Thomas Friedman interviewed Laszlo Bock of Google to determine what the most important skills or attributes Google is looking for when they hire new people. Every year Bock receives 2,000,000 applications for a jobs at Google and only 5,000 people get hired. What makes the difference? What are the most desired traits of future employees at Google?
According to Bock, good grades aren't exactly the identifier. There are some academic skills that are important for some jobs, like coding, or math. What they really want to find are people with cognitive ability, those who can learn on the "fly." They are looking for people who have leadership skills, but not traditional leadership. They want people who will step up when needed to guide a team or stand back and let another lead when the time is right. Leadership is knowing how best to support and challenge those around you so that as a team, the greatest results can be obtained. The last combination of traits has to do with humility and ownership. They are looking for employees that will fiercely defend their position and yet willing adjust when new information comes, passionate and flexible. These are traits that are needed not just Google but for our future global community.
If the classroom is to be a bridge to the future, I must cultivate these traits in my students. The science lab is the perfect garden for these traits. Must students must work in lab teams to build knowledge through inquiry. A question from any member of the team may be the one that connects them to the knowledge needed. Even if they fail the assessment at first they must fight again and again to master the content. They tackle everyday, global concerns to find solutions. They must rediscover for themselves the basics of science, in order to find meaning, power, and solutions in their own lives. My students are working today to create innovation and share the knowledge they have gained. The question comes to know what you know, but what you do with what you know.
Friedman, T. (2014, February 22). How to Get a Job at Google. Retrieved November 29, 2015, from http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/23/opinion/sunday/friedman-how-to-get-a-job-at-google.html?_r=1
According to Bock, good grades aren't exactly the identifier. There are some academic skills that are important for some jobs, like coding, or math. What they really want to find are people with cognitive ability, those who can learn on the "fly." They are looking for people who have leadership skills, but not traditional leadership. They want people who will step up when needed to guide a team or stand back and let another lead when the time is right. Leadership is knowing how best to support and challenge those around you so that as a team, the greatest results can be obtained. The last combination of traits has to do with humility and ownership. They are looking for employees that will fiercely defend their position and yet willing adjust when new information comes, passionate and flexible. These are traits that are needed not just Google but for our future global community.
If the classroom is to be a bridge to the future, I must cultivate these traits in my students. The science lab is the perfect garden for these traits. Must students must work in lab teams to build knowledge through inquiry. A question from any member of the team may be the one that connects them to the knowledge needed. Even if they fail the assessment at first they must fight again and again to master the content. They tackle everyday, global concerns to find solutions. They must rediscover for themselves the basics of science, in order to find meaning, power, and solutions in their own lives. My students are working today to create innovation and share the knowledge they have gained. The question comes to know what you know, but what you do with what you know.
Friedman, T. (2014, February 22). How to Get a Job at Google. Retrieved November 29, 2015, from http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/23/opinion/sunday/friedman-how-to-get-a-job-at-google.html?_r=1