Do You Fit Into Google’s Culture?

According to an article in yesterday’s Wall Street Journal, “Companies are increasingly relying on social networks such as LinkedIn, video profiles and online quizzes to gauge candidates’ suitability for a job. While most still request a resume as part of the application package, some are bypassing the staid requirement altogether.”

In addition, the article revealed that Todd Carlisle, director of staffing at Google, which Fortune recently named the Best Company to Work For, “reads resumes in an unusual way: from the bottom up.” According to Carlisle, “Candidates’ early work experience, hobbies, extracurricular activities or nonprofit involvement—such as painting houses to pay for college or touring with a punk rock band through Europe—often provide insight into how well an applicant would fit into the company culture.”

That said, in between my black metal band's Scandinavian and Canadian tours, I went ahead and created an online test (included below, along with its answer key) that can be administered to applicants by Google, which last year hired approximately 7,000 of two million applicants (a 0.35 percent acceptance rate) and which Fortune calls “the king of perks” for, among other things, its on-site bowling alley, community-supported fishery, and 31 dance classes, including “How to dance at a party,” offered through the Google Dance Studio.

Welcome to the GCAT (Google Culture Aptitude Test)!

Please answer the following questions as honestly as you can. Your answers will help Google determine if you’re a good fit with its culture. And please, do not perform a Google search to help you answer any of the below questions. We at Google are monitoring your (and every other Gmail account holders’) page usage, and so we will know immediately, via a loud alarm, if you do.

Thank you, and good luck.

1. Please finish this sentence: During the summer between my junior and senior years in college, I …
A. Played the bucket in a jug band
B. Worked for Sears, installing aluminum siding
C. Held an internship with the UN
D. All of the above

2. Which of the following organizations have you NOT donated money or lumber to?
A. National Public Radio
B. Habitat for Humanity
C. The Girl Scouts of America
D. None of the above

3. How many home runs did you kick last year in your kickball league(s)?
A. I don’t play kickball
B. 0-5
C. 6-10
D. More than 10

4. How long do official time-outs last during regulation table-tennis matches?
A. Official time outs are not allowed during a regulation match
B. 5 minutes
C. 2 minutes
D. 1 minute

5. Google+ : Facebook ::
A. The New York Yankees : The New York Mets
B. Mitt Romney : Newt Gingrich
C. The Big Mac : The Quarter Pounder with Cheese
D. Facebook : Friendster

6. Of the following hobbies, which would you say you spend the most time doing?
A. Knitting
B. Taking abstract landscapes with my Lomo
C. Playing the French horn in an indie-rock band
D. It’s hard to say since I spend so much time doing all of these things—and much more!

7. What’s the most important factor when deciding between two jobs?
A. Salary
B. Hours
C. Vacation time
D. Which company has the best foosball table

8. How often do you bowl?
A. Once or twice a year
B. About five times a year
C. Once a month
D. At least once a week

9. How important to you is it that you eat ingredients sourced within ten miles of your home?
A. Not that important
B. Somewhat important
C. Extremely important
D. So important I would rather starve to death than eat un-local food

10. Which of the following best describes you on the dance floor?
A. Awkward
B. I can move to the beat, but I’m not winning any awards
C. I can cut a rug pretty smoothly
D. Part Astaire, part Travolta, and part Baryshnikov!

ANSWER KEY: If you answered anything other than D to any of the above questions, you will not fit into the Google culture. However, if you answered D to all of the above, please click here to begin the second of four required online tests.

Read More:
No More Resumes, Say Some Firms (WSJ)
Google: The king of perks (CNN/Money)