Google is notorious for being one of the most selective companies out there.

Of the 3 million applications it receives each year, Google only hires 7,000, or about 0.2%, the
company's HR boss Laszlo Bock said at LinkedIn's recent Talent Conference, according to
Quartz.
Although many have heard about Google's unbelievably difficult brain-teasers, the company
actually has a bunch of practices that make its hiring process so selective.
Google keeps its hiring protocol consistent and streamlined so each Googler knows exactly what
to look for in candidates, Quartz reports. In order of priority, those include general cognitive
ability, leadership, "Googleyness," and knowledge of the role.
But Google also takes measures to ensure it eliminates bias at all costs. Bock says he reminds his
team that most people are terrible interviewers. Many people make lasting impressions based on
these encounters that may not accurately represent a candidate's capabilities.
Google also combats bias by putting a committee in charge of making hiring choices - not hiring
managers. Google chairman and former CEO Eric Schmidt also discusses this in a recent book
he wrote with Google's SVP of product Jonathan Rosenberg called "How Google Works."
Schmidt likens this to the way a university decides which faculty members should get hired or
promoted. Essentially, hiring should be peer-based, not hierarchical like the traditional hiring
method, he says.
So, those brain-teasers, consistent protocol, and special hiring committee combined make Google
nearly impenetrable when it comes to getting hired. In fact, Google's hiring rate is said to be
lower than the acceptance rate at prestigious universities such as Harvard and Yale. Of course,
that doesn't mean you shouldn't try.

How to get a job at Google, interview questions, hiring process

The Google hiring process is designed to hire the most talented, creative, and articulate people in
the world who will be the best fit for Google. The Google culture is different. You notice it the
moment you walk on campus. It isnt for everyone, but it works amazingly well for Google. That
is why cultural fit is so important. There is a lot of mystery and misinformation about the Google
hiring process so I would like to give you my perspective on how it works, and more
importantly, why it works.
Google receives over one million resumes per year, and hires about 1,000 to 4,000 people each
year, depending on economic conditions. So, in any given year, less than one half of one percent
of all applicants actually get hired. That means a lot of people who are very successful in their
current jobs, and others who are very talented, will not be be hired at Google this year. That is

just the reality of the numbers. As Google continues to grow there will be more opportunities. As
of this writing there are about 1,000 job openings.

The Process - In some ways the hiring process is pretty standard, it is the evaluation that is
different. This video explains the steps and what to expect. All open jobs are listed on
Google.com. Browse for a job that fits you and submit your resume online. Every resume
submitted online gets reviewed.
Recruiter screen - In the first step of the process the recruiter screens every resume for technical
requirements, education, and experience to make sure there is a potential fit. If there is no fit you
will get a polite no fit at this time response, but your resume will be kept on file. The recruiter
really does look at existing resumes on file when a new job req opens up. If there is a fit, a
recruiter will contact you to set up a phone screen interview.
Phone screen - A recruiter will contact you, explain the process, and let you know what to
expect. The recruiter may ask for your SAT scores and college GPA, if this is a technical
engineering role. Yes, even though I have over 20 years of experience...they still asked for my
numbers. The phone screen is usually done by an employee in a similar role, and usually takes 30
minutes. There could be two or more phone screens, and you may even be asked to write code in
a shared Google Doc during the phone screen if this is a technical role. The goal is to further
assess your technical skills, past experience, and motivation for this new role.
On Site Interview - The first on site interview will be with four or five people for 45 minutes
each. The interviewers may include the manager and other employees with similar roles. This
interview will go deeper into your technical skills or domain specific knowledge. If this is a
technical role you will be asked to solve technical problems in real time, which may include
coding a solution or white-boarding a design. This can get pretty intense for the unprepared
candidate, or incredibly fun and stimulating if you are into it.
Non-engineering roles will have different evaluations. Marketing and PR people might be asked
for writing samples, or asked how they would handle a delicate PR issue. Business people might
be asked how to position one product versus another, or how to evaluate competing offers.
Others might be asked how they would handle a hypothetical problem and how they would
measure success.

