JG etc.

This was written a year ago. I wonder how much has changed……….

What’s not so clear, I think, is that Google is actually so good at technical recruiting that it’s not just a difference in magnitude; it’s a difference in kind. What they’re doing can hardly be called recruiting anymore. The term “recruiting” implies that you’re going out and looking for people, and trying to convince them to come work for you. Google has managed to turn the process around. Smart people now make the pilgrimage to Google, and Google spends the bulk of their time turning great people away.

Google is apparently unique in the industry in that they’re treating recruiting as a network effect, similar to auctions or operating systems. Smart people go where smart people are, which enables them to launch cool stuff, which attracts more attention, and suddenly you have a feedback loop. At some point, enough smart people want to work there that it’s not simply enough to be smart; you have to market yourself.