{"id":923,"date":"2026-06-03T11:04:18","date_gmt":"2026-06-03T11:04:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/americanhomejournals.com\/?p=923"},"modified":"2026-06-03T11:04:18","modified_gmt":"2026-06-03T11:04:18","slug":"i-lecture-at-stanford-and-interview-for-an-ai-firm-i-want-candidates-to-have-1-key-quality","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/americanhomejournals.com\/?p=923","title":{"rendered":"I lecture at Stanford and interview for an AI firm. I want candidates to have 1 key quality."},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Jiaona Zhang, the CPO at the AI software company, Laurel. She previously worked in product<\/em> at Airbnb, WeWork, and Linktree.<\/em> Since 2018, she has taught an annual graduate-level class in product management fundamentals at Stanford, in-person and online.<\/em> She is in her late 30s and lives in the San Francisco Bay Area. The following has been edited for length and clarity.<\/em><\/p>\n

Read more Coding\u2019s great reckoning<\/a><\/p>\n

When I started teaching in 2018, computer science graduates were finding great, well-paid jobs at top companies. Students could expect to earn a base salary of $120,000 with equity on top.<\/p>\n

But over the past two years, the pathway of studying CS, doing a giant interview loop when big companies come to campus, getting in, and working your way up the company seems to be getting obliterated. I‘<\/em>ve noticed those entry-level offers drying up and students gravitating to smaller startups or entrepreneurship.<\/p>\n

The hard, mundane things students learn in computer science and the tasks a software engineer does at the junior level are now being done by AI. You can build a product in a day or an hour, even if you aren’t super technical. In many cases, entrepreneurs can capture so much value at an unprecedented pace.<\/p>\n

It’s no longer just about whether you chose the right major and got on the right path. Over the next 10 years, I think the emphasis will shift away from what you’ve studied toward what you’re building.<\/p>\n

Students are doing a lot of soul-searching. They’re asking themselves what problem they really want to work on, or whether they want to be a founder. Anyone can do anything, so what do you really want to do?<\/p>\n

Read more A millennial who saved up to walk away from a stressful job says he found \u2018the cheat code\u2019 to hitting FIRE<\/a><\/p>\n

I’m looking for workers who are builders with curiosity and drive <\/h2>\n

Students don’t need to master every single AI tool out there. Instead, they need to hone their skill set to spot opportunities. One of the reasons I think students are interested in my Stanford product course is because I teach how to understand the user and build unique insight into a market or problem. If you’re able to identify a user group and work out what problem they’re experiencing, your product is more likely to hit the bull’s-eye.<\/p>\n

When I interview candidates at Laurel, I have them share their screen and walk me through how they use AI, and ask what they’re building and when they last replaced tedious manual work with AI. A candidate’s level of agency is highly related to how good an employee I think they will be. Technology has leaped forward, and it’s really going to benefit those who are curious.<\/p>\n

It’s not about being technical, but about being a builder, meaning you have curiosity and drive, and do the thing without waiting to be told. Those are the ingredients of success for the next generation.<\/p>\n

Do you have a story to share about breaking into tech? Contact this reporter at <\/em>ccheong@businessinsider.com<\/em><\/p>\n

Read more George Santos faces federal probe into insider trading on Kalshi<\/a><\/p>\n<\/section>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A Stanford lecturer and a chief product officer who worked at Airbnb and WeWork wants interview candidates to prove they are builders.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":922,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-923","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-careers"],"yoast_head":"\nI lecture at Stanford and interview for an AI firm. 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