Want to work at Google? Your ‘Googleyness’ matters

“Googleyness” is a set of qualities like fun, intellectual humility, conscientiousness, and a track record of having done interesting things. And according to ex-Google employees that Fast Company spoke to, that’s what hiring managers are looking for in applicants beyond their skills and experience.

While other advice dispensed by these ex-employees are similar to the usual info dished to job seekers, the one about “Googleyness” stands out as it reveals the values of one of the most sought-after company among job seekers.

Googleyness is a reflection of your personality and has a number of elements, says Kevin Miller, who worked in Google AdWords sales for two years and is now director of growth at OpenListings.com.

“How easy are you to get along with? With the Google recruiting process, one question that you have to pass is every person who interviews you is asked, Would you want to work with this person every single day? Would you be happy if you sat next to this person every single day? Would you be able to do good work, and would you enjoy their company?”

Look out for the phrase “Tell me a time when…” during your interview, Miller says. Interviewers use this phrase to ask questions like “‘Tell me a time when you overcame adversity’ to get you to talk about subject matters. For example, if you worked in marketing previously and talked about how you failed to get organic traffic to the website, they would ask about what you did when your boss came down on you.”

Google is the No 1 choice for Australian university graduates. Source: Shutterstock

Founded in 1998, the Silicon Valley startup is now a multinational tech conglomerate specialising in Internet services and products with more than 70 offices in 50 countries.

Its employee perks are as well known as its search engine. Google employees are reported to enjoy a great variety of food as well as after-death benefits and nap pods. Google is ranked at fourth place in Glassdoor’s Best Places of Work 2017 Employees’ Choice.

Lunch at Google’s offices is a gourmet affair. Source: Flickr/Roman Boed

But to get there, your Googleyness has to shine during the interview and once you get hired, will also be a crucial ingredient to how well you do there.

Personality and interpersonal skills strengths that are part of Googleyness are essential for being successful in roles there, says Michael Brandt, co-founder and chief operating officer of nutritional supplement company HVMN. Brandt had worked at Google for two years, holding various roles such as APM working enterprise privacy and YouTube.

“You end up just being dropped into things, because there’s so much cross-product, cross-focus area, cross-specialist, specialty meetings,” Brandt said. You need to be able to interact well with different people in different roles.”

The other advice ex-employees gave included highlighting the right info on your resume, leverage on your connections who are already employed at Google, asking the right questions during the interview as well as showing your passion and opinion on the company’s products.

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