Larraine Palesky: UX Recruiter, Google

The Old Grad Story: 

Larraine led troops as an Engineer Officer for five years, during which time she found an interest in human resource management. As she approached her transition out of the Army, Larraine used the Service Academy Career Conference, the BreakLine Tech Program, and extensive networking to secure a staffing role at Google, with a strong focus on recruiting for User Experience / User Interface (UX/UI) designers.

Old Grad Knowledge:

Do your due diligence – talk to employees at companies you’re interested in, in roles that you are actively pursuing. Ask if they have flexibility and work/life balance, if they enjoy their work, and if they’re feeling burnt out. Use the on-site interview to gauge how well the environment matches what the company projects.

Positioning Yourself to Break into Tech After the Army

• Tech companies look for grit, ownership, the abilities to thrive in ambiguity and “wear many hats.” Veterans should emphasize stories that showcase these skills!

• Understand how your background is similar to the role-related knowledge requirements of the job you’re interested in. Emphasize these points on your resume and in your interview!

• Embrace the culture of debate! Successful tech leaders focus on developing clear problem statements but give their team a strong voice in creating the solution(s).

• Read the job descriptions, understand what the “hard” skill requirements are, and make a plan for meeting these before you transition.

• Veterans can struggle with “general cognitive assessment” questions during interviews, due to their open-ended ambiguity. Use structured thinking and logical frameworks to understand these questions and organize your responses.

The book, Case in Point, offers a great methodology for your prep!