Laszlo Bock, CEO of Humu and famous for making Google one of the best workplaces in the world as the former head of People Operations, has looked through countless resumes and overseen thousands of hires. He shares his advice for what it takes to standout, nail the interview and land a job.
In a recent discussion, he talked about what makes a great resume, and how to handle interview curveballs. He also discusses how you can tell if a company is actually a good fit.
Mr. Bock, who has reviewed thousands of resumes, says that the best resumes he has seen follow the exact same format. For every single topic on the resume they start with:
· Here is what I accomplished
· Here is how I accomplished it
· Here is how I measured what was accomplished
This simple formula makes your resume stand out because it is tangible, quantified, and allows the employer to very quickly see that this person can be compared to other people, while standing out from the rest.
When interviewing with a company, one of the best ways to quickly understand the culture of the company is to ask:
· What gets rewarded at this company?
· What do people get promoted for?
· What do people get recognized for?
The answers to these questions will tell you what the company values, and whether it is the type of company you want to be a part of.
Mr. Bock also talks about how to make the right impression. The conventional wisdom on body language is that you want to sit forward, project your voice and be confident! In fact, research shows that most interview assessment happens in the first ten seconds.
So, here is his advice regarding that.
If you are the interviewer:
· You need to recognize and ignore your internal bias.
· If you index on body language, you are going to assess people incorrectly.
· You will end up hiring people just like you, and eliminate the opportunities that come with diversity and other social and cultural differences that can really make the difference in the success of your organization.
If you are the candidate, it can be a bit of a rigged game. You need to buy into the conventional wisdom, play the game according to rules as they dictate body language, voice projection and displays of confidence.
How to handle curveballs.
The absolute worst interview questions are the ones designed to make the interviewer feel smart and the candidate feel dumb. Questions such as:
· Case interviews
· Brainteasers
· How many golf balls can fit in an airplane
The problem with these questions is that they don't actually predict performance. They are trick questions. To cope with these, as the candidate, practice makes perfect. Expect the worst questions and rehearse the best answers. The more you prepare, the better (smarter) you will sound, and the more impressed your interviewer will be.
If you are preparing to interview potential candidates, our experts at ASN will help you be ready to ask the right questions that will give you the information you really need - how to best determine if the candidate is the best fit for you.
Click Here to Listen to the Full Interview with Mr. Bock:
https://www.linkedin.com/feed/news/the-best-advice-on-how-to-get-a-job-641057/