Google Inc., the worlds largest and most popular search engine company, is also one of the most sought after companies in the world. Due to the popularity of the company caused by its highly attractive compensation and benefits packages for its employees, millions of job applications are constantly received by Google on an annual basis. While other companies envy Google for attracting and acquiring such highly skilled individuals from all over the world, the company finds it as a serious cause of dilemma. When Google Inc. topped the ranks for the most popular companies in the world, it could no longer contain the number of applications it receives from thousands of job hunters from all over the globe. And since the company aims to hire only the best employees that fit the organizational culture and standards of Google, the company started thinking of ways to better improve its recruitment and selection process for its would-be employees. In an article released in New York Times in 2007, Google Inc shared its non- traditional, highly creative and unconventional approach of selecting and hiring employees. Initially, the Google management sought the aid of its highly-competent and well-skilled technical staff in order to find ways to quickly go through and review the millions of applications it stored in its recruitment database. The Google Inc management also decided to focus on the distinct behavioural characteristics and personality that separates Google employees from any other employees in other known companies. It shifted its focus from academic qualifications and technical experiences to the applicants personality, creativity, leadership capacities, innovative and nonconventional ways of thinking and the applicants overall exposure to the world. The academic qualifications and the intensive job experience just came in as second priorities of the company in choosing the best candidates for any open positions. Since then, the Google Inc company not only became known for its outstanding and luxurious job compensation and benefits packages it offers its employees, but also in making use of some of the most powerful recruitment assessment tools capable of picking the best employees in the world that fit the standards set by Google. The Google Recruitment Process One of the most notable statements of Eric Schmidt, the CEO of Google Inc. is that Google invests in people. The main reason why people from different cultures, have been dreaming of being recruited and hired by Google is that the company offers possibly the most outstanding job compensation packages any normal employee could ever enjoy. In order to attract the best employees, Google draws them by the promise of wealth and luxury, providing their employees with almost everything an employee could possibly need, from absurdly high compensations to extravagant and luxurious benefits like gourmet food, car wash, gym, snacks, exercise classes, dry cleaning services, car services, haircuts,.

1. Google Inc., the worlds largest and most popular search engine company, is also one of the most
sought after companies in the world. Due to the popularity of the company caused by its highly
attractive compensation and benefits packages for its employees, millions of job applications are
constantly received by Google on an annual basis. While other companies envy Google for
attracting and acquiring such highly skilled individuals from all over the world, the company finds it
as a serious cause of dilemma. When Google Inc. topped the ranks for the most popular
companies in the world, it could no longer contain the number of applications it receives from
thousands of job hunters from all over the globe. And since the company aims to hire only the best
employees that fit the organizational culture and standards of Google, the company started
thinking of ways to better improve its recruitment and selection process for its would-be
employees. In an article released in New York Times in 2007, Google Inc shared its non-
traditional, highly creative and unconventional approach of selecting and hiring employees.
Initially, the Google management sought the aid of its highly-competent and well-skilled technical
staff in order to find ways to quickly go through and review the millions of applications it stored in
its recruitment database. The Google Inc management also decided to focus on the distinct
behavioural characteristics and personality that separates Google employees from any other
employees in other known companies. It shifted its focus from academic qualifications and
technical experiences to the applicants personality, creativity, leadership capacities, innovative
and nonconventional ways of thinking and the applicants overall exposure to the world. The
academic qualifications and the intensive job experience just came in as second priorities of the
company in choosing the best candidates for any open positions. Since then, the Google Inc
company not only became known for its outstanding and luxurious job compensation and benefits
packages it offers its employees, but also in making use of some of the most powerful recruitment
assessment tools capable of picking the best employees in the world that fit the standards set by
Google. The Google Recruitment Process One of the most notable statements of Eric Schmidt,
the CEO of Google Inc. is that Google invests in people. The main reason why people from
different cultures, have been dreaming of being recruited and hired by Google is that the company
offers possibly the most outstanding job compensation packages any normal employee could ever
enjoy. In order to attract the best employees, Google draws them by the promise of wealth and
luxury, providing their employees with almost everything an employee could possibly need, from
absurdly high compensations to extravagant and luxurious benefits like gourmet food, car wash,
gym, snacks, exercise classes, dry cleaning services, car services, haircuts, oil changes,
massages, checkups and many more, all for free. Nevertheless, the recruitment process was also
far beyond ordinary. Several people who have had experience in the Google recruitment process
narrates that the experience was totally nerve-wracking. One applicant who underwent interviews
for Google has had five to seven interviews in one day for two to three straight days. That
applicant claims that the interviews were really tough with some of the brightest people in the
world, conducting the interviews filled with brainteasers, algorithmic problems, and IQ tests.
Another applicant who also have had experiences in the recruitment process of Google claims that
his Google experience was one of the most nerve-wracking adventures of his life. The interviewers
were looking for extremely bright individuals and so the recruitment method was filled with IQ
tests, brain-teasers, algorithms, data structures, and a lot of mathematics involved in it. The

