The Secret to Getting a Job at Google Revealed

Google is one of the most desirable companies to work for on the planet. To find out how to get a job at Google, I spoke with William Poundstone, who is the author of Are You Smart Enough to Work at Google?. He is the author of twelve books, including How Would You Move Mount Fuji? and Fortune’s Formula, which was Amazon Editors’ pick for the #1 nonfiction book of the year in 2005. He has written for theNew York Times, Harper’s, HarvardBusiness Review, and the Village Voice, among other publications. In this interview, he talks about the hardest question that they ask you, how to survive each of the five interviews, and much more.

What is the single hardest question they ask you when interviewing at Google?

“What number comes next in this sequence: 10, 9, 60, 90, 70, 66…?”

This question is hard because you either see the “trick” or you don’t. Nothing you learned in school is likely to help. Try spelling out the numbers—you’ll see that they are in order of the number of letters in the word. “Sixty-six” has eight letters, so the next number must have nine. One possible answer is “ninety-six.”

How many rounds of interviews do you have to go through and how many people survive each round?

Google applicants have about five interviews. The company’s human resources people have given a lot of thought to that number. They believe in the “wisdom of crowds,” so they want multiple opinions of each applicant. But they’re done research and found little or no marginal value after five interviews. Normally every applicant goes through all five rounds. The only exceptions are the rare cases where a candidate is clearly unsuitable after the first couple of interviews.

What kind of intelligence do you need to solve the many puzzles they give you during interviews?

They want many types of intelligence. Google’s interviewers try to design questions that test (1) whether you know your field of expertise; (2) whether you can apply what you know in an unfamiliar context; and (3) whether you can make “creative” leaps to arrive at a solution. Their best questions operate on all these levels.

How do you go about getting a leg up on the competition?

It’s not just about getting a “right answer.” They’re interested in your thought process, and your whole explanation counts. Because these are difficult questions, the first answer or approach that pops into your head is almost always wrong

That provides a way to get a running start on your answer: Explain to the interviewer how this “obvious” approach fails. You’re expected to brainstorm various approaches, but make sure you tie it all together at the end. The last thing a technology company wants is someone who never brings a project to completion!

Who shouldn’t apply for jobs at Google? Why?

Google is very clear about who it wants: extremely bright extroverts. The company is founded on intensive collaboration. This is reflected even in the office layout, with only a handful of private offices. (When employees feel an occasional need for privacy, they seek out an empty conference room.) The stereotypical engineer—someone who works best alone and hates distractions—is probably not a good fit.

Don't Have a Business Degree? Stop Waiting to Feel Qualified - Here's What You Really Need

A four-year degree in business will likely cost you $25,000 to $50,000 depending on where you go to school. An MBA will run you closer to a cool $100,000 by the time you factor in all expenses. Is it worth it? Well, as someone who spent four years at university studying business, I’ve had plenty of people assume that was the reason for my success as an entrepreneur. “I can’t start a business because I don’t have a degree like you do,” they say.

Sea of Mortarboards (Photo credit: Josh Thompson)

Sorry, you don’t get to use that as an excuse, because it’s a bit like telling someone you’re not qualified to be a mother because you didn’t get a degree in home economics. Would it be helpful to learn some basic cooking skills, first aid and parenting strategies before having a baby? Of course. And there are about 5 billion books you can buy that will help you out. Prefer getting advice from someone in person? I think you could probably find a few mothers willing to share advice (in fact, most parents I know wish they could stop getting so much helpful child-rearing advice).

Yes, my education was useful. But after speaking with numerous entrepreneurs about this issue, the consensus is to get started and take action.Stop waiting to feel qualified with a formal education before you take your destiny into your own hands. That and these tips may save you big money and help you achieve the business success you desire.

