Introduction: The network version of the "Fortune" magazine wrote an article today pointing out that as one of the hottest tech companies now, Google receives 2 million resumes every year. In the eyes of American elites, getting a job at Google is like being admitted to Stanford University's business school or becoming a member of the U.S. Navy SEALs.
The following are the main points of the article:
Best Employer
In today's increasingly fierce talent competition in Silicon Valley, no company has an "arsenal" as well-stocked as Google. The "Fortune" magazine once selected Google as the best company to work for in America in 2012. This search giant added a record-breaking 8,067 new employees last year, increasing its total workforce by one-third.
Although Google only has a 13-year history, it receives as many as 2 million applications each year from people wanting to join this company, so it must ensure the quality of its recruitment team. In the eyes of the American elite, getting a job at Google is akin to being admitted to Stanford University's business school or joining the U.S. Navy SEALs.
Google indeed does not disclose the number of recruiters, but there may be quite a few. In 2009, Google said its recruitment team was about 400 people. Today, some estimate this number may exceed 500. Todd Carlisle, Google's head of personnel department, said: "We want to mine the cream of the crop for the company, and we have invested specifically in doing this."
Carlisle also compared talent recruitment to an essential household item: "Recruiting new people is like buying groceries for Google." John Sullivan, a professor at San Francisco State University who has conducted in-depth research on recruitment and serves as a consultant for Google, estimates that the ratio of Google employees to recruiters, including contract workers, is roughly 64:1.
Young Recruiters, High Salaries
The recruiters at Google are very young, highly paid, but often only work there for six months. Michael Morell, co-founder and executive partner of the Silicon Valley headhunting company Riviera Partners, said: "Google might be the company I know with the most contract workers. It's said that new hires must prove themselves within 6 to 12 months, otherwise they will have to leave."
Flexible System
It is now difficult to accurately estimate the exact ratio of Google employees to recruiters because the number of recruiters at Google fluctuates greatly. Sullivan said that within a certain period, 70% of Google's recruiters are contract workers, and their numbers increase or decrease according to specific circumstances.
This way, Google can flexibly adjust the number of recruiters based on actual needs. An unnamed former Google recruiter said: "If you need to scale down, you can lay off 50 people, and it doesn't matter much. You can hire 50 to 100 people again within two months and return to the original level. This is a very effective method, but it comes at a high cost." Calling Google's recruitment team a machine is not an exaggeration.
Sullivan said that Google's recruitment budget is the highest among the private companies he knows. He pointed out that the heavy investment in human resources stems from Google's early calculation: the value of a top engineer far exceeds that of an average engineer. In other words, investing ten times more than other companies in recruitment is meaningful.
This partly explains why Google provides such good benefits, work flexibility, and personal free time to its employees. CEO Larry Page personally reviews every new hire, and the reason is obvious. Sullivan said that in terms of recruitment, "it's not like you're the first choice and someone else is the second choice; you belong to different circles."
Defined Roles
This does not mean that the work of Google's recruiters is any easier. They often complain that recruiting is a very mechanical process, boring and uninteresting for each participant. Google does not rely on experienced full-time recruiters but divides this process into different functions—finding suitable candidates, coordinating, etc.
Zach Nadler applied for the position of a recruiter at Google but eventually opted out after experiencing how tedious the job was. Nadler said: "The pay is pretty good, but it doesn't feel as comfortable as imagined, spending all day online." David Voss, COO of the consulting firm Foxhunt Staffing, said: "Recruiters seem to be the only group of people in this company who constantly complain."
Google emphasizes clear division of labor. Morell said: "I have received many resumes claiming to be 'Google recruiters.' But you must conduct in-depth investigations to find out exactly what kind of work they do." Many companies adopt similar strategies, but Google's signature analytical ability adds an artistic touch to the process.
Morell said: "To help new hires quickly adapt to their roles and take on responsibilities as soon as possible. Such trivial matters are usually handed over to entry-level headhunting companies to ensure that new hires integrate into this machine." Perhaps, each individual is very capable, but how about in the entire Google system? "Google integrates them into a team, and the capability of this team surpasses everyone's imagination."
Attractive for Beginners
Joining Google's "recruitment machine" still holds significant appeal for newly-minted human resources professionals, even though the job is not a "lifetime position." Another unnamed former Google recruiter said: "Maybe, your job security is gone tomorrow, but for a 23-year-old, you can make a lot of money." She worked as a full-time recruiter at Google for 11 months and loved both the job and the company, but she also said, "Perhaps, selling products by phone to potential customers will never be this easy again."
Simplified Process
Like many of Google's R&D projects, data runs through every aspect of the recruitment mechanism. It is said that the candidate tracking project designed by Google fully demonstrates the subtleties of mathematics. Google often bypasses headhunting companies and directly contacts its targeted individuals; engineers in Silicon Valley frequently receive calls from Google. Nick Bergson-Shilcock, co-founder of the headhunting startup Hackruiter, said he receives an email from Google's HR department every six months.
Due to the large size and penetrative nature of Google's machine, there is a widely circulated rumor in the industry: A Google engineer received a poaching email, and the sender turned out to be his current employer! Although it is just a rumor, it remains highly credible.
Defects in the Recruitment Machine
Google's recruitment machine also has some flaws. Employees often complain about things like the overly procedural nature of recruitment, where innovative talents get lost in a series of formulas, and the chaos during the interview process. In 2008, an email written by a former Google recruiter widely circulated on the Internet, criticizing Google's recruitment system as too bureaucratic. However, Carlisle said that Google is constantly adjusting its recruitment system.
Last year, Google made changes to several unique features of its recruitment process, no longer placing excessive emphasis on GPA (Grade Point Average) and standardized test scores. Carlisle said: "If they have been out of school for three years, we no longer require applicants to provide their GPA." At the same time, Google no longer requires standardized testing for applicants.
Ten Rounds of Interviews
Google has also eliminated some of the most puzzling interview questions, such as "How many golf balls can fit in a school bus?" Instead, it focuses on questions more relevant to the applicant's position. Carlisle said: "We used to focus more on the applicant's performance in school. Now, as long as we can prove that the person is smart, these are no longer necessary conditions."
Perhaps more importantly, Google has significantly shortened the process from interviewing to onboarding. According to Carlisle, it used to take up to half a year from applying for a position to signing a contract; now, this process has been shortened to around a month and a half. Previously, applicants often had to go through 10 interviews, but this step has also been shortened. Carlisle said that after the fourth interview, each subsequent interview increases understanding of the applicant by only about 1%. Google has now reduced the number of interviews for applicants to no more than six.
Google is also famous for maximizing the potential of new hires, and the philosophy behind it is brutal competition, survival of the fittest, "either you die or I die," Sullivan said. Applying this rule to basketball courts means "if all the players on the court are seven feet tall (approximately 2.13 meters), then they will definitely win more games." Google naturally has its own logic, and this logic may not apply to all companies.
Sullivan said that studying Google is a frustrating thing for him, seeing it, "you would think, God, this machine will rule the world." (Xuan Chen)
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