Spoiler alert – don’t read this if you haven’t seen The Internship and care.
The critics didn’t especially like The Internship starring Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson but for me it had some redeeming qualities. Like getting to see the Google campus, the chemistry between Vaughn and Wilson (Wedding Crashers is a favorite), and watching underdogs prevail.
The movie chronicles two older guys who inconceivably land summer internships at Google and the craziness that ensues. In the final scene, members of the intern team that earned the most points from various challenges were awarded jobs. Of course, the underdog team which included Vaughn and Wilson wins. They were commended for coming together as a team, collaborating, connecting to people, and connecting people to information which is what Google does.
One of the reasons the movie got panned was because it was mostly a commercial for Google but seeing the world of Google was pretty cool. Would love to know how accurately this movie portrayed the internship experience at Google. I wondered if the nooglers really wear those beanie hats but then I came across this story about how Google assesses interviewees and indeed, nooglers wear the hats.
Google evaluates job candidates on leadership, problem-solving, technical skills, and something they call Googleyness – being an effective collaborator, taking action, and comfort with ambiguity.
It’s not possible to speak for all employers but I think the above qualities are valued by most every organization, not just Google.
If you possess these qualities, communicate that on your resume. Prepare for interviews by identifying experiences you’ve had where you demonstrate the qualities. Frame the experience as a quick story you can tell in an interview.
If you have never worked so don’t have workplace experience, find an internship. The more I work with young adults trying to find the right job, the clearer it becomes that internship experience is critical to work success. I’ve been working with college students for more than 14 years now (11 years at LSU and 3 years as a coach). I look back at former students who did everything in their power to find internships and they are now rockin’ in their career. Those who did internships after their sophomore year, giving them two, maybe three full summer internships are especially successful. Work-related experience is truly key.
I’ve written before about the importance of work experience and how to get that experience.
Yes, the world of Silicon Valley fascinates me. Looking forward to the next season of the HBO series Silicon Valley.
What kinds of experience have you found key to your job search? Share your thoughts in the comment section.
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My goal is to write 30 blog posts in 30 days the month of September.
#30in30
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