Can my dad get a day off for his birthday? Girl asks Google.

Here's an interesting and insightful read on how the Big G handles its employees - https://blog.kissmetrics.com/googles-culture-of-success/.

 

nice read

"Update: Bock has announced that Google is no longer throwing brain teasers at their interviewees, calling them “a complete waste of time” that only make the interviewer feel smarter."

--- I don't think that it's just a waste of time. It will show how the interviewee thinks. Is he creative? logical? or too lazy to give an answer. I'm a fan of the book:

 

Many years ago (before Google existed), I interviewed for a senior position with a very successful Microsoft development partner (this is when Microsoft did the same silly brainteasers...they may still for all that I know.) I was extremely well-qualified and went in for an intensive, full-day interview. It was long a drive there and so I stayed for the full day, though I wanted to get up and leave when they started with the silly games and brainteasers just like their esteemed partner, Microsoft, used.

Long story short: as soon as the interview day ended, from my car I called the recruiter who had set the interview up and told him that I was no longer interested in the opportunity. When he asked why, I told him that I refused to work for weak managers, including company owners. When he asked what I meant by that I replied that a hiring manager who relies on silly games/brain teasers to ferret out the best hires is obviously weak, unsure, and/or not that bright, himself. It turns out that I had passed their silly tests and they were interested in making an offer, but I had other opportunities and so I rejected them. It was a good move on my part as that business ended up failing a year or two later. The recruiter never forgot all of this and still mentions the event when we happen to speak.

I have personally hired hundreds of sales reps, sales engineers, and customer service reps over the course of my career. This means that I have probably interviewed close to 1,000 candidates for such positions by both phone and in-person. I would be embarrassed beyond belief if I were ever to use such ridiculous "tools" to qualify and select the best person for the job.

And don't get me started on those equally ridiculous psychological profile tests...

 

Hey thanks.

Well, Google does have a thing about updates. I hope their policies with their employees just don't change as fast as their algos.

 

Here are some of the questions Google used in their interviews - http://www.businessinsider.com/15-g...-used-to-make-geniuses-feel-dumb-2012-11?IR=T.
Just follow the links near the bottom. The questions and their answers are given on separate pages.

 

so you don't believe in Psychology then? why?

hahaha if that happens then they will fire, hire, and reshuffle their employees every month? lol

"Imagine you have a closet full of shirts. It’s very hard to find a shirt. So what can you do to organize your shirts for easy retrieval?"
-ask my mom to do it

 

I do not believe that a "psychological" test taken over the course of an hour or two (I once had to take a half-day test that was proctored and was equally ridiculous!) provides anything of value to a hiring manager, except that it gives weak managers false confidence in their choices. I suppose it also allows a weak manager to cover his butt when he makes a bad hire ("Well, the psych profile said he was going to be great.") For example, I happen to be a GREAT test taker and can ALWAYS give the right answer for these types of tests, whether that answer is true or not. If I need to be a manager of sales hunters, I answer one way. If I need to be a manager of sales farmers, I answer another way. If I need to be a marketing manager, I answer a third way. It is a grand waste of my time and the hiring manager's time and ALWAYS diminishes the employer in my eyes. I rarely accept an offer from a company that utilizes such silly practices because they are obviously clueless in hiring and I am concerned that they will be just as clueless in other business matters, as well.

I do give the scamsters that offer these tests a lot of credit because a fair number of employers now use their crap and pay a lot for it.

 

This kid only wants his dad get free on his bday

 

Yeah, seems pretty likely if it really happens.

Had you really said that in the interview, Google would have certainly hired you.

Psychological tests do have a place in the interview process but they shouldn't be considered the alpha and omega. Heck, managers putting the entire blame of a bad hire on these tests are not only shameless but also useless! Why would we ever need them in the first place if psychological tests did the whole job?? In fact, they're laying their posteriors more on the line by doing so. The way a candidate answers and responds to the questions somewhat corresponds to the way he/she'll manage their work down the line when actually working on field. But it doesn't necessarily mean that candidates performing badly in these tests are potentially incapable of handling their prospective jobs well. Many lose or don't crack it simply because they're too nervous or naive to perform well. That's exactly why managers are appointed to monitor how a candidate fares in the interview. Psychological tests never give a complete picture of personal effectiveness. I've seen many instances where a person was selected not so much because of their academic merit or how well he/she cracked the interview, but more because of their 'personal magnetism' that appealed to the hiring managers and most of these folks surpassed even the crème de la crème of the organization they were hired in, in terms of performance and excellence!

 

Makes sense.. I think it should be considered but should not be the only basis of the interview score. Personality or way of thinking is different from skills or knowledge of the candidate.

I totally agree. Those (psychological and aptitude tests) are two completely different factors and should be treated differently Anyway, I still find working at Google "cool" despite their odd methods of interviewing candidates

 

My point is that a supposed psychological test for employment is a complete waste of everyone's time as they provide NO real insight or knowledge about anything. No one can learn ANYTHING of value from such a one-time test. Psychologists spend many hours of time just to get to know a patient at a basic level. How can a test with 50 or even 100 questions claim to offer insight into one's personality? Candidates and hiring managers would better spend their time talking to each other and getting to know each other a little better instead of wasting any time with such crazy tests that are put out by scamsters selling snake oil solutions.

 

LOL.. alright, point taken.. you don't believe in psychological tests.

 

That's correct, I also do not believe in pyramid schemes, forwarding emails to get money from Bill Gates, and other similar scams.

 

Hahahaha, forwarding emails to get money from Bill Gates!!!??? What on earth???!!!
You know the best part .... these scamsters send out (mass) emails like 'You've just won a lotto in such and such a draw/you've just inherited XXXmillions from such and such a family blah-blah-blah. Please get back with your name, address, contact details and email id (yikes! ) for further details.' What can be dumber than this???

 

I guess that I am showing my age. One of the first email scams ever (I think that it started in the late 1990's,) was an email that said that Bill Gates/Microsoft was trying to test out its new email system (or some other such technology-based reason) and it would pay you $.05 for every email address that you forwarded the email to. Back then, it was a clever way for spammers to collect email addresses as there would end up being a long list of previously forwarded people in the body of the email as it travelled around the world and it would eventually come back to them.

 

I HATE pyramid schemes either! "forwarding emails to get money from Bill Gates" --->LOL! never heard of this scam. but it was a smart way to collect email addresses without asking people to fill out forms