Silicon Valley's Most Famous Perk is More Than a Free Lunch

This post was originally published on LinkedIn. 

One of the most well known perks that you can find in many Silicon Valley offices is free lunch. At LinkedIn (where I work) this is the case. The lunch that is served at headquarters in Mountain View is superb. I think for those that have never experienced working at a company that feeds you, there are a few misconceptions about the real value of this perk.

Source: Flickr Maaco

Most people think that it's about getting free meals every day. That is certainly convenient.

You might also think it's about saving some $$. I'm always looking for a deal and it's true that I spend less on food because I'm eating lunch at work.

To me though, the real value of a free lunch is the relationships it helps me build and maintain. Here are a few examples.

A few weeks ago I bumped into a senior executive in the kitchen. We had a nice chat, so later that day I emailed him and asked him if he'd like to grab lunch sometime. He said "sounds great" and we got it scheduled right away. Having the food onsite and free makes having lunch with someone else (even senior executives) at the company easy and comfortable.

Every other week or so I eat breakfast with a colleague that works in a completely different part of the company. It's not a scheduled breakfast, we just happen to be getting breakfast at the same time about every other week. There have been many times after chatting about what she's working on, I go back to my desk to chat with my team about how some of the things she's working on will impact our group. This informal channel to share company information breaks down silos that can exist as companies grow.

Our founder, Reid Hoffman, said in The Start Up of You, "one lunch is worth dozens of emails". I'm able to strengthen my relationships not just with coworkers, but with friends and acquaintances that I frequently invite to join me for lunch at LinkedIn. Free lunch and a policy that allows me to bring guests greatly expands the number of people that I can maintain relationships with through this perk.

Free lunch is great, but to me, what matters the most are the relationships you can build over those meals

How To Get A Job Interview At LinkedIn

The simplest and most straightforward way to get a job interview at LinkedIn is to meet the job qualifications for the job you are applying for and have a current employee refer you.

This advice works for a lot of companies, but I've seen it work first hand to get a job interview at LinkedIn. In my short time at LinkedIn, I've referred two people for jobs and one of them got the job and the other one is in process. Both of the people I referred were interviewed promptly after my referral. 

This is my buddy John, I referred him to LinkedIn and now he sits behind me. 

In general, referrals from current employees are much more likely to be seen by a recruiter, than from applying online. It should be no surprise that this is particularly important at LinkedIn where one of the 5 dimensions of the culture is "relationships matter." To learn more about what that means, check out this post from LinkedIn's founder Reid Hoffman. A referral is really key to getting an interview at LinkedIn. 

If you are hoping to get an interview at LinkedIn or have more questions about how to get a job at LinkedIn, feel free to contact me. I'll try to help you as much as I can. There are many people that helped me land at LinkedIn and I'm happy to pay it forward. You can contact me through this blog or on Twitter. I hope this post on how to get a job interview at LinkedIn helps you land your dream job!

*As usual, this is my personal opinion and not representing LinkedIn the company.

Tips To Prepare For A Job Interview At LinkedIn

I've had a lot of friends, or friends of friends get interviews at LinkedIn lately. I've been asked several times if I have any tips for the interview process. I thought I'd compile a few tips of my own here and link to some great advice too. As usual on my blog, this post is my personal opinion and not representing LinkedIn the company. Here are my tips to prepare for a job interview at LinkedIn.

1. Spruce up your profile. It should already be awesome, but if not, it's better late than never. It will go a long way to show that you actually believe in and understand the company. Great picture, work history....the whole nine yards.

2. Check Glassdoor.com for interview questions by role. You can find the list here.

3. Read this article on Mashable. If you scroll down to the end they get into some great interviewing tips.

4. Understand the culture. Read this interview of Jeff Weiner in the NY Times and check out the Slideshare below on our culture.

LinkedIn’s Culture of Transformation from Pat Wadors

5. Think about the product. Don't be surprised if you get a question like, "what is your favorite feature?" or "what feature would you add?"

6. Be authentic.

7. Show your passion. If you really are passionate about the mission of the company or the products, make sure it come through in your interview.

8. Get the names of your interviewers and do your homework. Check out the LinkedIn profile of those that are interviewing you beforehand, use that information to your advantage. See if you have mutual contacts.

