Job Hunting in the Internet Age – IEEE Spectrum

Few things have changed as much as looking for a job. In a way, it’s all Google’s fault. We’ve gone from an information-scarce world, in which the hardest thing was finding jobs you might be right for, to an information-rich world in which the hardest thing is standing out from the hordes of people who might also be right.

And yet, there are people who seem to thrive in the new employment marketplace. We’ve all seen them—the ones who land great job after great job. And we see the ones—sometimes the same ones—who rise through the corporate hierarchy as if their careers were filled with helium. Once we get over the intense pangs of envy these overachievers engender deep within our breasts, the natural thought is, How do I become one of them?

I said it’s all Google’s fault, so it’s only fair that the answer lies over at the Googleplex as well. My guest today is Mike Junge. He’s Google’s senior recruiter and the author of a new book entitled Purple Squirrel: Stand Out, Land Interviews, and Master the Modern Job Market. He joins us by phone from his office in Mountain View, California, where it’s 8 a.m. there. Mike, good morning, and welcome to the podcast.

Mike Junge: Morning, Steven. Thanks so much for having me this morning.

Steven Cherry: Mike, let’s start with the title. Who were the purple squirrels?

Mike Junge: Yeah, so that’s an interesting question in itself. So “purple squirrel” is a phrase that we use in the recruiting industry, almost like someone would say “running on a wild goose chase.” It’s a way that we describe hard-to-find talent. So when clients turn us on to a search that’s particularly challenging, we say that they’re having a search for purple squirrels.

Steven Cherry: So companies write ads for purple squirrels because they’re dizzy with the idea that a million job seekers are going to see their job listing?

Mike Junge: You know, I think it’s an excellent question as well. I think people are always looking to get as much out of each hire as they can. And writing complex job specs gives you a higher probability of coming up with that one candidate that brings a little bit something more to the equation…

via Job Hunting in the Internet Age – IEEE Spectrum.

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