Being Googly

All of these things are more than just 'pretty awesome'; they are rather 'Googly', as Googlers will have you know.

'Googliness', a concept PT Barnum himself would have envied, is an amorphous idea bundled as a cuddly-sounding package that simultaneously means several things - quirkiness, uniqueness, flexibility, and your passport to being hired at Google.

Some people might scoff at this ill-defined term that shares elbow-space with other nauseatingly cute handles in the Google lexicon: 'Singagooglers' for Googlers in Singapore; 'Nooglers' for new Googlers; 'Xooglers' for ex-Googlers; and, for the strongest of stomachs, 'Carpooglers' for Googlers who share a ride to work.

Silly-sounding or not, every year, Google receives a million job applications from people all over the world who not only buy into its 'Googliness', but vie to be seen as suitably 'Googly', too.

Photos: Peek at Google Singapore's office Click on thumbnail to view

At the Singapore office, Googlers buy into the term with a conviction that is almost unnerving.

'I'm not a fan of panel-interviewing. Intimidation is not a great way to assess a candidate. It's not 'Googly',' Ms Robb says at one point.

Even engineers who bow to coding and C++ skills have time for 'Googliness'. Andrew McGlinchey, head of product management for Google Southeast Asia, tells BT that his job is to 'cause Googly things to happen in Southeast Asia'.

Part of the 'Googliness' is the lack of rigidity that plagues a lot of corporations. 'No one micro-manages what I do; I own my work. As long as I get my job done, my manager's happy,' says Melina Lee, an account strategist with Google Southeast Asia.

'Our dress code is that you wear something,' Ms Lim says wryly.

Googlers have had plenty of opportunities to properly believe in 'Googliness', it appears.

Everyone BT spoke to had their own vivid and affectionate recollection of a particular 'TGIF' - a weekly company-wide meeting at the Google US headquarters that is webcast globally on Fridays.

At this meeting, employees worldwide ask the founders and CEO questions in a no-holds-barred session.

Ms Sung remembers one such question being fielded, possibly by chief executive officer Eric Schmidt. 'Somebody wanted a specific new cafe in their building. And Eric or somebody said, 'Yeah, how much do you need?' and somebody said a number and he said, 'Done!'

'Someone once came in a bunny suit and asked a question,' Ms Lim recalls. There is a slight pause. 'I don't think it was Halloween.'

<< Previous    |     Next >>