1. An insatiable curiosity about how business works, which is really about understanding people. Look up your favorite entrepreneurs, read their autobiographies and the books they credit their success to (here are some of my favorites). Never stop reading and learning. Find other entrepreneurs to connect with who are willing to mentor you. Look for other learning & networking opportunities outside the traditional classroom, too.
2. Knowing who you want to serve, and what problems you want to solve for them. This can’t be faked–at least, not for long. Not in this day and age. You need to tap into a genuine desire to serve others in a way that you can feel good about. Trying to simply capitalize on trends will leave you running in circles, trying to stay ahead of the curve. By solving ‘problems’ for others I’m talking about everything from building affordable housing, to helping people buy eco-friendly gifts or gluten-free pastries.
3. Getting clear on the value you’re providing and your desired end result. How does your happy customer or client look? How has their life changed? What exactly will you do to achieve that, and what are the costs involved–will your profit margin be sufficient?
4. Living in a way that’s congruent with your business mission. In other words, be what you’re trying to sell. If you’re a holistic health practitioner who secretly binges on twinkies, your business success will inevitably be compromised because what you’re doing and what you’re saying aren’t in alignment. You can be a work in progress, however. I wasn’t 100% committed to being as healthy as possible when I started my first business, a healthy fast food store. I didn’t get enough sleep or exercise, and I would frequently miss breakfast and lunch because I was so busy with work. Once I clued into the hypocrisy of selling people on healthy living while I was running on empty, I smartened up and made my health a priority. It paid off big time, in my personal and business life.
5. Developing your “Know, Like & Trust” factor. People need to know who you are, like you, and trust you enough to hand over their money for whatever you’re selling. This means you need to position yourself or your products/services in a way that people can notice them and see the value in them. You need to be as helpful as possible, and come across as genuinely caring about your potential customers. What can you give them for free or cheap, to help them out and give them a taste of how valuable your offerings are? Samples, free advice in the form of ebooks, blog posts and newsletters, and complimentary consultations have all been used to boost the Know, Like & Trust factor of businesses and solopreneurs.

Toyota Offers No Remedy For Newly-Recalled Cars

Toyota announced a recall of 778,000 vehicles, but it still hasn’t determined how to remedy their defect.

As a result, drivers of about 760,000 Toyota RAV4s with 2006 through 2010 model years and 18,000 Lexus HS 250h vehicles from the 2010 model year may have to stop using their cars indefinitely.

Toyota says that if suspension arm nuts on the recalled vehicles aren’t tightened properly, rust could form and lead to the separation of the arm from the vehicle.  The automaker says it’s still working on how to fix the problem and will notify owners as soon as possible.

In June, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration began investigating corrosion-related suspension problems in 2006 to 2008 model-year RAV4s.

Four complaints said drivers lost control of their vehicles because of the problem which caused wheels to be extremely out of alignment.

For more information, owners can go to Toyota’s recall page.

8 human jobs that will still be around when robots rule the world

Where will you stand when the robots take over? Will you rise up and form a ragtag band of rebels? Will you hide away in a secluded fortress — or your basement? Or will you, for one, welcome our new overclocked overlords?

Regardless of your stance on the automated apocalypse, it's good to be prepared. Much of that preparation lies in securing a career that is robot-proof. In other words, you want to find a job that can't be easily automated by the newest (self-aware) version of Windows. If you've paid attention to Isaac Asimov's infamous Three Laws of Robotics, you'll know that a science-fictional world of mechanized takeover would assure that robots can't harm or disobey us, so public safety and manufacturing would probably be the first jobs to go. But where do you start if you wantapocalyptic job security?

Luckily, we've compiled a list of eight of our favorite jobs that can't be replaced by bots. 

1. Psychiatrist/counselor
Nothing can better relate to the human psyche and emotional feelings than another human. While it wouldn't be difficult to throw together a program that said "Tell me more about your feelings" every few minutes, true human empathy is something that can't be replaced by robots, no matter how hard scientists try. Plus, we imagine there would be quite a demand for some type of emotional counseling if "The Jetsons" came true.

2. Midwife
While much of an obstetrician's job might be bot-able, a midwife does things with more of a personal connection. Besides, I don't think anyone wants cold robot hands delivering their baby.

3. General practitioner
The general practitioner makes a diagnosis based on much more than textbook logic, which can easily be programmed into an artificially intelligent bot. Surgeons and more specialized doctors might easily be replaced or improved by the use of robotic technology, as precision is key. But as humans, we want someone to talk to about our medical issues. This makes the family doctor your entry point for most medical situations, and in some small-town cases, he or she might even know you and your family personally. 

4. Organic farmer
Although large-scale, single-crop agriculture has largely been automated, correctly caring for plants and animals isn't something that can be programmed into a robot. The world is getting away from factory farming and realizing the benefits oforganic food and sustainable farming practices. While robots could run on any number of energy sources, we'll still run on good old-fashioned farm food. Hopefully.

5. Writer
Mathematicians can keep their infinite monkey theorem, because you can't program creative writing. A recent scientific journal reported that robot journalists are a real possibility to efficiently and quickly report on news based on key words, but writing fiction, poetry, and other forms of creative writing take real human experience and savvy. 

6. Artist
Programming a robot to copy a work of art brushstroke by brushstroke isn't difficult, and there's a robotic artist out there that can use edge detection to sketch a person's face. But it takes human creativity and imagination to actually define art styles. 

