How to be Dumb as Google
by Miki Saxon
When it comes to hiring, as Forrest Gump would say, “stupid is as stupid does.”
And stupid is using recruiters who think the only “right” answer to a technical question is the one written on a sheet of paper. (Note that “technical” can refer to the specifics of any field, although in this case it was software.)
No knowledge or understanding of the subject; just the blind focus on the written words — kind of like talking to customer service when the rep keeps repeating their script no matter how you phrase the question — and no recognition that they may wrong.
The call started off well but as the interview progressed, Guathier got an increasing number of questions wrong. His frustration grew as he tried to discuss the answers with the Google recruiter only to find that the recruiter wanted the exact answer in the test book even if alternative solutions were better.
The company is Google and it should be noted that they approached the candidate, as opposed to his applying.
Way back in 2007 Google announce that they had developed an algorithm to screen candidates.
It didn’t work.
Google was also famous for its brain-teaser questions.
Only, according to Lazlo Block, SVP of People Operations, they are a lousy predictor of success.
“Part of the reason is that those are tests of a finite skill, rather than flexible intelligence which is what you actually want to hire for.”
The value of elite colleges and high grades was publically debunked in a 2013 story about the prevalence of grade inflation.
Not all Google’s efforts fall in the stupid category; block’s efforts to educate both management and workers about bias is definitely a smart move.
But locking technically ignorant recruiters into accepting only set responses to tech question rates right up there with algorithms and brain-teasers. And I say this as someone who was a tech recruiter for more than 12 years.
Of course, managers’ interviewing skills won’t matter, since the best, most knowledgeable, most creative candidates will be screened out before they ever see them.
Image credit: Chris Pond
