What do you think Google values in its employees?

Question

Anonymous · Accepted Answer

Other than the normal qualities Google looks for in its employees such as
leadership, a bias to action, role related knowledge, and general "Googleyness,"
Google also looks for people who have a user-first"mindset.

Think about what would happen if an employee suggests a product, feature, or
anything that could make Google some money but would unequivocally hurt user
experience. It might be enticing in the short term, but this mentality is bad
for the long-term health and brand that is Google.

In my previous role, I had the opportunity to implement a feature that would
immediately boost our internal metrics while simultaneously hurt the users of
our product by requiring them to take additional steps within their key
workflows.

I realized I needed to make a decision - do what seems right for my team, or
live with our current metrics and maintain the great user experience we have
developed and fostered so far.

After getting my thoughts in order, I brought the situation and a list of
solutions to my team. We sat down and discussed what we thought was best for our
long term success, and the overwhelming response was that we should make no
changes and maintain our current user experience.

What got us into that situation in the first place is another story entirely,
and the short term ramifications of our decision weren't the best internally,
but the long term success of our product and the happiness of the users
ultimately won out.

I believe that this user-first mindset is something that Google looks for in its
employees. Someone who is able to see the big picture and make the tough
decisions that ultimately improve (or at least maintain) Google's brand is a
valuable add.

What do you think Google values in its employees?

Practice this question with AI

Go Premium

Community Answers

Unlock Full Access

Practice More Questions