5 Attributes You Need to Get a Job at Google

2. Ownership: This is another sought-after skill that is closely linked to humility. As per Block, after recognizing and admitting any errors, the next step is to take responsibility. And if a candidate doesn’t abide by this rule, he is bound to end up in the bottom of the pile. It is also essential for candidates not to blame problems on other people. In his words, “Committing the fundamental attribution error, which is if something good happens, it’s because I’m a genius. If something bad happens, it’s because someone’s an idiot or I didn’t get the resources or the market moved,” is a big ‘NO’.

He also highlighted the importance of the other side of ownership, which is making one’s case heard and putting across his point without being offensive or blinkered by bias.

He quotes, “What we’ve seen is that the people who are the most successful here, who we want to hire, will have a fierce position. They’ll argue like hell. They’ll be zealots about their point of view. But then you say, ‘here’s a new fact,’ and they’ll go, ‘Oh, well, that changes things; you’re right.’”  

3. It’s Not All About Good Grades Or Being Smart: Good grades can be a plus, but it doesn’t guarantee a smooth sailing during the screening process, said Block.

In his words, “The number one thing we look for is general cognitive ability, and it’s not IQ. It’s learning ability. It’s the ability to process on the fly. It’s the ability to pull together disparate bits of information. We assess those using structured behavioral interviews and validate that to make sure they’re predictive.”

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