7. Daycare worker
Going hand-in-hand with the human empathy needed in a counselor, we would need more than a sentry bot to guard over our children while we're off working one of these robot-proof jobs. Children learn by example, so any job that involves child-rearing would be best left to us fleshies. 

8. Robotic engineer
This choice is obvious — someone has to create all of those robots! Whether it be programming, mechanical design, or simply maintenance, robots are nothing without us.

Preparing for our robot overlords
Although most of this article is written with tongue planted firmly in cheek, we'd like to think that we're doing a service by preparing you for the future. And for those of you already employed in one of these fields, you have nothing to fear. Unless, of course, it's the aliens that take over instead.
Read more at http://www.tecca.com/columns/robot-proof-jobs/#Vk3EdBOHPR8z03YZ.99

If you live until 2045, you may never have to fear death

If you have enough cash, a Russian man may be able to help you live forever

Immortality is something all of us have thought of, but nobody really takes seriously. A 31-year-old Russian man named Dmitry Itskov wants you to seriously consider the possibility of living forever, and perhaps even plan on being able to do so by 2045. His plan, called simply "The 2045 Initiative," will sound familiar if you've seen the James Camera blockbuster "Avatar" — and he just needs a few billion dollars to make it a reality.

Itskov's project has several phases, with each step bringing mankind closer to the ultimate goal living forever. The first step in the project is to create robotic humans that can be controlled remotely. He plans on crossing this hurdle by 2020 at the latest. Then, by 2025, a human brain will be transferred into a robotic skeleton to continue life after death. By 2035, the avatar's brain will be constructed separately, and your own personality will simply be "transferred" into it when you are ready to end your human existence. And finally, by the year 2045, humans will be able to walk around in holographic avatars for eternity, never fearing death.

Not surprisingly, the Avatar project is extremely expensive, and Itskov needs some serious financial help if he's to pull it off. So, naturally, he's asking the world's richest people to help fund the movement. In return, he's pledging to help each donor on his or her own immortality quest. You know, because you just can't spend $50 billion in one lifetime.

This article was written by Mike Wehner and originally appeared on Tecca

China announces plans for moon landing in 2013

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  Apollo 11 astronaut Buzz Aldrin stands on the lunar surface during the first moon landing in 1969. (Apollo 11/NASA)
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  Apollo astronaut Buzz Aldrin collects moon rocks in 1969. (NASA)
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  Buzz Aldrin deploys a seismometer in the Sea of Tranquillity area of the moon. (NASA)

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China has announced plans to send an unmanned rocket to the moon in 2013, an effort to further the country’s ambitious space program -- but Beijing faces serious competition to plant the next flag on the moon.

The official China News Service said that the Chang'e Three orbiter will carry out surveys on the surface of the moon, according to a report on Reuters -- catching up to a U.S. achievement from 45 years ago.

The communist country tested a new rocket engine Sunday that uses liquid oxygen and kerosene, which will power future missions to the moon, according to news reports.

If successful, China’s probe would be the first craft to land on the moon as part of a mission since the Soviets managed it in the 1970s. The country also said it plans to land a man on the moon, a feat only achieved by the United States, most recently in 1972, the AFP noted.

"I think it's well within China's capability and budget," Chen Lan, an independent space analyst, told the AFP of next year's planned mission.

Neither the Russians nor the U.S. is currently capable of landing a man on the moon. Since the end of the space shuttle era, NASA’s has focused its eyes on a new spacecraft for manned exploration of space, the Orion multipurpose vehicle, which won’t be ready until 2017 at the earliest.

But China will nonetheless face stiff competition from a growing private space industry in the U.S. and elsewhere. The industry has its eyes on the moon and the cash that can be extracted from rocks and craters.

Astrobotic Technology announced plans in May for an ice prospecting robot, Polaris, to be launched to the Moon on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket like the one that successfully lifted this spring from Cape Canaveral. That vehicle is set to launch in 2015, the company said.

Moon Express has announced plans to piggyback on private space cargo flights, using them to carry its lunar landers and mining platforms to the moon.

"People ask, why do we want to go back to the moon? Isn't it just barren soil?" Jain told FoxNews.com last year. "But the moon has never been explored from an entrepreneurial perspective."

And a host of other companies from a variety of countries are competing for a $30 million prize from Google to reach the moon’s surface, a competition called the Lunar X Prize.

One country no longer in the battle: Russia, which has said manned missions are no longer a priority.

Indeed, the country recently sold four 1970s-era Soviet Almaz program three-crew capsules and two Russian Salyut-class 63,800-pound space station pressure vessels to spaceflight firm Excalibur Almaz, which plans to sell about 30 seats between 2015 and 2025, for $150 million each.

Green cheese indeed.