I read an article by Thomas Friedman in the New York Times about getting a job at Google. In his article, which can be found at How to Get a Job at Google, Friedman discusses Google's practices for hiring new employees as well as the skills and characteristics Google wants in its prospects. There were several interesting things of which I took note. First, Google finds that “G.P.A.’s are worthless as a criteria for hiring, and test scores are worthless." In addition, the “proportion of people without any college education at Google has increased over time.” Upon reading this, most people must be asking themselves, "What is going on here?" It seems so backwards for one of the world's leading companies to hire people with lower grades and test scores or people who didn't even go to college. Or does it?
It turns out there are other qualities that Google is looking for when bringing new people into their fold. Those five main qualities are learning ability, leadership, humility, ownership, and expertise. Google's rationale for seeking these five traits while looking beyond G.P.A.'s, test scores, and college education is that they're deliberately searching for innovative people who can think outside the box. This raises a question for all educators: Are we preparing our students to be able to get a job at Google?
I think I am. In my class, I like to use inquiry as much as possible. I've learned that asking questions to my students helps them so much more than simply showing them how to solve a problem. But what I also found that happens is students start finding different ways to solve problems. That's learning ability; that's one of the attributes Google looks for in its prospective employees. I also like to have my students work in groups. I think it's healthy for them to get a different perspective than my own in order for them to acquire deeper understanding of the material they're studying. But by collaborating, my students are learning not only to work together, but to take ownership of their work and to develop leadership skills.
Do I agree with Google's philosophy? I do, after all, a global leader like Google needs to find people who think and work differently, with different backgrounds and experiences, in order to both advance and discover. And the truth is that G.P.A.'s and test scores don't necessarily measure how well people can innovate, but they are able to show how well people can do what has already been done.
Reference:
Friedman, T. (2014, February 22). How to Get a Job at Google. The New York Times. Retrieved from: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/23/opinion/sunday/friedman-how-to-get-a-job-at-google.html?_r=1
It turns out there are other qualities that Google is looking for when bringing new people into their fold. Those five main qualities are learning ability, leadership, humility, ownership, and expertise. Google's rationale for seeking these five traits while looking beyond G.P.A.'s, test scores, and college education is that they're deliberately searching for innovative people who can think outside the box. This raises a question for all educators: Are we preparing our students to be able to get a job at Google?
I think I am. In my class, I like to use inquiry as much as possible. I've learned that asking questions to my students helps them so much more than simply showing them how to solve a problem. But what I also found that happens is students start finding different ways to solve problems. That's learning ability; that's one of the attributes Google looks for in its prospective employees. I also like to have my students work in groups. I think it's healthy for them to get a different perspective than my own in order for them to acquire deeper understanding of the material they're studying. But by collaborating, my students are learning not only to work together, but to take ownership of their work and to develop leadership skills.
Do I agree with Google's philosophy? I do, after all, a global leader like Google needs to find people who think and work differently, with different backgrounds and experiences, in order to both advance and discover. And the truth is that G.P.A.'s and test scores don't necessarily measure how well people can innovate, but they are able to show how well people can do what has already been done.
Reference:
Friedman, T. (2014, February 22). How to Get a Job at Google. The New York Times. Retrieved from: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/23/opinion/sunday/friedman-how-to-get-a-job-at-google.html?_r=1