Another Dot Com

AOL is at it again….Reorganization and layoffs. Randy Falco, a longtime executive at NBC Universal, was named last month to succeed Jonathan Miller as the head of AOL. I read that with Falco’s entrance to AOL, Jim Bankoff (EVP for programming and products) and Joe Redling (President for AOL mobile and paid services) will be departing the company. I’m sure Falco will be placing his people to head those positions….though, I doubt that the new executives will do a better job at running programming, products, mobile, or paid services. Time will tell.

I first met Jim Bankoff in 1999, during AOL/Netscape acquisition. Jim’s star has been rising steadily from what I can tell. He went from overseeing operations to running Netscape/Web properties to running AOL Programming and products. I wonder where Jim will end up? YAHOO? Yah, my guess is Yahoo.

How Would You Move Mount Fuji?: Microsoft’s Cult of the Puzzle — How the World’s Smartest Companies Select the Most Creative Thinkers

Many times in the past, I had friends ask me about the types of questions asked in interviews with Yahoo, AOL, Netscape, Microsoft, and so on. I usually tell them to “just prepare” and know your sh**; Don’t be nervous; Talk about your experience; Be genuine. Know the important requirements of the job. But it never fails…my friends always ask me about the puzzel questions. Puzzel questions in an interview? Humm. Well, in my experience, I’ve never been asked any puzzel questions. I’ve heard about them….like find the heavy billiard ball, why are manhole covers round?, how would you weigh a jet plane without using a scale?, and so on. I guess these questions are asked to measure “out of the box thinking”, performing under stress, critical thinking/analysis, IQ? (LOL), just for sh**s and giggles, and for other reasons. Well, don’t stress. If you want to know about the answers to the famous puzzel questions, learn about the back story of puzzel questions in interviews, and other interesting Microsoft stories…..get “How Would You Move Mount Fuji?”. It’s a good read. And…it could help you on your next big job interview.