The google résumé : how to prepare for a career and land a job at Apple, Microsoft, Google, or any top tech company

290 Pages·2011·3.06 MB·English

by  Gayle Laakmann McDowell

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How to Prepare for a Career
and Land a Job at Apple, Microsoft, Google,
or any Top Tech Company
Gayle Laakmann McDowell
John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
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Copyright © 2011 by Gayle Laakmann. All rights reserved.
Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey.
Published simultaneously in Canada.
No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data:
McDowell, Gayle Laakmann, 1982-
The google résumé : how to prepare for a career and land a job at Apple, Microsoft,
Google, or any top tech company / Gayle Laakmann McDowell.
p. cm.
Includes index.
ISBN 978-0-470-92762-5 (hardback)
ISBN 978-1-118-01313-7 (ebk)
ISBN 978-1-118-01314-4 (ebk)
ISBN 978-1-118-01315-1 (ebk)
1. Résumés (Employment) 2. High technology industries—Vocational guidance.
3. Job hunting. I. Title.
HF5383.M335 2011
650.14'2—dc22
2010039906

Printed in the United States of America
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To my mother and grandmother,
whose engineering endeavors paved the way for my own.
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Contents
Chapter 1 Introduction 1
Chapter 2 Advanced Preparation 15
Chapter 3 Getting in the Door 36
Chapter 4 Résumés 57
Chapter 5 Deconstructing the Résumé 78
Chapter 6 Cover Letters and References 89
Chapter 7 Interview Prep and Overview 108
Chapter 8 Interview Questions 137
Chapter 9 The Programming Interview 163
Chapter 10 Getting into Gaming 190
Chapter 11 The Offer 207
Chapter 12 On the Job 230
Chapter 13 Final Thoughts: Luck, Determination,
and What You Can Do 258
Appendix A 156 Action Words to Make
Your Résumé Jump 261
Appendix B Answers to Behavioral Interview Questions 265
Index 273
vii
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