Google Please Hire Me

by PStamatiou • 15 years ago

164 106 15 years ago

gbrindisi• 15 years ago

I don't really know about this kind of reverse applications. Looks like the guy would work for Google just for the name.

    I invested over $3,000 of my own capital to create a
    marketing campaign that would get you to notice me.
    I haven’t been that desperate to get someone to notice
    me since my first highschool crush.

Desperate? Really? What if Google calls to offer an under payed job?

But, hell, marketing is a so different universe that this could really work.

sushrutbidwai• 15 years ago

I doubt he will say no if facebook/twitter/zynga/any other large internet company comes calling. Its a effective campaign which aims at google, but of course can go viral enough to be noticed by everyone else. Clever.

atomicdog2• 15 years ago

This kind of 'fanboyism' for companies seems kind of unhealthy to me.

dbattaglia• 15 years ago

Unhealthy yet totally not surprising. From lowest-common-denominator pop culture all the way down to some obscure programming language community you see the same thing.

usedtolurk• 15 years ago

He doesn't seem concerned about salary - just a chance to prove himself. If he's really good the salary will take care of itself.

smcl• 15 years ago

These are getting a little long in the tooth, wonder if they'll continue to be effective for much longer.

atomicdog2• 15 years ago

He should have recorded a Youtube video asking Eric Schimdt out on a date.

ristretto2• 15 years ago

You mean, on a g+ Gangout.

andyv88• 15 years ago

Would have been better without the video...

marcovena• 15 years ago

Totally agree!

seymores• 15 years ago

Hmmm being desperate used to be a bad thing. Maybe I am old school.

ristretto2• 15 years ago

Exactly. Being modest was a virtue too. I am definately old.

Gullanian• 15 years ago

Are Google going to be interested in SEO? Anyway, good luck!

fosk• 15 years ago

I don't know if he'll be hired by Google, but I can see him working in the film industry as an actor: it reminds me Borat!

berserkpi4• 15 years ago

I'm not the only one... sweet. :P

czzarr• 15 years ago

the video is very off-putting.

localhost3000• 15 years ago

too much "ron burgundy"

ThomPete• 15 years ago

As someone who is known to hire people once in a while I always get really suspicious when "What other say about me" sounds like the stuff I see further down the page.

Who would ever actually say something a long the lines of

“Matthew brought a combination of vision, strategy and execution that can rarely be found in one individual. His brand development and messaging at launch resulted in demand that exceeded expectations…an ideal talent for the product marketing executive that is looking for the next rockstar to add to their growing team.”

I mean "his brand development..." really?

That is so written to sound serious not to actually sound like something other people would say about Matthew.

I would much rather trust stuff like:

"Matthew is one of those guys who get it. He is fun to work with and very knowledgable and have a good track record of successes"

nielsandersen2• 15 years ago

In my experience it's not uncommon for a boss to have people draft up their own recommendations when it comes time to find a new place to work and then just sign them afterwards.

dsmithn• 15 years ago

I'd say more often than not that's the case I see. Is it ethical, though?

DevX101• 15 years ago

I know people who talk just like that, esp. in the marketing world.

rand_r• 15 years ago

That looks to be obviously part of the joke, like his "modest" home.

bendmorris• 15 years ago

I agree with you, but he did include titles, so someone considering hiring him could easily verify these quotes.

w1ntermute• 15 years ago

A guy tried something similar (called "Can Google Hear Me") a few years ago: http://www.cangooglehearme.com/

sarcasmatron3• 15 years ago

Aaron Stanton actually has a product, which is what he was trying to get in front of Google - www.booklamp.org

It's an interesting concept - Pandora for books. I spent some time looking at it as a potential complementary technology for a reader app I worked on a few years ago.

Fairly rudimentary algorithm at that time, but it's conceptually interesting and worth burning a couple of cycles watching the intro video.

PaulJoslin• 15 years ago

Was this an attempt at a Rushmore parody? As that's what it felt like.

On a serious note, it concerns me slightly that over the entire website the moustache is mentioned more than any credible reason why Google would actually want to hire him.

Equally, on his resume - his top ranking skill is 'Using Microsoft Office' - when compared to his other attributes ranking, I would say that's slightly worrying. i.e. You rate yourself more of a master of Microsoft Office, than you are of digital marketing skills.

Finally, this seemed to be released on the 29th of July, and only has 506 views - currently, it seems to be failing slightly on a digital marketing front. (Although this may change now with a top of hacker news / inevitable post on Techcrunch, effect)

mkr-hn• 15 years ago

506 is plenty if one of the 506 is the one the poster was trying to reach. Reaching the right people is more important than reaching a lot of people.

danilocampos• 15 years ago

"request an interview" has an odd tone given how eager this guy is for a gig at Google.

Also, one thing I wonder about these reverse applications: you're screwed when it comes time to negotiate your package, aren't you?

td• 15 years ago

So, am I the only one here who feels like this is an obvious (and funny) parody? Or are all the "serious" comments critiquing the video/website/C.V. just another level of irony?

