Despite massive layoffs in the technology sector, Google has 2,334 job openings worldwide. Jess Penhuse is a recruiter for Google in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. Penhews told Business Insider about the four critical criteria the IT giant uses to select candidates and what she looks for in a resume.
Jess Penkhuse told Insider that Google’s wide variety of products means “we’re open to people from a wide variety of professional backgrounds.” “This includes software development, UX design, product development, project management, systems consulting, human resources, and sales,” the recruiter explained.
The tech giant takes a skills-first approach to hiring, which can be translated as “skills first.” “We look at skills first, not specific qualifications or previous experience,” Penthouse added.
Résumé writing tips
Candidates don’t need to send a cover letter to Google. “What’s important is a resume,” Penhews said. Your resume should be clear, concise, and ideally, no more than a page and a half or two pages. “I advise job seekers to study the ads carefully.
For example, those applying for a software development position should specify what programming languages they are proficient in. Candidates can use the X-Y-Z formula for a successful resume. Former Google Vice President of Human Resources Laszlo Bock developed it.
The formula asks job seekers to present their accomplishments as follows: “I achieved X over Y because of doing Z.” Bock explained it this way, “Start with a verb in the operative voice (when the subject acts itself), numerically measure what you did, provide a baseline for comparison, and detail what you did to achieve your goal.”
Google’s former VP of Human Resources reworded the phrase from one resume “studied companies’ financial performance and made investment recommendations” to “improved portfolio performance by 12% ($1.2 million) in one year by refining cost of capital calculations for low-information markets and re-weighting the portfolio based on the evaluations.”
The four criteria Google uses to select candidates.
Typically, candidates at the U.S. IT giant go through three to five interviews. “We’ve found four criteria that largely predict a successful career at Google,” said recruiter Jess Penthouse.
- How suited are you for the job: do you have relevant experience and skills?
- Cognitive skills: how do you make decisions? What sources of data do you research? How do you weigh things up?
- Leadership skills: are you able to take responsibility and innovate?
- Google’s: how do you make Google better? How do you work as part of a team? How do you feel about feedback?
Every employee has a personal development plan that managers work on with their teams to help them grow, Penhuse said. Google also has training and development programs to help deepen knowledge and expand skills.
