From Sexist Sportscasts To How Google Recruits: This Week’s Top Leadership Stories

This week we learned how to artfully dodge a hiring manager’s inappropriate questions, how Patagonia makes on-site child care pay for itself, and why Google’s tech recruiters are shifting their approach to sourcing top talent.

These are the stories you loved in Leadership for the week of August 15:

1. I Hire Engineers At Google—Here’s What I Look For (And Why)

Google recruiter Keawe Block says company’s methods for hiring tech talent have been getting more holistic. That’s by design: “We’re as interested in English or philosophy majors as we are in computer science degree holders. We don’t really care if you have a 4.0 GPA, and we’re not interested in whether you can figure out how many golf balls fit inside a 747.”

2. Patagonia’s CEO Explains How To Make On-Site Child Care Pay For Itself

Most corporate execs barely give a second thought to the idea of offering on-site child care to employees, imagining that would be ludicrously expensive. But Patagonia CEO Rose Marcario points out that not only has the company been doing just that—sustainably—for years, it actually recoups more than 90% of the costs. This week she shows us the math.

3. The Results Are In: Sports Reporting Is As Sexist As You’ve Always Suspected

According to Cambridge University researchers, sports reporters are more likely to call women athletes “girls” than to refer to their male counterparts as “boys.” That may not surprise you, but it doesn’t end there. Here’s a close look at how gender bias pervades the vocabulary of sportscasts—including in the Rio Olympics.

4. 6 Questions That Can Eliminate Busywork And Boost Your Productivity

Are your daily tasks piling up—taking your stress levels with them? You may be able to take an inventory and cut extraneous stuff. Here’s a six-step method for doing just that.

5. How To Answer A Hiring Manager’s Inappropriate (Or Illegal) Questions

Massachusetts recently became the first state in the U.S. to bar employers from asking about job candidates’ prior earnings history, adding one more item to the list of off-limits questions. But that unfortunately doesn’t mean you can expect to stop encountering them. Here’s your guide to navigating inappropriate or illegal queries during the hiring process.