{"id":3079,"date":"2013-07-09T17:10:26","date_gmt":"2013-07-10T00:10:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/recruitloop.wpengine.com\/?p=3079"},"modified":"2023-05-15T11:05:32","modified_gmt":"2023-05-15T18:05:32","slug":"7-lessons-on-hiring-from-googles-big-data-research","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.zippia.com\/employer\/7-lessons-on-hiring-from-googles-big-data-research\/","title":{"rendered":"7 Surprising Lessons on Hiring from Google’s Big Data Research"},"content":{"rendered":"

Not so long ago, if you scored an interview at Google, you were as likely to be quizzed on the number of gas stations in Manhattan as on your final grades in College.<\/p>\n

Today, neither of those two questions are a part of the interview process.\u00a0 It\u2019s all due to Google\u2019s big data research, utilizing years of information from interviews and performance reviews, in an attempt to uncover the formula to great hiring and managing of staff.<\/p>\n

Hiring decisions and leadership assessments are often based on gut feel and personality biases.\u00a0 But Google is breaking new ground in an arena long dominated by anecdotes and opinions, by analyzing hard data to objectively measure outcomes of these decisions over a long period of time.\u00a0\u00a0 The results are used to reverse engineer what makes a good interview, a good team size and a good leader.<\/p>\n

In a recent New York Times interview, Lazlo Bock, senior vice president of Google operations, opened the door on insights Google has received from analyzing years of data from interviews, employees and managers.\u00a0 The results may surprise you.<\/p>\n

Here are 7 lessons from Google’s big data research:<\/strong><\/p>\n

1. There is no such thing the Perfect Interview<\/h2>\n

\u2018It\u2019s a complete random mess.\u2019 said Bock about the relationship between how a person was rated in an interview and their ultimate performance in the role.\u00a0 Despite analyzing tens of thousands of interviews, only one employee at Google could objectively be called good at hiring; he was a world expert in a highly specialized area.\u00a0\u00a0 All other managers had a hit and miss record when it came to hiring the right people or using a particular approach to guarantee a good result.<\/p>\n

There is no such thing as the Perfect Interview \u2013 yet. But some interview techniques did stand out as increasing the likelihood of a successful hire. Read on\u2026<\/p>\n

2. Consistency Is Key<\/h2>\n

Interviewers will achieve better results in finding the right person when they adopt a consistent approach<\/a> to all interviewees for the same role.\u00a0\u00a0 Often, interviewers will ask different questions with different candidates; confusing the comparison process and opening the door to subjective or emotional decisions.\u00a0 Although gut feel shouldn\u2019t be ignored, basing it on a solid foundation of comparable data increases the chances of those feelings being accurate.<\/p>\n

3. Behavioural Interviewing Works<\/h2>\n

Behavioural Interviewing is the process of asking the interviewee to speak to their own experience around a key trait, such as, \u2018Give me an example of when you worked well in a team to achieve an outcome.\u2019 (See 75 other questions here<\/a>). It\u2019s preferable over hypothetical situations or asking for more information on a specific role.<\/p>\n

The reason this works is on two levels.\u00a0 Firstly, it provides a demonstration of how the interviewee reacts in a real-world situation.\u00a0 Secondly, it shows the potential employees\u2019 measurement of subjective terms such as \u2018good\u2019, \u2018well\u2019, \u2018hard\u2019 or \u2018complex\u2019.\u00a0 Getting an insight into these values and ethics can indicate more about the recruits\u2019 ability to perform in your team culture than skills or experience.<\/p>\n

4. Backwards Performance Reviews = Good People Management<\/h2>\n

Twice a year, every Google employee completes a survey about their manager. \u00a0Survey questions include statements like, \u2018My manager treats me with respect.\u2019 and \u2018My manager shares information.\u2019 \u00a0Employees are asked to agree\/disagree on a scale of 1-5.<\/p>\n

\u2018Over the last three years, we\u2019ve vastly improved the quality of people management at Google, measured by how happy people are with their Manager.\u2019\u00a0 This is attributed to the ability to present managers with facts about how their team feels about their performance.\u00a0 Everyone vastly over-estimates their own leadership and social skills; black and white numbers become a huge motivator for people to change their behaviour as they can\u2019t be explained away subjectively.<\/p>\n

