Susan Wojcicki On YouTube’s Social Responsibility, What She Asks In Job Interviews

Speaking at a New York Times conference yesterday in California, YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki spoke about a range of topics, including how she seeks to navigate the company’s massive impact on the world. Given YouTube’s vast reach, including the more than 1 billion hours of content consumed on the platform every single day, Wojcicki said that the team takes this responsibility very seriously “in terms of understanding how our product is used, the implications,” CNET reports.

“Obviously, one of the challenges is you can’t always understand what the downstream effects are going to be of [your] technology,” she explained. “Part of it is making sure that you’re willing to be changed and you’re willing to be flexible.” She added that, at the end of the day, she asks herself of any major initiative: “Do you feel proud? When you go home at night, do you feel proud that you have made the world a better place? That has to be the guiding star for us.”

Wojcicki also touched on her job interviewing process. When meeting with prospective candidates, she says, she always asks how they might improve a specific feature on YouTube. Wojcicki added that the ideal product manager is always thinking about future iterations of any service, per Business Insider. Additionally, Wojcicki asks candidates how they manage their email on a daily basis. She says this provides critical insight into organizational and scheduling skills.

Check out the conversation, where Wojcicki is joined by BuzzFeed CEO Jonah Peretti and the two discuss the importance of diversity, company culture, their leadership styles, and more, in full right here: