The NY Times ran an article about Google using a new algorithm to search through their 100,000 resumes they receive every month. Initially I was really excited to read this thinking there was going to be an incredibly innovative new thinking here, but my conclusion is that other than an algorithm that they developed, the premise and process isn’t so different than what everyone else does.
I remember in my first job out of college in the 90’s taking a personality profile to measure character traits that were deemed to increase the probability of success. The profile was ran against an aggregated score calculated from the scores of the most successful employees in the firm.
I also remember (in the 90’s) interviewing with a global HR consulting firm and being put through a 6 hour session with a psychologist and a battery of tests. I didn’t get that job, and it’s not the firm I currently work for.
What is important to note is that if you believe you have an engaged, skilled and productive workforce, then you’ll want more of the same. However, if your workforce is not that, you’ll want to tactically choose how you want to model your new recruits. Are you simply attempting to attract more of the same successful salespeople, or those who are dedicated to the organization, or those who have proven to be great innovators?
While the premise and process of what Google is doing isn’t spectacularly new, their analysis (the algorithm) may be the next step is applicant assessments. The key is to understand that the key behind this algorithm isn’t necessarily some engine that pumps through 100,000 resumes a month. The key is an understanding of what is the most important measurement of your future workforce and how you can benchmark it to the current. Once you understand that, you can put together the building blocks to create your own algorithm.
5 responses to “Google Talent Acquisition innovations”
Whlie reading your “measurement” comments I had a flashback to working at Price Waterhouse in the 1980s. One of my partner colleagues was quite the cerebral thinker.
He shared with me the results of an expansive study that was done across the partner base. The main question addressed by the study was “what were the indicators of a successful partner?” The study included performance, client satisfaction, skills/competencies, demographics, and pre-college experience. In all, there were hundreds of variables.
At the end of the proverbial day, only one characteristic stood out as a predictor above all others. And that was…high school work experience. Go figure.
You may ask, how is the relevant to Google and its best practices? Well, it is. It’s part of the applicant assessment process. Imagine a selection world, where applicant data is used in conjunction with predictive modeling to help screen “the best” candidates! In this world, not only are the right measures critical, but the algorithm that helps find these engaged and motivated performers of the future is equally critical. Ironically, both the data and the technology exists to make this vision a reality. Go Google!
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Assessment and its Discontents…
Double Dubs at Systematic HR has post today asking whether Google’s much-ballyhooed algorithm for recruitment is really old ……
I watched the emergence of search engine use in Silicon Valley for candidate qualification from the early 90’s. Great way to miss a talent opportunity, that is backed by qualified references
I was talking to someone about Google recently and am starting to observe it’s tendency to staff the way Netscape did when it first opened for Biz. All Google is missing is the Futon Room where people flopped from exhaustion.
It’s going to be interesting in a year or two to check in and see if the company continues to form out of young singles who all but sleep on campus between picking up their drying cleaning and playong in the Google Volley Ball Field.
What will happen if Google’s work force becomes more culturally diverse and older?
How will search engines capture the stories of accomplishments and many surprises that build a Portfollo of performance for the talented person who is very woven into a social network that is transparent ot the eye and not well described with key words.
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