on your feet. - Design an evacuation plan for San Francisco.
I’ll close with another epic question from Google. It has to be said that Google’s questions are almost certainly designed to be so mind-bogglingly difficult to tackle (at least, in the span of a job interview) that one thing the interviewer is probably looking for is how quickly you give up — or not. One site suggested simply answering, “I don’t know,” because companies might be looking for someone who can admit he doesn’t have all the answers. If that’s the route you take, I’d suggest following up with, “But here’s how I’d start figuring it out.”
Have you ever been asked to perform a crazy task before, during, or after a job interview? What was your response? I’d love to hear your stories in the comments below.
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Benefits of Informational Interviewing
Six Steps of Informational Interviewing
Career Center Video: Informational Interviewing for Career Exploration
Six Steps of Informational Interviewing
Career Center Video: Informational Interviewing for Career Exploration
Often the most current and specific information about a career field may not be available online. The best information comes from people who are actually working in that career field.
An informational interview is an informal conversation you can have
with someone working in an area of interest to you. It is an effective research tool and is best done after preliminary online research. It is
not a job interview, and the objective is not to find job openings.
with someone working in an area of interest to you. It is an effective research tool and is best done after preliminary online research. It is
not a job interview, and the objective is not to find job openings.
You may feel awkward reaching out to people you don't know. However, most people actually enjoy taking a few moments out of their day to reflect on their professional life and give advice to someone with an interest in their field.
Benefits of Informational Interviewing
- Get firsthand, relevant information about the realities of working within a particular field, industry or position. This kind of information is not always available online.
- Find out about career paths you did not know existed.
- Get tips and insider knowledge about how to prepare for and land your first career position.
- Learn what it’s like to work at a specific organization.
- Initiate a professional relationship and expand your network of contacts in a specific career field; meet people who may forward job leads to you in the future.
Six Steps of Informational Interviewing
Research Career Fields
- Do some initial research on the career field or employer using internet and print resources.
Identify people to interview
- Pursue your own contacts. People you already know, even if they aren't in fields of interest to you, can lead you to people who are. This includes family, friends, teaching assistants, professors and former employers.
- Identify Cal alumni to contact; they often take a special interest in 'giving back' to Cal students. Utilize the Berkeley Career Network and LinkedIn to find them.
- Review the Book of Lists, a directory of leading employers in major urban areas, available at the Thomas J. Long Business Library.
Real-Life Example: Finding a Person to Interview
Lucy had become interested in marketing but wasn't sure how to find people in the field to talk to. She had worked as a clerk/typist in the payroll office of University Extension for several years.
Lucy had become interested in marketing but wasn't sure how to find people in the field to talk to. She had worked as a clerk/typist in the payroll office of University Extension for several years.
She mentioned her career interest to her supervisor, who pointed out that Extension had a marketing department and that she'd be happy to introduce her to the director. This 'right in your own back yard' referral led to a great informational interview and lots of other contacts.
Prepare for the interview
- Develop a brief introduction of yourself and your hopes for the meeting.
- Plan open-ended questions to ask.
Fs 2 5 2 – Note Manager Interview Question
Initiate contact
- Contact the person by email or phone (see sample telephone script below).
- Mention how you got his or her name.
- Ask whether it’s a good time to talk for a few minutes.
- Emphasize that you are looking for information, not a job.
- Ask for a convenient time to have a 20-30 minute appointment.
- Be ready to ask questions on the spot if the person says it is a good time for him/her and that s/he won’t be readily available otherwise.
Requesting an Informational Interview: Sample Phone Script
'Hello. My name is Malik Taylor and I'm a junior majoring in Media Studies at UC Berkeley. Is this a good time for you to talk briefly? I heard you speak at an event sponsored by the Undergraduate Marketing Association last semester. Although I am not currently looking for a job, I have become very interested in public relations and would like to learn more about the field. Would it be possible to schedule 20 to 30 minutes with you at your convenience to ask a few questions and get your advice on how best to prepare to enter the field?'
'Hello. My name is Malik Taylor and I'm a junior majoring in Media Studies at UC Berkeley. Is this a good time for you to talk briefly? I heard you speak at an event sponsored by the Undergraduate Marketing Association last semester. Although I am not currently looking for a job, I have become very interested in public relations and would like to learn more about the field. Would it be possible to schedule 20 to 30 minutes with you at your convenience to ask a few questions and get your advice on how best to prepare to enter the field?'
Conduct the informational interview
- Dress neatly and appropriately, as you would for a job interview.
- Arrive on time or a few minutes early.
- Bring your list of questions and take notes if you like.
- Restate that your objective is to get information and advice, not a job.
- Give a brief overview of yourself and your education and/or work background.
- Be prepared to direct the interview, but also let the conversation flow naturally, and encourage the interviewee to do most of the talking.
- Respect the person's time. Limit the meeting to the agreed-upon timeframe.
- Ask the person if you may contact them again in the future with other questions.
- Ask for names of other people to meet so as to gain different perspectives.
Note: You can bring a resume, but don’t take it out right away or your interviewee may think you are actually fishing for a job. At some point you may wish to ask for input about it, but first establish a nice rapport with the person.
Follow-up
Fs 2 5 2 – Note Manager Interview Question And Answer
- Keep records. Write down what you learned, what more you'd like to know, and what your next steps should be.
- Send a thank-you note within 1-2 days to express your appreciation for the time and information given. Based on whether the informational interview was relatively informal or more businesslike, this may be a brief handwritten note, an email, or a business letter. (Example, pdf, 'page 33').
- Keep in touch with the person, especially if you had a particularly nice interaction; let them know that you followed up on their advice and the outcome. This person could become an important part of your network.