Interview with Tony from Zappos

I had the joy of being able to send over a few interview questions to the CEO of Zappos, Tony, and here’s what we had.

What gave your company the idea to run a site that catered to a market
> of people who wanted shoes?

History of the company is here:

http://www.zappos.com/about.zhtml

Our #1 priority as a company is our company culture.  We believe that if
we get the culture right, most of the other stuff, including great
customer service, will fall into place on its own.  Long term, we want the
Zappos brand to be about the very best customer service and the very best
customer experience.

For Twitter, we don’t really view it as a marketing channel so much as a
way to connect on a more personal level, whether it’s with our employees
or our existing customers.

Initially, we started getting the entire company more involved with
Twitter because we saw it as a great way to help build our company
culture.  But then we discovered it was also a great way to connect with
customers as well.

We have a presence on MySpace and Facebook, but most of our focus has been
on Twitter because it’s much more personal.

> How do you use online marketing to improve sales?

Online marketing definitely drives some of our sales, including buying
keywords on search engines such as Google and our associates program.

Acing the Interview

Okay, so, you’ve got your resume out into the world, and they love it. Next thing you know you’re getting calls for interviews allover.

So how do you ace an interview and manage to literally awe the interviewee?

• Know your stuff – This is always No. 1. Cause really, if you don’t know why you’re there or what they like you for. You’re done for. Do your best to sell yourself by knowing your facts and being able to back yourself up with your knowledge. This will give you an upper edge by having all your information on the top of your head.
• Charisma! – This is the fun one. Make them like you, you should be able to stand out against possibly hundreds of candidates. Always try to give them something to remember you by, you want to stick out in a good way. Always try to not come over too immature or joking that they won’t take you serious. Keep your charisma and stand out!
• Find out what makes their company tick – Always try to understand the company, their management, and their staff. What brings them together? Do they bond well? Would you be able to see yourself getting along here and being productive? These are all similar questions you want to answer to better understand what makes this company better to work for? If it fits you, reiterate these qualities about yourself to the interviewer, they will be likely to see the bond you will have.
• Know what they’re looking for – This somewhat fits to the last one. Know what they want, do you have it? Understand the company, and then you will be able to get yourself in their loop.
• Listen – Do not come across overly strong, always take your time to sit back and listen. It shows qualities that you are willing to learn. But also don’t remain so quiet you come across as shy, and do not have good qualifications. Balance listening and charisma.
• Make them Love you – Do what you need to do to make you stand out, and have them know you are the candidate they want. But don’t over power them, you don’t want to be an annoyance.