YouTube was founded in February 2005 as an online destination for the viewing and sharing of original videos. The company is located in San Bruno, Calif.
YouTube provides an easy way for users to upload and share video clips on its site, with video playback technology based on the Adobe Flash player. The videos can also be shared through other websites, e-mail, mobile devices, and blogs.
The site's Channels feature enables users to create personal profile pages where they can save their favorite videos, create playlists and subscribe to other people's videos. Users are also able to search for content using keywords and select videos from a number of categories or specialized areas on the site.
The company makes money through the different forms of advertising that appear on its site, including daily ads on the homepage; general display and text ads appearing next to search results; ads that appear within videos; and brand advertiser-sponsored contests.
YouTube, bought out by Google Inc. in November 2006, is a leader as far as user-generated online videos go, and is the largest of all video websites. Former competitor Joost has dropped its consumer-video service, and Hulu, a much smaller service, is focused on premium content.
But YouTube is moving more in the premium direction, having added a "Shows" tab in its navigation bar. The addition of premium content is a sign that the company is trying to find more ways of making money; analysts have pointed out that monetization is one of YouTube's biggest challenges, given the amount of money the company needs to generate in order to cover bandwidth costs and make a profit.
On its website, YouTube says its company culture is the same as the one made famous by Google: "We are a community of bright, inspiring and talented people who work in a relaxed but focused professional environment, with access to an amazing pool of computing resources and data that help us solve intellectually challenging and wide-ranging problems."
Here's a list of skills and characteristics YouTube looks for in potential employees:
- strong coders
- good communication and interpersonal skills
- team-oriented
- results-oriented
- adaptive
- proactive
- willing to take ownership
- good work ethic
- fun
- thrives in flat organization
- flexible
You can find YouTube job openings by going to Google's job openings page and selecting "California - San Bruno (YouTube)." You will be able to submit your resume online.
Creativity and analytical thinking skills are just as important as technical know-how for YouTube, so make sure you highlight these abilities in your resume.
If you get a call from a recruiter, be prepared for the possibility of several interviews. Your first one, which will determine whether you should be brought in for an in-person interview, will be conducted over the phone and will last anywhere from 30 to 40 minutes.
The on-site interview will evaluate core software engineering skills, such as coding, algorithm development, design patterns, data structures and analytical thinking skills. You'll be asked questions related to your area of interest, and you'll be required to solve them in real-time. Interviewers will be very interested in the process you use to solve the problem, and how creative you are.
You'll be talking to at least four interviewers, ranging from management to potential colleagues. After all the interviews are done, it could take up to two weeks for the hiring committee to make its decision.
