Get A Job With Google: Summarize and Preview

Q.  Please summarize your efforts to date towards getting a job with Google. Provide a brief summary of your qualifications, show links to your professional online profiles, and preview what additional information you intend to post to this blog next year.

A.  Clint Garwood is a Publicity and Search Marketing professional with fifteen years of experience in the development and implementation of consumer and trade focused programs; please see http://www.linkedin.com/in/clintgarwood and http://www.garwoodpr.com for more information on my professional qualifications.

I have been tracking my efforts to get a job or consulting engagement with Google through this blog http://clintgarwood.blogspot.com/. In addition I have actively been adding pictures of business cards for a few thousand of my closest professional contacts to the Google PicasaWeb database (http://picasaweb.google.com/clintgarwood) which I intend to leverage during the new year in support of my goal to engage Google employees, recruiters, management and other talented professionals at the Company.

My anticipated upcoming blog posts for the new year will include responses to mock interview questions, the publishing of cover letters for a variety of Google jobs I believe I am qualified to hold, several additional Google product recommendations, and quite possibly another Google Snow Art Project (think World's Largest Google Logo); weather permitting.

Although I have not yet received any official response to job application(s) I have submitted, I am optimistic of that my efforts will result in an opportunity for a long-term professional engagement with the Company. Thank you for considering me as a candidate, employee or consultant for Google.

Respects and Happy New Year!  Clint Garwood


Existing Blog Post Summary/Index:

Mock Google Interview: Describe Your Ideal Job
http://clintgarwood.blogspot.com/2010/12/mock-google-interview-describe-your.html

Skills Presentation: Analyze Google's Instant Search Feature
http://clintgarwood.blogspot.com/2010/12/skills-presentation-analyze-googles.html

Mock Skills Presentation: Make a Google Search Product Suggestion
http://clintgarwood.blogspot.com/2010/12/mock-skills-presentation-make-google.html

Mock Skills Presentation: Suggest a Product Improvement for Google Blogger/Blogspot
http://clintgarwood.blogspot.com/2010/12/mock-skills-presentation-suggest.html

Mock Interview: Describe A Non Google Dream Job
http://clintgarwood.blogspot.com/2010/12/mock-interview-describe-non-google.html

Skills Presentation: Suggest an Improvement to Google Link Shortener Product
http://clintgarwood.blogspot.com/2010/12/skills-presentation-suggest-improvement.html

Skills Presentation: Suggest a New Google Search Page Idea
http://clintgarwood.blogspot.com/2010/12/skills-presentation-suggest-new-google.html

Show Your Super Human Power (Google Snow)
http://clintgarwood.blogspot.com/2010/12/google-snow-again-and-again-and-again.html

Outside Skills Demonstration: Show Creativity in a Non-Digital Format
http://clintgarwood.blogspot.com/2010/12/outside-skills-demonstration-show.html

Skills Presentation: Recommend an Improvement to the Look of a Standard Search Results Page
http://clintgarwood.blogspot.com/2010/12/skills-presentation-improve-look-of.html

Google Snow Again and Again, and Again and Again

Q. Please Show Google Snow One More Time.

A: This Google Snow design is in Chicago IL on Racine Ave (between Barry and Nelson on the East side of the street).

Outside Skills Demonstration: Show Creativity in a Non-Digital Format

Q: Outside Skills/Interest: Demonstrate the superpower you listed with your Google profile.  Show Initiative and creativity in a way that demonstrates how this skill can be combined with your professional aptitude(s) and Google products.

A: Welcome to Google Snow.


Google Snow Navy Pier

Creating a massive google logo in a public place like navy pier tends to cause a stir. Aside from the time it took to carve the logo from a snow pile, a continuous stream of people wanted to chat, take pictures and find out more information.

Google Snow Michigan/Wacker Chicago

This was the first downtown Google snow project, and one of two designed to be viewed from above (i.e., skyscraper audience). People videotaped and took pictures during construction from the Michigan Ave Bridge.

Google Snow Beta off Clark St. Chicago

This was the beta Google Snow Logo created just off the Alley, Behind the Alley on Clark Street. Since its creation (during the snow storm on Christmas Eve 2010) a word-of-mouth stream of gawkers/photo bugs have been stopping by.

Google Snow Millennium Park Chicago
This logo was crushed by the Millennium Park Security Staff. They were really nice, and didn't want to carry out their order to smash the snow logo. I told them, "It's okay, its just snow..." Still, they felt really bad, but were just following orders of the management who insisted that snow art must be approved before construction takes place.

Google Snow Logo Columbus Drive Chicago
I still haven't seen this from above. Maybe NBC Chicago will invite me up into the tower to see how this giant Google logo looks from their tower. 

Google Snow Logos Posted to Google Maps: See links above.

Skills Presentation: Improve the Look of a Search Results Page

Q. Make a recommendation to improve the presentation or look of the standard Google results page. 

A.  On each page of a Google search the total number of results, as well as the total time it took to run the search is regularly/always displayed just below the search bar.