You may also be asked some questions like How

many golf balls can fit in a school bus? or There are 8 balls. Seven of them weigh the same,
but one is heavier. Using a balance scale, how do you find the heavier ball with just two
weighings? I was asked both of these questions in my interviews. There are lots of puzzling
questions like this. Sometimes the precise answer doesnt matter. The purpose is to 1)observe
your thought process, 2)test your quick thinking ability under pressure in real time, and 3)see
how you articulate your thoughts and ideas.
Interview feedback - Every interviewer submits their feedback in a standard format about the
candidate and assigns a numerical ranking to the candidate. The feedback is reviewed by the
recruiter and compared to feedback on other candidates for this job and similar roles. There is
also a process to collect feedback from former colleagues. All existing employees resumes are in
a database. A search is done to match the candidates resume to employees resumes to find
matches for schools or companies for the years specified. An email is sent to the Google
employee asking their opinion on the candidate. If the consensus is that there is a good fit, and
they want to make an offer, it goes to the hiring committee.
Hiring Committee - There are hiring committees for each major job classification. The
committee consists of senior managers and directors, and experienced employees from this
domain. They see all the potential candidates for all open jobs in this area so they have a very
good feeling for the required capabilities and availability of highly qualified people. The
committee reviews every piece of feedback as well as the resume and work experience. If there
is consensus agreement from the committee to recommend an offer it then goes to the next level
of review.
Executive Review - Senior level management reviews every offer. Hiring is taken very seriously
at Google. Hiring great people is the most important thing we do. It has lasting impact on the
future of the company. If the Executive Review comes out favorable it goes to the compensation
committee for that part of the offer.
Compensation Committee - As you might expect the compensation committee determines the
appropriate total compensation for the offer. They have the advantage of reviewing all the offers
in a specific domain so they have a very good handle on what is fair and appropriate, and the
competitive salaries from other companies.

Final Executive Review - Yes, it is true, one of the top execs looks at all employment offers
before they are extended to the candidate. This sends a clear message to everyone how serious
we are about hiring great people.
The Offer - The recruiter will notify you of an offer, and will explain all the details of the offer.
Google offers are very competitive, some might say generous, and very thorough. Google wants
you to be happy, motivated, and totally focused.

Why it works - How it works is interesting, but why it works is more important.
Communication, no compromises, and consensus are the key ingredients. Communication means
the candidate is acknowledged soon after submitting a resume, and is updated when status
changes during the process. Given the huge number of resumes, the process sometimes takes
longer than we would like, or the communication is less informative than desired, but we strive
to keep candidates informed. Maintaining the highest standards with no compromises is
essential. Gaining consensus through committees ensures the standards remain high, avoids
blind spots, and many mistakes.

Hiring is everyones job - Nearly every employee at Google has recruiting, interviewing, and
hiring as part of their job responsibilities. It is part of the job, and it is measured. Employees get
bonuses for referrals that get hired. Most employees do several interviews each month, and all
are required to submit written feedback based on standard categories and criteria. The hiring
committee looks at every piece of feedback during the decision process.
Feedback on your feedback - Interviewing and feedback is taken very seriously at Google.
Employees are coached on how to do better interviews, and how to write more insightful
interview feedback. The system keeps track of how many interviews we do, what ratings we
gave, if the person was hired, and how our interview feedback was rated by the hiring
committee. Thats right, our feedback is rated for quality by the hiring committee. Over time it
becomes clear who the best interviewers are, and their best practices are shared with the rest of
the team. That is one indication of how serious Google is about getting the hiring experience
right.
No Single Hiring Manager - Hiring decisions are made by hiring committees. This means that
no single hiring manager can make a potentially bad decision by themselves. This doesn't
guarantee 100% success, but it does reduce bad decisions. There must be consensus that the
candidate is a great hire. Doesnt this slow down the process? Not really, in fact the process
insures that candidate status is reviewed by the committee every week. There is no opportunity
for the hiring decision to get delayed by personal deadlines for other work. The consensus
approach avoids "blind spots" or biases by an individual hiring manager, and results in better
hiring decisions. Candidates are compared across several groups to make sure the acceptance
criteria remain high.
Compensation fairness - It is important to note that compensation is decided by a separate
committee, not the hiring manager or hiring committee. This ensures that compensation is fair

