Google is poised to hire more than 6,000 people this year if all goes according to plan. That amazing fact was posted on the company’s Web site this week by Alan Eustace, Google’s senior vice president of engineering and research.
“In 2010 we added more than 4,500 Googlers, primarily in engineering and sales: second only to 2007 when we added over 6,000 people to Google. I love Google because of our people. It’s inspiring to be part of the team. And that’s why I am excited about 2011 — because it will be our biggest hiring year in company history,” Eustace wrote.
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The hiring figure is based on Google’s growing efforts in mobile display advertising and the cloud to name a few successes, Eustace stated. “Amazingly, Android now runs on over 100 devices with more than 300,000 activations each day. Chrome has at least 120 million active users and it’s growing quickly. Last year more than 1 million businesses switched to Google Apps and embraced its 100% web approach. “
The executive went on to say the company will be looking to hire “across the board and around the globe,” for a variety of jobs. The company is looking to tackle “some of the toughest challenges in computer science: like building a web-based operating system from scratch, instantly searching an index of more than 100 million gigabytes and even developing cars that drive themselves.” He noted that the average number of software engineers on a project at Google is 3.5.
The hiring spree brought a variety of observations:
From the MercuryNews.com: “With the hiring plans, Google will have more than 30,000 employees by the start of 2012, a workforce still significantly smaller than Silicon Valley giants like Intel, Cisco Systems and Hewlett-Packard, but more than double the size of rivals like Yahoo, and more than six times the size of the company that has become its most formidable competitor — Facebook.”
From the Wall Street Journal: “Last week Google said it was testing a service that offers consumers deals to local businesses such as restaurants. Last year it hired several hundred sales representatives to call U.S. businesses such as spas, restaurants and hotels to promote new advertising initiatives. Google has been opening its wallet to keep key executives, according to recruiters and people familiar with the matter. Google executives have said the company engaged in a “war for talent” with the likes of social-networking site Facebook Inc. Last fall, Google announced a 10% raise for all of its employees.”
From MarketWatch: “Wall Street has long raised the issue of aggressive hiring at Google as a potential concern, given the expenses involved. The company has countered that hiring in large numbers is necessary, as it intends to move aggressively into multiple new markets.”