2. Google Selection Process Google is no doubt the worlds best recruitment leader. Google is known
for various unique approaches that it has utilised in order to attract the cream of the crop or the
best of the bests. One way is through employment branding. Google has so successfully utilized
their brand in order to attract the most talented and highly-competent individuals in the world.
Because of their claim of providing the best employee-employer experience supported by the
many perks, benefits and high salaries that Google employees get to enjoy, Google became the
most desired companies for men and women in the world. While the work and job responsibilities
in Google are not that easy, the stock options benefit is one of the key drivers of retention and
continuous acquisition of the best employees for this company. In 2007, employee turn-over at
Google was reportedly less than 5% which was simply phenomenal. People didnt want to leave
the company because the amazing provisions and benefits that the company offers its employees.
Moreover, the creative approaches of Google when it comes to hiring and retaining employees
were simply exceptional. Employees claim that money was never an issue for Google in terms of
utilising it to take care of its employees. One notable recruitment technique that Google utilised in
2006 was the targeted and unobtrusive approach to sending recruitment messages. Google
crafted a simple technique to recruit the best students in certain schools and universities to work
for them. They allowed people from these schools to access the search portal of Google wherein
the students IP address would be identified to see from what organisation the person belongs into.
The technique was successfully executed using a minimalist and unobtrusive style of recruitment
wherein below the search box, the Google system would know whether the targeted student is
graduating or not and whether they intend to work for Google after graduation. The approach was
definitely a successful micro-targeted approach. It was also in the same year when Google
opened up to the idea of an Employee Referral Program. In putting up this program, Google made
sure that it would deliver them a worldclass employee whose personality, qualifications and work
ethics reflect the Google standards. A year passed by and Googles attempts for recruitment
innovations continued to improve. In 2007, Google developed a simple and effective assessment
tool to screen its millions of applicants all over the world via an algorithm assessment tool. The
algorithm technique effectively separated the top and the best performers from thousands of
candidates vying for a position. Moreover, the assessment tool was made sure to successfully
predict the best possible candidates from the least and the average and has managed to resolve
the issue on the usual assessment tools being used by most companies, relying mainly on the
academic qualifications and intensive industry and job experience. Truly, what separates the
Google recruitment process from the typical and the usual recruitment methodologies that other
companies employ is its ability to accurately identify the best candidates for the position using a
more data-based and scientific approach to the recruitment process. Also, it has significantly
reduced the reliability of interviews, which for most companies, serves as the final indicator of how
well an employee will perform at work. Furthermore, the algorithm approach which is a common
business model that the company employs was effectively used to assess whether potential
candidates can indeed perform given the high performance standards of Google. The secret to be
selected as a Google employee is that one has to think a lot like an engineer. Apparently, Google
expects their employees to be highly quantitative and highly analytical as well as highly capable of
dealing with too many data all at the same time. During the interviews, an applicant must also be

3. able to demonstrate his skill or capacity by writing codes, intelligently analysing case studies and
brain-teasers and solving algorithmic problems on the spot. In addition, Google is searching for
applicants who are highly practical and are capable of making something out of nothing that
people can make use of. The Google Interview Process Since Google is known to be the ultimate
recruitment and selection machine, its interview processes are also the most gruelling experiences
an applicant could ever have. Usually, the interviews begin using the telephone. Once the phone
interviews conducted have been successful, the applicant would be scheduled by the recruitment
officer and be invited for a series of five to ten interviews in one day with ten different people. For
some people who have successfully undergone this process, they described it as the most
excruciating employment experience of their lives as a lot of mental gymnastics were necessary to
prove your skills. There were many instances when the applicants were asked to write codes,
brainstorm, role play or solve mathematical equations on the spot just to prove that they are
highly-skilled and competent. In other instances, the applicants are even tested of their marketing
skills even though the position an applicant is applying for is highly technical. The interviewers
seem to have control and power over the applicants letting them do everything just to prove that
they are worthy for the position. Common questions involved computer network problems, Java
programming and algorithms by which Google is known for. Moreover, other applicants can rate
and share comments on another applicant which Google can track and use as another basis for
hiring or not hiring an applicant. Overall, the process was a lengthy, tedious and nerve-wracking
experience which can possibly traumatize anyone whose dream is to work for one of the most
prestigious companies in the world. Nevertheless, the perks and benefits are limitless and are
more than enough to compensate for such a tough employment experience.
Question 1
The case study indicates that in 2007, employee turnover at Google was reportedly less than 5%,
which was simply phenomenal. Critically evaluate the best practices in recruitment and selection
at Google that contributed to exceptional employee retention rate and makes Google one of the
most desired companies for men and women to work at in the world.