These 4 Steps Outline What it Takes to Work At Google

Who doesn’t want to work for Google knowing how cool and creative the work environment is at their offices? The amount of diversity alone at these offices around the world is astounding.

Each year Google gets millions of job applications from fresh graduates and experienced workers wanting to get the “Google experience.” It takes about six weeks for any of these applicants to secure a job and every employee is also screened by their potential colleagues in addition to their potential bosses and a hiring committee.

Laszlo Bock, Google’s SVP of People’s Operations, has reported that hiring new people used to take up a lot of time but now they have made this process more efficient and less time-consuming by cutting out a lot of unnecessary details. He revealed that research and experimentation with the way they hired people at Google had now made them almost an expert in this process and that they were now definitely much better than other firms.

They just follow four steps to get this done quicker.

1. Setting an uncompromisingly high standard.

Google sets the bar very high and refuses to budge on their standards. This is one of the reasons that makes them so good at what they do.

Furthermore, Bock emphasizes only hiring those people who are better than you. It doesn’t matter how long the search takes for the perfect employee who meets all the requirements. What does matter, however, is that the checklist is never compromised. More effort can be given to this task but there should be no compromises.

2. Find candidates on your own

One of the main points Google follows when hiring new employees is the rule of hiring employees by themselves. They do not like using recruitment firms unless absolutely necessary, for example, when setting up a division in another country with a different language.

Google has employed people recommended by recruitment agencies such as Monster in the past. But as it grew in popularity and size, it realized that the people who applied through these sites were not actually specifically interested in a job at Google but actually would have been happy with any job anywhere.

Google now depends on its own career portals and people apply directly there instead of going through a roundabout way.

3. The checklist must cover small points which assess applicants objectively

Google, being at the size it’s at right now, can afford to have various people spend time with each applicant before hiring them. But smaller companies too need to be careful about not placing the entire burden of hiring new people on one person.

Google includes potential colleagues’ reviews when deciding whether or not to hire people as well looking at the notes various people who spent time with the applicants have made.

4. Provide applicants with an incentive to join the company

It is not just the environment that encourages people to join a certain firm. What matters a lot to potential applicants is who already works for the firm. Reputed individuals with backgrounds not just in their current field are a great reason for future applicants.

Via World Economic Forum