Good luck with your job interview at LinkedIn. I hope these tips help you prepare. If you have any other tips that you think would help you prepare for a job interview at LinkedIn, please put them in the comments. Also, if you're looking for general job interviewing tips, please check out How to Prepare for a Job Interview

How To Get A Job At LinkedIn

Last week I started a full time job at LinkedIn. I feel very fortunate to work for such a great company. I learned a few things as I went through the process on how to get a job at LinkedIn, so I thought I'd share the knowledge with future LinkedIn employees out there.

This is a picture of me visiting LinkedIn's Beijing office when I was traveling through China a few weeks before I started. 

A disclaimer to my readers, this is my personal opinion and is in no way endorsed by LinkedIn. This advice is based off my personal experience and observations.

Here are 4 steps that will guide you on your journey to get a job at LinkedIn.

1. Have the right skills- Like most places, if you read through the job description and you do not have the skills required it will be extremely difficult to get that job. If you do have those skills, make sure they are explicitly stated in your resume using the same vernacular as in the job description. If you don't have them...well get busy!

2. Leverage relationships- When I was trying to get a job at LinkedIn, I found a second degree connection on LinkedIn that was working in the group I wanted to work in and got an introduction. He is now my boss's boss. You can read more about how I did it on a post I wrote for the LinkedIn blog last summer here. A personal connection to the company and employee referral is probably the most important step to get a job at LinkedIn.

3. Show your passion- At LinkedIn people are really passionate about what they do and they want to work with other passionate people. Make sure it comes out in your resume and interviews.

4. Do your homework- While this is probably a little more general advice for any job, I think it is still worth mentioning. Find out as much as you can about the company, the team you're interested in, the products and the individual decision makers. This will help you impress those looking at your resume and interviewing you.

If you'd like to work at LinkedIn or have more questions about how to get a job at LinkedIn, feel free to contact me. I'll try to help you as much as I can. There are many people that helped me find my dream job and I'm happy to pay it forward. You can contact me through this blog or on Twitter. I hope this post on how to get a job at LinkedIn helps you land your dream job!

What It Is Like To Be A MBA Intern At LinkedIn

I spent my summer internship during business school working for LinkedIn as a Product Marketer. I had a fantastic experience and have accepted a full time offer to return as a Product Marketing Manager in their Sales Solutions business. I've been doing a lot of informational interviews about my experience for friends, classmates and friends of friends. Below are the things that I usually highlight about my experience. 

1. LinkedIn is serious about their culture and values. It's not just something written on the wall. Read this interview of our CEO Jeff Weiner to understand his take on it. Also, over the summer I heard one of our sales people explain the "members first" value to a potential customer as a response to why we would not do some of the things they would have liked us to do. If sales people are explaining our values on sales calls, it's the real deal. 

2. Innovation is alive and well at LinkedIn. Read this article from Wired magazine to understand some of the programs that LinkedIn has put in place to encourage innovation among their employees. I watched the INcubator finals first hand and saw Reid Hoffman and Jeff Weiner green-light some great innovative projects from all over the company. 

3. Interns are well integrated into the company and a lot of thought is put into the internship program. Interns are invited to everything, including the all hands every two weeks with the CEO and other senior leaders. I felt welcome at any company event. Jeff Weiner and Reid Hoffman both spent time with the interns. The marketing group had an offsite in Monterrey for a week and all the marketing interns were invited. I even participated in the wellness program and got some awesome swag. There were also plenty of fun intern only activities, a cruise in San Francisco bay, sushi making competition and many others.

4. Talent is important to LinkedIn. I was invited to give a personal presentation explaining what I did over the summer to LinkedIn's CMO Nick Besbeas my last week. It was just Nick, myself and my manager. A busy CMO taking 30 minutes for a 1x1 with each intern in marketing, that meant a lot. I can't think of a better place to learn and grow after business school 

I hope this helps you understand a bit about what it's like to intern at LinkedIn. I wrote for LinkedIn's corporate blog a post about how I got my internship. Click here to see it. 

Lastly, I brought my GoPro camera out to California for the summer and took some footage at work. I made a quick 90 second video about what it's like to be an MBA intern at LinkedIn, enjoy!