Why Google spends more to hire and what they buy

This review of a book in the WSJ describes Google's hiring practices. After reading it you may ask How well your employer screens prospective employees. Here are some highlights.

1. "The biggest predictor of whether you'll succeed, Laszlo Bockoutlines in 'Work Rules!,' is how you fare in a sample work test. 
2. "... Google wants generalists. The company prefers 'clever and curious over someone who actually knew what he was doing.' In other words, they want people who will try something new.
3. "Top performers are doing well where they are; odds are they are enjoying it and being suitably rewarded. Google therefore strives to identify those top people—those passive job seekers who aren't thinking about applying to work at Google (or often anywhere else)—and cultivating them, sometimes over years.
4. "... while Google spends more than most on recruiting, it spends far less on training. Top people need less training. 
5. "Recruiters at top companies, who are usually inundated with résumés, often limit where they recruit from and the avenues from which to apply. Mr. Bock says that's a mistake: The right policy is to increase access; just have smarter filters. In Google's case, this involves using an internal tool called qDroid that provides interviewers with pre-formulated questions. Alongside administering the all-important sample work test, Google strongly recommends that its interviewers assess for cognitive ability, conscientiousness (will an applicant see a job through to completion?) and leadership. Notably, Mr. Bock writes that the company today prefers 'to take a bright, hardworking student who graduated from the top of her class at a state school over an average or even above-average Ivy League grad' because Google prioritizes resilience and overcoming hardship."