I have to tell you, my negative reaction to this new technique is so strong that I’m having trouble even writing about it.  When I first heard about it last week, I actually got a little physically ill.

In an effort to better streamline their flow of applicants, Google has hired someone from GE (oh, yeah, what the recruiting industry needs is more Six Sigma. Whoopee!) to make their online screening process more efficient.   Now, when you apply, you can complete a personality test just to prove how Google-worthy you are.

Ok, aside from this evaluation method strutting over into potentially illegal territory (When did “What magazines do you subscribe to?” and “What pets do you have?” become acceptable interview questions?) and the obvious questions about effectiveness (Can a machine fairly and reliably replicate the human process of candidate evaluation?  I still maintain it can’t, but whatever), my main issue as an employment marketer lies with what this new strategy does to Google’s candidate experience and overall recruiting brand. 

Working at Google may still carry a certain cache with it, but even before this new method emerged, Google already suffered the reputation as being one of the most short-sighted, anti-applicant recruiting organizations on the scene.  The secret sauce is the cute viral advertising campaigns and all the recruiting manpower you can throw at a problem. 

But rarely have I seen (from an outside perspective) the organization think long-term about how they were hiring for future generations of Googlers and especially how they intended to maintain brand loyalty and fanfare throughout the entire recruiting process … even when a candidate didn’t end up receiving an offer.  From my vantage point, it’s a wham-bam-thank-you-ma’am recruiting process, and this new algorithm does little to change that perception. Candidate experience seems to be of little regard.

I’m all for exploring how technology can ease the recruiting process and make it more efficient.  But I just don’t think Google has the cache they think they have and I certainly don’t think their heyday is going to last that much longer.  I know from firsthand experience that the fanboys are out there, and no matter how poorly you treat them, they’ll keep coming back from more.  And I’m sure Google has a lot of fanboys.  But when I think about the people they really want to hire – the super smart, the successful, the “best in class” – I have healthy skepticism that those types will tolerate yet another hoop in an already laborious process.

I know I wouldn’t.  You?

gretchen

P.S.  All that said, kudos to Google's PR team for promoting this story as "news" and getting Google's need for talent in the NY Times yet again.  Any PR is good PR, I suppose. Sigh.