The Wall Street Journal has an article today about how Google is adjusting its hiring process following years of criticism, as its needs for a ton of more employees have outstripped its desire to put every candidate through hell.
Some details:
- In March, Google hired a new head of human resources, Laszlo Bock from GE.
- By June, the number of interviews per candidate dropped from 6.2 to 5.1.
- End of 2003: 1,628 employees. 2004: 3,021. 2005: 5,680. September 2006: 9,378.
- Sergey Brin famously once interviewed a candidate wearing a Halloween cow costume, complete with udders.
- Some new staffers don’t have college degrees, just solid professional track records.
- Part of the reason they need to fix the system: While they drag on, deciding wether to hire someone, many times that person will get another job offer and just go
- Google did a survey of its employees to determine common factors it could look for in future hires, a risky and unproven idea.
Google is now hiring 16 new employees a day.
Google’s hiring has long been a topic of debate, and if they are truly turning a corner, the company and the industry should benefit.
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Nathan Weinberg writes the popular InsideGoogle blog, offering the latest news and insights about Google and search engines.
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