To a real web searcher the total volume is actually irrelevant, as time strapped users are more interested in one good result than in 182 million links they could never visit. It is clear that these displayed numbers actually don't have any real value to the traditional user who uses the site to explore the web to find an apartment, a dentist, qualified auto mechanic or a new job.

Although techies and SEO experts might still want to know (for fun) how many keyword results there are, or how many milliseconds the search query took, the general user would instantly adapt if that number were no longer available/displayed.  My recommendation to eliminate these numbers from the search page, or provide it as an option that can be enabled by the user in custom/preferences section, cleans up the search page by increasing the white space on the page.

Skills Presentation: Analyze Google's Instant Search Feature

Q. Show industry knowledge by remarking on the Google Instant Search product feature. Include personal opinion, and describe the implications Instant Search has for the trade (webmaster/seo) market and for general users.

A.  I have been referring to this feature in the Search Marketing classes I teach as "Keystroke Search" and it makes me smile when I watch the hyperactive updating on the page.  It's fun and is far more useful as a search tool than static list results ever were/are. I believe the transition to this ultra-caffeinated format signals a significant company advancement, and a paradigm shift in the usefulness of search.

To the general user, it is a smooth way to dramatically extend the amount of time a standard visitor will remain on Google before clicking through.  By increasing the value of each search result page, without requiring 'enter' to be clicked for each term, for value of each keystroke quickly becomes apparent.

Keystroke or Instant Search should increase, dramatically, the total amount of content a google user screens before leaving the site.  A skilled instant search user, who finally does click through a link, represents a much higher quality lead/customer than was ever possible before the feature was introduced. Organically the new search feature provides a true benefit and reward to organizations that have devoted time to improve their content, resources and relevance of the presentation for their eventual customers/visitors.

Although some SEO pros might complain (what am I saying, might...), that the feature will cause a drop in click-through traffic volume, the true value of instant search is that the feature will eliminate a significant amount of irrelevant bounce-likely traffic.  Although total visitor counts will drop for some, the relevance of the traffic that does reach the site should be dramatically improved.  I believe the feature can help move the search industry into a more value-focused model for quantifying online audiences as opposed its current obsession with the total number of visitors as the primary determination of a website (or seo professional's) success.

Skills Presentation: Suggest a New Google Search Page Idea

Q. Provide a new product or product improvement that would improve the general user experience of the standard Google Search platform. 

A. Create/offer a true 'Everything' search page or Search Tab feature.

Situation: Even though the standard/main Google search page result is supposed to be a collection of 'everything' in reality it's mostly 'web' results, with an occasional news story, image, or video thrown in to color the web only results.  There is a need for a True 'Everything' web page search tab.

By providing a page (template) that general users can access that searches across the standard already available categories (web, images, blogs, news, videos, etc.), and displays the results in one page (i.e., tiled format with separate sections like Google news categories are displayed) would provide a new and meaningful user search experience.

This true 'everything' search function could be built from the existing news story display platform where different categories can be displayed/removed at the user level. With the page set up, users could truly search all the Google categories without having to leave the 'everything' search page template to see the collection of results. The section categories could offer the first three-ten results from each  Google category that is select to appear on the page. 

Product Suggestion: Create a true 'search everything' template/tab that will allows a user to search across categories (i.e., web, news, images, shopping, etc), from a central user defined page.

Skills Presentation: Suggest an Improvement to Google Link Shortener

Q. Make a suggestion on the existing Google Short Link product http://goo.gl

A.  I like to refer to link shorteners as link shredders, because they shred both the seo benefits as well as the human friendly description away from whatever is at the other end of the hyperlink. While I'm not a huge fan of these links, it is a pleasure to provide a basic recommendation to improve the Google short link product.

Integrate relevant short keywords in the short links to make url's more human friendly.

This suggestion would send a Googlebot (web) to crawl the target page, before creating the short link, and return a short link with some relevant keyword-phrase that helps the human user know what is on the other side of that short url.  For example instead of providing http://goo.gl/14cim to reference the home page of http://www.garwoodpr.com/ the link could be more informational/relevant to users if it some/any keyword were present in the short link http://goo.gl/ClintRocks

On the short Link Brand:  The existing short link product goo.gl does not really show adequate respect for the existing brand; or it could better positioned/branded than it currently is.  It is my opinion that any/all of the following short link suggestions would be an improvement to the branding of the short Google links better than the existing short link extension.

http://goog.e/
http://goo.le/
http://go.gle/
http://g.ogle/

This url shredder brand improvement uses the 'period/dot' instead a single character/keystroke; so although the word google is still misspelled, at least it is a complete word (with a dot replacement for different letters) rather than a misspelled version of the brand name.  All four of these shredder brands could be added as new products, and specified for different industries or user purposes (consumer, industrial, non-profit, edu, etc).  Even using the entire Google brand but simply separating the word with periods would be a better representation of the brand (i.e., http://googl.e; http://goog.le/; http://goo.gle/; http://go.ogle/; http://g.oogle/)

Mock Interview: Describe A Non Google Dream Job

Q. Describe a relevant industry job/position (not available at the Company) that you believe would keep your interest (personal and professional) for a period of at least five years.

