“As a longtime product manager and product thinker, I’m always interested in how to establish product design practices and organizations,” says Marissa Mayer, cofounder and CEO of Sunshine. “And the fact that, in this book, I get to hear the stories of many friends and people I’ve worked with is an added bonus.”

Planning on landing a new job? Are you taking or planning to take interviews? Then, this book is for you.

It’s a collection of frequently asked questions by the top tech companies covering topics such as Big O notation, data structures, algorithms, dynamic programming, object-oriented programming, among other things.

The book’s author tells his story with interviews, working in giant tech companies like Microsoft, Apple, and Google.

Written by software engineer Gayle Laakmann McDowell, this useful manual for interview candidates offers solutions to 189 commonly asked questions in coding interviews, including hints on spotting hidden details in a question, and tips on breaking down problem-based questions into manageable chunks. The book is widely recommended in programming circles, and while it may not be the most exciting gift on this list, it's sure to be appreciated by anyone looking to land their next dream programming job.

... Her book, “Cracking the Coding Interview,” is the definitive prep guide to tech interviews. Sandwiched between practice questions and pages of coding solutions are anecdotes from her time as a software engineer at various tech companies and one-liners on how you, too, can get a job at Google. ...

For many business school students, there's no need to wait until graduation to work on a startup. Developing a business idea in between – or even during – class is ideal.

Gayle Laakmann McDowell, a 2011 graduate of the Wharton School at University of Pennsylvania, built CareerCup, which helps computer programmers prepare for interviews at tech companies, as a student...

... And in the wake of the financial crisis, when many banks were chided for taking on too much risk with clients’ money, more graduates may feel like they can do more good at a tech firm than they can working for a big bank, says Gayle Laakmann McDowell, a former Google software engineer and author of “The Google Resume: How to Prepare for a Career and Land a Job at Apple, Microsoft, Google, or Any Top Tech Company.” “At startups people are really excited about feeling like they’re building something where they’re contributing to the world,” says McDowell. ...

No one really knows, but it’s very reasonable to assume that there is a link. However, the link might not be as strong as many employers would like to believe.

Let’s talk first about what the Google study says and what it doesn’t...

If there are two programmers who are equally good, but one knows Java and the other knows C++, Google would hire both. Really.

But, does Google prefer, on the margin, C++ over Java? ...

Gayle Laakmann McDowell, author of The Google Resume and founder and CEO of CareerCup.com, was a software engineer at Google between 2005 and 2008, where she, too, interviewed potential candidates. McDowell said Microsoft asked brain teasers 15 years ago but have since ended the practice.

"Any information that is out that the companies are asking brain teasers is very, very out of date – or people are misinterpreting what the questions are about," McDowell told the Guardian.

In reading the list of the most common mistakes people (and especially software engineers) make on their resume, it’s important to remember how resumes are reviewed. Resumes are not read; they are skimmed for about 15 seconds. Let me say it again: resume screeners do not read your entire resume.

Software engineer Gayle Laakmann McDowell has worked for companies including Microsoft, Google and Apple, but she’s also known in the technology industry for her books, Cracking the Coding Interview and The Google Resume, offering tips and insights to people looking to land a job in the tech industry.

Gayle Laakmann McDowell, author of The Google Résumé: How to Prepare for a Career and Land a Job at Apple, Microsoft, Google or Any Top Tech Company, has worked for all three of the popular tech firms. In her book, Gayle offers advice to job seekers trying to get in at a top notch company.

Gayle Laakmann McDowell is the founder and CEO of CareerCup.com, which offers technical interview preparation for software engineers, and is the author of “The Google Resume” and “Cracking the Coding Interview.” She has previously worked as software engineer at Microsoft, Google, and Apple, holds a bachelor’s and master’s in Computer Science, and an MBA from the Wharton School.

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It's your worst job interview fear: They'll ask you some absurdly hard question and instead of being the genius you sometimes think you are — you choke.

More women in technology would be good for technology and innovation, for the women who are currently there, and for the world. #1: Because we need more people in tech, period. Okay, everyone should be able to get behind this one. With engineering specifically, we have a serious lack of qualified engineers...

It’s your worst job interview fear: They’ll ask you some absurdly hard question and instead of being the genius you sometimes think you are — you choke.

You certainly don’t have to inform your manager. Most people don’t, so you wouldn’t be doing anything unethical or even out of the ordinary. In fact, most people inform their manager only after they’ve received and accepted another offer.

... Indeed, there’s no denying that I got very, very lucky to land such a prestigious internship at such an early age. But there’s more to it than just that.

The tricks below enabled me to get the right .experience, flaunt it on my resume, get the attention of recruiters, and eventually land positions with Microsoft, Apple and Google

Tech workers like Mersy are coveted commodities as the high-tech industry undergoes its biggest hiring binge in more than a decade. Not since the dot-com bubble of the early 2000s has competition been so fierce. Would-be employees are being enticed with fat contracts, hefty bonuses and such freebies as iPads, meals, sporting events and shuttle services. These and other perks are in play to hook top talent in engineering, social media, website development, product design and management.

