Introduction: The network version of the "Fortune" magazine wrote an article today pointing out that as one of the hottest technology companies now, Google receives 2 million resumes every year. In the eyes of American elites, working at Google is like being admitted to Stanford University's Business School, or becoming a member of the U.S. Navy SEALs.
The following is the main content of the article:
Best Employer
In today's increasingly fierce battle for talent 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 the United States in 2012. This search giant added a record-breaking 8,067 employees last year, increasing its total workforce by a third.
Although Google only has a 13-year history, it still receives up to 2 million applicants each year. Therefore, the company must ensure the quality of its talent recruitment team. In the eyes of American elites, getting a job at Google is like being admitted to Stanford University's Business School, or joining the U.S. Navy SEALs.
Google indeed did not disclose the number of recruiters, but there might be quite a few. In 2009, Google said its recruitment team was about 400 people. Today, some estimate this number could exceed 500. Todd Carlisle, head of Google's personnel department, said: "We want to dig out the cream of the crop for the company, and we have invested funds specifically for this purpose."
Carlisle also compared talent recruitment to an essential household item: "Recruiting new members is like buying groceries for Google." John Sullivan, a professor at San Francisco State University who has done in-depth research on talent recruitment and serves as a consultant for Google, estimated that including contract workers, the ratio of Google employees to recruiters is approximately 64:1.
Young, Well-Paid Recruiters
Google's recruiters are very young and highly paid, but they often only work there for six months. Michael A. Morell, co-founder and managing partner of the Silicon Valley headhunting company Riviera Partners, said: "Google may be the company with the most contract workers I know of. It's said that newcomers 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 changes significantly. Sullivan said that within a certain period, 70% of Google's recruiters were contract workers, and their scale would increase or decrease according to specific situations.
This way, Google can flexibly control the number of recruiters based on actual needs. An unnamed former Google recruiter said: "If you need to reduce your scale, you can fire 50 people, and it won't cause any problems. You can also hire 50 to 100 people 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 largest among private companies he knows. He pointed out that investing heavily in human resources stems from Google's early estimation: the value of a top engineer far exceeds that of an average engineer. In other words, investing ten times more in talent recruitment than other companies is meaningful.
This partly explains why Google provides such good benefits, work flexibility, and personal freedom to its employees. Every time Google recruits a new employee, CEO Larry Page personally reviews them. The reason is obvious. Sullivan said in terms of talent recruitment, "it's not like saying you're the top choice and someone else is the second choice; they belong to different circles."
Different Roles
This does not mean that Google recruiters' jobs are 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 once applied to be a Google recruiter but eventually backed out after experiencing the boredom of the job. 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 everyone doing their own job. Morell said: "I've received many resumes that say 'Google Recruiter.' But you must investigate deeply what exactly they do." Many companies use similar strategies; it's just that 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 their responsibilities soon. These things are too trivial, usually left to entry-level headhunting companies to handle, ensuring new hires integrate into this machine." Perhaps, each person's abilities are outstanding individually, but within the entire Google system? "Google integrates them into a team, and this team's capabilities surpass everyone's imagination."
Joining Google's "recruitment machine" remains attractive to novice HR professionals, even though the job is not a "golden rice bowl." Another unnamed former Google recruiter said: "Maybe tomorrow your job is gone, but for a 23-year-old young person, you can earn a lot of money." This person revealed that she worked as a full-time recruiter at Google for 11 months and "loved" her job and the company, but she also said, "Perhaps from now on, calling potential customers to sell products will never be so 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 subtlety of mathematics. Google often bypasses headhunting companies and directly contacts its targeted goals; even many 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 personnel department every six months.
Due to the massive size and penetrative nature of this 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's just a rumor, its credibility remains very high.
There are also some flaws in Google's recruitment machine. Employees often complain about certain things, such as overly procedural recruitment, innovative talents getting lost in a series of formulas, chaotic interview processes, etc. In 2008, an email written by a former Google recruiter went viral online, criticizing Google's recruitment system as overly bureaucratic. However, Carlisle said that Google is constantly adjusting its recruitment system.
Google made changes to several unique functions of its recruitment process last year, 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 GPA." At the same time, Google no longer requires standardized testing for applicants.
Passing Ten Rounds
Google has also eliminated some of the most baffling interview questions, such as how many golf balls can fit in a school bus? Instead, they now ask questions more relevant to the applicant's position. Carlisle said: "In the past, we cared more about the applicant's performance in school. Now, as long as we can prove that this person is smart, these are no longer necessary conditions."
Perhaps more importantly, Google has significantly shortened the process from interviewing to hiring. According to Carlisle, previously, it could take up to half a year from applying for a position to signing a contract, now this process is shortened to about one and a half months. Previously, applicants often had to go through 10 interviews, but now this process is also shortened. Carlisle said he found that after the fourth interview, the understanding gained from each subsequent interview only increased by about 1%. Google now limits the number of interviews for applicants to no more than six.
Google is also renowned for its ability to maximize 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 the basketball court means "if all the players on the field are seven feet tall (approximately 2.13 meters), then they will definitely win more games." Google naturally has its logic, and this logic may not apply to all companies.
Sullivan said, studying Google is something that frustrates him, seeing it, "you would think, my God, this machine will rule the whole world." (Xuan Chen)
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