across groups and within similar job roles. Again, the consensus approach avoids potential blind
spots or biases of an individual manager.
Only hire the best fit - There are lots of job openings at Google. Some have been open for a
long time. Google would rather leave a job unfilled than hire a sub-optimal candidate. The hiring
committee will not allow a less than great hire just because the hiring manager is anxious to fill a
slot.
Google also has a very different approach to setting goals and rewarding achievement. We set
goals and measure progress every quarter, not once a year. We set impossible goals and achieve
many of them. Even when we fall short the results are impressive. Achieving 60% of the
impossible is better than 100% of the ordinary. Read How Google Sets Goals And Measures
Success for more details.
Google has a very different culture than most companies. You notice it as soon as you walk on
campus. You see it in the employees you talk to. You feel it when you attend internal meetings or
TGIF company meetings. It starts with Larry, Sergey, Eric, and the senior management team. The
culture remains strong and true because the hiring process requires hiring only the best fit, the
people who have that unique Googley character. The secret to Googles success is its people.
That is why hiring is everyones job at Google. See if Google is right for you. Check out open
jobs here. Send me an email if you need help.

How we interview
Were looking for smart, team-oriented people who can get things done. When you interview at
Google, youll likely interview with four or five Googlers. Theyre looking for four things:
Leadership

Well want to know how youve flexed different muscles in different situations in order to
mobilize a team. This might be by asserting a leadership role at work or with an organization, or
by helping a team succeed when you werent officially appointed as the leader.
Role-Related Knowledge

Were looking for people who have a variety of strengths and passions, not just isolated skill sets.
We also want to make sure that you have the experience and the background that will set you up
for success in your role. For engineering candidates in particular, well be looking to check out
your coding skills and technical areas of expertise.
How You Think

Were less concerned about grades and transcripts and more interested in how you think. Were
likely to ask you some role-related questions that provide insight into how you solve problems.
Show us how you would tackle the problem presented--dont get hung up on nailing the right
answer.

Googleyness

We want to get a feel for what makes you, well, you. We also want to make sure this is a place
youll thrive, so well be looking for signs around your comfort with ambiguity, your bias to
action and your collaborative nature.

How we decide
There are also a few other things we do to make sure were always hiring the right candidate for
the right role and for Google.
We collect feedback from multiple Googlers

At Google, you work on tons of projects with different groups of Googlers, across many teams
and time zones. To give you a sense of what working here is really like, some of your
interviewers could be potential teammates, but some interviewers will be with other teams. This
helps us see how you might collaborate and fit in at Google overall.
Independent committees of Googlers help us ensure were hiring for the long term

An independent committee of Googlers review feedback from all of the interviewers. This
committee is responsible for ensuring our hiring process is fair and that were holding true to our
good for Google standards as we grow.
We believe that if you hire great people and involve them intensively in the hiring process, youll
get more great people. Over the past couple of years, weve spent a lot of time making our hiring
process as efficient as possible - reducing time-to-hire and increasing our communications to
candidates. While involving Googlers in our process does take longer, we believe its worth it.
Our early Googlers identified these principles more than ten years ago, and its what allows us to
hold true to who we are as we grow.
These core principles are true across Google, but when it comes to specifics, there are some
pieces of our process that look a little different across teams. Our recruiters can help you
navigate through these as the time comes.
At Google, we dont just accept difference - we celebrate it, we support it, and we thrive on it for
the benefit of our employees, our products and our community. Google is proud to be an equal
opportunity workplace and is an affirmative action employer.