A. There is a need for live talent in the text-to-market-entertainment field. I believe this area represents a next-generation opportunity for professional talent (actors, communicators, writers, & entertainers) to produce programs tied primarily to text, sms and or other text-heavy social communication platforms.  The talent would (like radio dj's, tv entertainers, or a noisy friend) combine their personality with topical information into a live entertaining, fun and worthwhile presentation that the audience would subscribe to, watch, participate in and share with friends through their phones, and other internet connected devices. The programs would connect celebrities/fans/audiences through simple text-in options and be supported by sponsorships.

Working as a producer of text-based entertainment programs, I believe the opportunity to explore different types of shows on behalf of artists, bands, media networks, companies or other entertainment venues would keep my interest for an extended period of time.

Mock Skills Presentation: Suggest a Product Improvement for Google Blogspot

Have you ever tried to read a book starting with the last page first, and work your way to the front?   Books are published first to last because it’s the normal progression of a story. "Boy meets girl..." Blogs, however, do not currently offer the option (easily) to show a story from first to last; it is always last to first, which means that a first time blog visitor always shows up in the middle of the story.

Blogspot Product Suggestion:  Provide an optional smart cookie (blog owner/admin could enable this option as needed) that recognizes a first time or return user and displays the blog in an appropriate order.

Confucius never said:

"Those who eat many fortune cookies gain many options for the future."

First time visitors would see the first story (or other summary post to set the tone/theme) from the beginning... "Boy meets Girl...” Return visitors see the blog in its normal order with the most recent post at the top... "Boy falls in Love all over again..."

This simple re-ordering feature would be triggered by either the absence of a cookie (posts displayed first-to-last), or the presence of a cookie (display posts last-to-first).  Additional variations on the basic theme are also possible. This feature could help make presentations much more relevant to first time users, and help improve the engagement that writers have with their online audiences.

Mock Skills Presentation: Make a Google Search Product Suggestion

Situation: Online social networks (fb/twitter etc.) benefit from having their logo boxes included at the bottom of nearly every page on the web, and although the 'g' in a box logo follows their basic model, Google has an opportunity to jump ahead with the introduction of a short//search co-branded instant search solution that could deliver an entirely new dimension to its traditional search product.

Suggestion: Create a unique type of targeted, co-branded search solution (web code text string) that connects google search to businesses and organizations at the keyword level. The idea is to create a very short text string, that when entered into the url field of an internet browser, would return a Google search page with the corresponding keyword results. Businesses could use the co//branded solution their websites, and other collateral material.

Co-Branded Example:   google//co-branded-keywords

For example a co-branded string google//clintgarwood could be made to return this page:

Although the example (when entered into the url field) currently returns this page:

Any brand or keyword-phrase could be used, and if done properly, companies could simply adapt the format without having to receive prior permission or approval to use in their promotions:
     google//Sony-Music
     google//McDonald's
     google//George-V-Eatertainment
     google//Tropical-Vacation
     google//Chicago-Restaurant
     google//Find-A-Job
     google//World-Peace          etc...,

Google short//search co-branding would serve, and provide value to Company customers, partners and other organizations by allowing them to share targeted Google searches. Businesses that dedicate professional effort and resources to ensure their presentation is competitive on the other end of the short search line (top three results) will enjoy access to an extremely targeted stream of online customers.  The co-branded format would also reduce the number of user keystrokes and web pages users need to visit to connect with the targeted keyword search results page. The concept is easily adapted for mobile products in unique formats.

Mock Google Interview: Describe Your Ideal Job

Q. Please provide a Job Title and Description that describes what your ideal role would be with the Company.

A: Job Title: New Idea Leader
Job Description: This person thinks on behalf of the company. This person's primary role is to explore how to improve the connection between everyday users and organizations through Google products.  This person is expected to provide forward thinking and existing product improvement/suggestions and identify untapped market synergies through blog posts, in meetings and by delivering company presentations.  This person explores and discusses how people can and could better connect to others and to information with products from Google.  This mobile, without a desk position, is ideally suited for a person who is comfortable having brief yet targeted conversations with hundreds or even thousands of company employees about relevant product topics. The role requires virtual office connectivity and a willingness to travel to Company offices worldwide.

Qualified candidates will be able to write up the job description and present it as a self-interview on a blog that is created primarily for the purpose of getting that job with Google.  The candidate who is selected for this position will likely be 'found' by leveraging their professional network to make a personal connection with the right person at the Company who will eventually read this blog post.

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