5. Brain teasers are a complete waste of time<\/h2>\n

Google (along with management consulting firms) has long been famous for random questions like, \u2018how many golf balls can you fit in an airplane?\u2019. Advocates of this approach argue it\u2019s a test of problem solving process, rather than a correct \u2018answer\u2019. But they\u2019re shown to be a complete waste of time.<\/p>\n

\u2018They don\u2019t predict anything. They serve primarily to make the interviewer feel smart\u2019. All Google applicants are sighing in relief.<\/p>\n

6. GPA\u2019s and test scores are worthless for predicting job performance<\/h2>\n

Does it surprise you to know that 14% of all Google employees do not have a college degree?<\/p>\n

Google recognized years ago that, except for college students just out of university, scores on tests do not correlate in any way to job performance.\u00a0 The school education system requires that students follow a prescribed formula, providing the \u2018right\u2019 answers.\u00a0 These skills aren\u2019t so valuable today in a business environment that requires creativity, innovation and networking to succeed.\u00a0 Rather than looking for evidence that someone knows how to fill in the spaces, new recruits are scanned for evidence that they can join the dots in a meaningful way.<\/p>\n

7. Big Data can only get you so far<\/h2>\n

\u2018In terms of Leadership, success is very dependent on the context.\u2019 concludes Block.\u00a0 What works at Google may not work in your own company. As much as we\u2019d like a prescribed formula for finding the best employees and keeping them engaged, it\u2019s unlikely to ever exist.<\/p>\n

According to Block, human judgment and creativity and inspiration will never be completely replaced. We will always need to answer questions of fit<\/a> between people, systems and values.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Google is breaking new ground in hiring and management, by analyzing hard data to objectively measure outcomes of recruiting decisions over a long period of time. Check out these 7 surprising lessons<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[73],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\n7 Lessons on Hiring from Google's Big Data Research<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Google is breaking new ground in hiring and management, by analyzing hard data to objectively measure outcomes of recruiting decisions over a long period of time.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.zippia.com\/employer\/7-lessons-on-hiring-from-googles-big-data-research\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"7 Lessons on Hiring from Google's Big Data Research\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Google is breaking new ground in hiring and management, by analyzing hard data to objectively measure outcomes of recruiting decisions over a long period of time.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.zippia.com\/employer\/7-lessons-on-hiring-from-googles-big-data-research\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Zippia For Employers\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Zippia\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2013-07-10T00:10:26+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2023-05-15T18:05:32+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Michael Overell\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@ZippiaInc\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@ZippiaInc\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Michael Overell\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.zippia.com\/employer\/7-lessons-on-hiring-from-googles-big-data-research\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.zippia.com\/employer\/7-lessons-on-hiring-from-googles-big-data-research\/\",\"name\":\"7 Lessons on Hiring from Google's Big Data Research\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.zippia.com\/employer\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2013-07-10T00:10:26+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-05-15T18:05:32+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.zippia.com\/employer\/#\/schema\/person\/cc6b6075f24a502d51b06f97cd18cd1e\"},\"description\":\"Google is breaking new ground in hiring and management, by analyzing hard data to objectively measure outcomes of recruiting decisions over a long period of time.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.zippia.com\/employer\/7-lessons-on-hiring-from-googles-big-data-research\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.zippia.com\/employer\/7-lessons-on-hiring-from-googles-big-data-research\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.zippia.com\/employer\/7-lessons-on-hiring-from-googles-big-data-research\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.zippia.com\/employer\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"7 Surprising Lessons on Hiring from Google’s Big Data Research\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.zippia.com\/employer\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.zippia.com\/employer\/\",\"name\":\"Zippia For Employers\",\"description\":\"How to find the best employees.\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.zippia.com\/employer\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.zippia.com\/employer\/#\/schema\/person\/cc6b6075f24a502d51b06f97cd18cd1e\",\"name\":\"Michael Overell\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.zippia.com\/employer\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/04f9ec9a86bab0592028efcb56f95c4e?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/04f9ec9a86bab0592028efcb56f95c4e?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Michael Overell\"},\"description\":\"Michael Overell is a seasoned entrepreneur and business leader with a proven track record in building companies, products, and teams in both startup and hyper-growth environments. 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