Google, Facebook and Microsoft are aggressively recruiting college students in hopes of landing them before they graduate, says Gayle Laakmann McDowell, a former Google software engineer and author of The Google Resume: How to Prepare for a Career and Land a Job at Apple, Microsoft, Google, or Any Top Tech Company.

Sky-high grades and work experience play significant roles in landing top computer jobs, but independent projects are valued too, says Gayle Laakmann McDowell, author of "The Google Resume: How to Prepare for a Career and Land a Job at Apple, Microsoft, Google, or any Top Tech Company." ...

A bit of reference coaching can clear up many concerns. Laakmann McDowell offers several points to help you guide the discussion in your favor.

Hake an assessment of potential references. Although you may have had a positive working relationship with a supervisor, it doesn't mean that the person will be the best reference in helping you secure the position.

I had an "aha" moment while reading "The Google Resume" in preparation for my interview with author Gayle Laakmann McDowell. As a person who frequently experiences brain freeze unrelated to ice cream and also brain-tongue disconnect, I think her advice to create a preparation grid for interviews is a winner.

If you want to get an edge on your competition by learning about hiring procedures and making yourself stand out from other candidates; mark your calendars for JobRadioUSA’s Episode 96:“How to Land a Job at Apple, Microsoft, Google, and Others,”Tuesday May 3rd at 9PM EST.

Gayle Laakmann McDowell –author of “The Google Resume” and founder of CareerCup.com – will discuss how to:

1. Prepare in advance to land a job at these companies2. Design a strong resume and cover letter and acquire references3. Get in the door and land an interview4. Prepare for interviews with these companies5. Navigate the hiring procedures as a programmer, designer, and/or game developer6. Negotiate an offer

Susan Hall spoke with Gayle Laakmann McDowell,  author of “The Google Resume: How to Prepare for a Career and Land a Job at Apple, Microsoft, Google, or Any Top Tech Company.” She worked in Google Engineering for three years and served on its hiring committee. She is founder and CEO of CareerCup.com, a site devoted to tech jobs.

Gayle Laakmann McDowell has worked at Google, Apple, and Microsoft.

After interviewing more than 120 people during her spat at Google, she wrote a book, The Google Resume: How to Prepare for a Career and Land a Job at Apple, Microsoft, Google, or Any Top Tech Company.

In it, she lists four ways to standout to Google besides your GPA (which she claims doesn't matter all that much):

To boost your chances of being one of the people Google brings aboard, you might want to take a look at a new book, The Google Resume: How to Prepare for a Career and Land a Job at Apple, Microsoft, Google, or Any Top Tech Company. Author Gayle Laakmann McDowell, a Wharton MBA, is founder and CEO of CareerCup.com, a job site for tech professionals.

For many newcomers to Seattle, there is a lot of fun to be had with freshly acquainted friends — at first. However, not long after their arrival, many people begin to notice a certain coldness among native Seattleites. Phones stop ringing, party invites cease and, before they know it, émigrés to our fair city have been frozen out of the social scene altogether.

... In the course of all this event organization, Weaver began to notice a familiar face. This was Gayle Laakmann, a computer engineer and fellow Seattle settler. The two became friends, realizing they had endured the same social chill, and overcome it by coordinating gatherings for large groups of local residents. This mutual interest led the duo to join forces, and they co-founded Seattle Anti-Freeze that fall. As Weaver explained, the group’s name originated from an article in the February 15, 2005 edition of Pacific Northwest, the Seattle Times’ weekly magazine.

In her new book, 'The Google Resume,' Gayle Laakmann McDowell offers recent grads and young professionals a glimpse into the process of getting noticed by a top tech company. As a former "Microsoftie, Appleite, and Googler," McDowell knows what it takes to land at one of these top firms. Here are just a few of her many recommendations.

... getting hired by Google is difficult. Very difficult. The company has incredibly high standards for candidates, and turns away applicants who would make the grade at almost any other company they chose. Even after they make it through the notoriously difficult "brain-teaser" portion of the interview.

So what can you do to increase your chances? Gayle Laakmann McDowell, a former Google recruiter, and author of The Google Resume, spoke to Vault and offered some key pieces of advice.

Gayle Laakmann, current Wharton MBA student and former Google, Microsoft and Apple employee, gave a lecture Thursday to a crowd of Computer Science and Engineering students about how to successfully interview with software companies.

Laakmann, who completed her undergraduate and graduate studies in Engineering at Penn, is currently CEO of a web site called CareerCup.com.

The climate is getting a little hotter in the Emerald City, and no, we're not talking global warming or carbon dioxide emissions.

Seeking to thaw Seattle's reputedly chilly social climate is a new group, Seattle Anti-Freeze, which hosts big parties and social mixers for mostly 20- and 30-somethings. Seattle Anti-Freeze took its name in response to a 2005 Seattle Times article on a crippling social disease the writer dubbed the "Seattle Freeze," in which people are polite to newcomers but not truly warm or inclusive.

But don't look for Laakmann among the 17,000 employees gathering today at Safeco Field for the company's 30th anniversary company meeting.

That's because Laakmann, 22, went to work at Google instead, starting last month at the red-hot Internet company's year-old Kirkland office.