When it is excruciatingly difficult to get hired for the most basic of jobs, how will college graduates and qualified unemployed citizens distinguish themselves in the work force?
Author William Poundstone offers intelligent insight to this worrisome question in his new book, “Are You Smart Enough to Work at Google?”
In this detailed collection of examples, anecdotes and solutions, Poundstone provides the unemployed everywhere with an answer key for the professional world.
“Are You Smart Enough to Work at Google?” contains ten chapters devoted to true accounts of high-pressure situations along with detailed descriptions for how to respond to some of the most terrifyingly bizarre questions ever asked by companies.
In one section titled “Salvaging a Doomed Interview,” the author provides honest advice about what to do when it all goes wrong.
“I’m not saying you can fake your way through these kinds of interview questions,” Poundstone writes. “I am saying it’s better interview etiquette to keep trying to answer the question until the interviewer cuts you off.”
Even the smallest features deserve to be carefully noted. Details as simple as what color some companies expect their potential workers to wear are included in this comprehensive guide. Companies do not miss specifics, and neither should interviewees.
The author includes bullet points of exact criteria that stores such as Nordstrom expect their potential workers to be wearing on interview day. Such nitpicky guidelines found in this book are unique and can offer readers an advantage during their encounters with potential employers.
Toward the end of the book, Poundstone provides tough riddles and complex algorithmic word problems to encourage out-of-the-box thinking. Decoding a brainteaser does not guarantee an automatic hire with a company, but employers want to see a worker’s innovation and creativity during the interview process.
Regardless of the job at stake, the behind-the-scenes advice, etiquette reminders and secret tricks for a successful interview found in this book should not be overlooked at such a crucial time.
As the competition becomes more and more intensive in the job market, college students and graduates have a lot to gain from applying the insight of “Are You Smart Enough to Work at Google?”
Reach the reporter at ejnicho1@asu.edu
