What I Knew Before
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Google is the world’s most used search engine, and the world’s most valuable brand
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They are renowned for their innovative campuses, as seen in the movie The Internship
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They innovate hardware and software, coming out with products such as Google Glasses
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Introduction/ Expectations
Based on having seen movies and read articles that outline what a Google workplace is like, I was extremely excited for this visit. They are known for having slides, restaurants and stores, and so much more in their workplaces, so I was interested in seeing how expectations compared to reality.
Google went public in 2004 at $85/ share, and now they trade at $921/ share. The company processes 20 million gigabytes of data daily, and is the world’s most visited website. They focus on differentiation by always improving their search algorithms and products. Google also develops products that compete with other products on the market that are similar, but have different features, and with these products they focus on the same target market as the similar products.
Visit Summary
The visit took place in a classroom-like setting that was led by Jimmy Lyons with a panel of UMD alumni. Each employee that we heard from had very different paths to Google; some had MBAs, some were engineers, another first spent time at GE, another at Apple. While they all had different paths, they focused on telling us about the experiences that they have had at Google that has made their time special. Google offers its employees courses in topics such as Python and also make it very easy for employees to transfer teams, all in an effort to broaden their employees’ knowledge. They even have opportunities for their employees to work abroad, and they let their employees make pitches on intrapreneurial ideas. The panel really focused on the fact that as an applicant, we should focus on knowing your narrative. It is important to be able to talk about your experiences and focus on what you learned along the way.
The employees also talked about how Google requires that employees spend 20% of their time on something that is not job-related. Because of how demanding existing work is, unfortunately Google employees are working 120% of the time, but they still get to work on projects that they are truly passionate about.
Key Takeaways
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Employers have the ability to create employees who are excited to go to work and love the company they work for. It is easy to say that the reason that Google is able to provide its employees with such amazing benefits is because of its size, but realistically any employer can take efforts to go above and beyond for their employees. By doing this, you not only create employees who have glowing things to say about the company, but also create employees who are happy to put in their best effort because they want to continue to work for a company that treats them well.
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Google employees stressed the importance of knowing your narrative, a theme we have also heard from both Gary Swart and Greylock. It is vital to be able to convey your experiences and what you have learned from these experiences in an interview, and having a stellar grasp on your brand is what it takes to get a job at a place as competitive as Google.
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Creating an environment and culture that foster innovation are critical in establishing a successful business in this industry. As discussed in "How Google Works" by Eric Schmidt and Jonathan Rosenberg, the culture created by Google empowers employees to reach their full potential, helping Google as a whole. They do this by setting management principles that resist management; they let innovation foster by itself without strict guidelines, and also by letting information flow throughout the company. They truly believe that "smart creatives" (and therefore almost everyone that works at Google) thrive in free environments that are plentiful with information and resources, and they do everything they can do accomplish this.
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It is always important to gain new perspectives, and Google does a great job of this through job swapping. The employees that we met with talked about how much they valued this aspect of the job, and Deborah Piscione highlights its practicality in her book, "Secrets of Silicon Valley." Piscione says that job swapping, "provides the means for businesses to create an environment of surprise that is needed to free employees from traditional biases and assumptions." Additionally the employees told us that job swapping provides them with a deeper understanding of the company and its different functionalities.
Post Visit Actions/ Thoughts
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After the visit, I connected with Jimmy Lyons on LinkedIn
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Being able to see a panel of Google employees made me think that Google employees really are a special breed. While everyone was very different, you could tell that they all worked incredibly hard to get to where they are, and are very intelligent people who love to work with others.