How to Get Hired at Google

And no wonder. The burgeoning company is a driving force in Internet development. Its Web-based word processing app, Writely, sends a shiver of nervousness through Microsoft. Its Adsense program is changing e-commerce. And its acquisition of YouTube earned grudging admiration from Big Media.

Heck, the very word “google” has entered the language, earning a coveted spot in the august confines of Webster’s Dictionary.

Working for Google means working for an organization that’s extraordinarily well funded – the words “layoff” and “Google” aren’t likely to be paired anytime soon. It also means working alongside top talent. With as many applications as Google receives, the company has its pick of the best.

If that’s not enough, Google serves a free lunch – every day – to its employees. (“Yummy, and made with love,” according to the company.)

The good news is that Google is hiring. A lot. The company is hoovering up IT staffers like a Boy Scout at an all-you-can-eat. Its job board lists scads of openings, and with the company’s breathless growth it’s likely there’ll soon be more.

The bad news is that getting hired at Google isn’t easy. It requires a unique set of characteristics to land a gig with the search giant. With that in mind, Datamation spoke with Google’s Director of Staffing, Arnnon Geshuri, about the company’s hiring process.

Special Nickname

Google, being Google, doesn’t just call its staffers “employees.” No, that’s far too traditional. So what’s its special term of endearment for workers?

With a laugh, Geshuri spills the secret: “When they come on board, they become Googlers.”

However light-hearted, the term is revealing. It suggests a unique corporate culture, especially in the tech world. (True, Microsoft workers are called ‘Softies,’ but how many other big tech companies give workers a nickname? After all, IBM staffers aren’t called ‘IBMmers.’)

And what makes a Googler?

“We have a core belief that a Googler has certain aspects to themselves,” Geshuri says. “They’re really motivated, enthusiastic, entrepreneurial.”

The word that stands out in that otherwise generic description is entrepreneurial. While working in the IT department of, say, a large manufacturing facility might not require entrepreneurial spirit, working at Google most certainly does. With the search giant’s rapid growth – and its aggressive moves in arenas held by competitors – the need for staffers to possess self-starting business smarts seems clear.

Does that mean that an IT pro needs strong business skills to get hired?

“It’s always a plus, but it’s not necessarily itself a deal breaker,” Geshuri says. Google prefers it when, “from a business sense, you can relate to the technical aspects and look at the mission-critical needs to the company, and really understand some of the context around why we’re building some of the infrastructure.”

In short, “It helps if the person can align the business needs to the technology.”

This may be more important at Google due to the company's innovative “20 percent time” policy, in which IT staffers are free to pursue projects they're passionate about on company time. It takes an entrepreneurial (and disciplined) spirit to use this unstructured time in ways that benefit the bottom line.

Next page: What Tech Skills Does Google Want?