St-Clock• 15 years ago

I think you are. I took the mustache very seriously.

theDoug• 15 years ago

It seems to be done either genuinely or as part of some larger campaign to promote himself / see if he "could" get an interview: http://matthew-epstein.com/land-a-job-at-google-journey/

ca1362• 15 years ago

The only way I'd hire this guy is if it was a parody. As a parody, it's pretty good, but as an actual reverse resume it just seems really weird. I'm sure he'll get a bunch of offers from other companies besides Google. I just don't see this type of stuff fitting in with Google's personality.

berserkpi4• 15 years ago

Well, maybe he is trying to create a hoax... Hahaha, Not sure really. If he is being serious this uncertainty will be his main problem...

But the concept and so the site are just funny. Hahaha.

joelackner• 15 years ago

i dig it -- isn't that the desired action he wants the user to take?

micheljansen• 15 years ago

I loved the arrogance of that sentence. It matches the mustache and the faux cognac connoisseur so well :D

xd• 15 years ago

Is it just me, or does anyone else feel these "please hire me" news stories are irrelevant on a site that is centered around people starting their own companies?

Still, I wish him the best of luck.

angryasian• 15 years ago

agree, they should not be allowed. Everyone puts effort when trying to get hired.

Mafana04• 15 years ago

I don't agree. Interviewing and employment are vital for any start-up company. And those reverse applications certainly have some ideas that enrich that field.

g123g2• 15 years ago

I think there is a need for a reverse job portal which is open. So candidates can post their resumes, profiles, videos etc. to this portal and also select the categories or companies for which they want to be considered. Any employer can search for the candidates on this portal and contact them.

The idea is that the data is open and not in control of a job portal. There can be some security measures to keep the data safe and stop the spammers.

Not sure if something like that is already there.

superted• 15 years ago

Sounds like http://linkedin.com to me.

g123g2• 15 years ago

Not sure about linkedin. First of all you need an employer subscription to see the data for all the users. Also, for most of the users the data they put on linkedin is not very structured. It is mostly the dates of employment and sometimes a very general description about them. The features that can distinguish such a site is that candidate data can be open and there is more structure to it and the primary purpose of the site is getting a job rather than business networking.

sarcasmatron3• 15 years ago

Or "American Idol".

mkrecny• 15 years ago

Using a platform is not nearly so 'go-getter' as building your own web property and making a gutsy proclamation of your own value. Using a platform is relatively conformist. By using a mechanism that takes some of the difficulty and creativity out of building and distributing a reverse app - you're really defeating its purpose.

rednum• 15 years ago

I've downloaded this guy's resume (http://googlepleasehire.me/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/Resume...) and while I'm aware he's doing something that I don't know much about, I am puzzled by the 'technology' thing in his skills chart. Can someone give me a hint what does he mean by giving himself 6 skill points in it? Same question for 'research & analytics' and 'social media' - these terms are so vague that their meaning is close to none for me.

nielsandersen2• 15 years ago

Also the scale of that grid seems a bit off. Or maybe the guy just really is good at everything.

Udo4• 15 years ago

Generally, I do like skill charts that look like RPG character sheets (so much so, I've been using this paradigm for my own skill profile http://udos.name), however as you said this particular one seems indeed a bit devoid of actual information. Even if the categories were meaningful, what's the point in having a scale of 1 to 7 when the lowest outlier rating you give yourself is 4?

Shenglong• 15 years ago

Your character sheet is awesome.

ca1362• 15 years ago

That is pretty awesome, even if you can't trust it 100% I get a good idea of what you're relatively good at. Linkedin should do something like this.

mrgreenfur• 15 years ago

Yours has a legend! that is awesome.

JoshWillis• 15 years ago

I just signed up for an account just so I could post how awesome that skill profile is. Some site really needs to copy this idea.

jgmmo• 15 years ago

Character sheet is pure awesomeness. I realized how subjective the interview process when my last interview --- yesturday --- was entirely composed of: "From 1-10, 10 being the creator of the language, how are you with X? How about y? And Z?"

This kind of online resume gets past all that kind of stuff. I see real value in being able to cleanly present this kind of high-level skillset info to employers PRE-interview.

rjd• 15 years ago

Well I think I'll be plagiarizing that resume layout, slick and precise.

mrich• 15 years ago

As a programmer this resume repells me, it is full of bullshit marketing terms and this appears to be the kind of guy who wants to earn top dollar just for being an important marketing guy who supposedly can do wonders, of which there are droves.

hluska2• 15 years ago

As a marketer, I feel exactly the same.

corin_• 15 years ago

Just for the record, there are good marketers and bad marrketers; the good ones don't talk like that, and don't live their life around buzzwords.

hluska2• 15 years ago

In my experience, using buzzwords is really useful...if you want to work for the kind of company that is impressed by buzzwords. On the other hand, if you want to work for thoughtful, innovative people, it is best to be genuine, passionate, and knowledgeable about the product(s) you wish to market. I'm also a firm believer that marketers who want to work in technology should learn to program - inevitably, they will have to learn from engineers and a little bit of experience programming makes that process so much easier.

Unfortunately, when I suggested those things at a recent alumni meeting, the response was less than positive.

Mafana04• 15 years ago

Isn't the "LATEST TWEET" section supposed to show an actual tweet? It's blank and only has a twitter icon that links to his twitter account.

danso• 15 years ago

in the skills section of his rrsume, apparently SEO and web design are basically the same thing: "Web Design/SEO"

That speaks volumes.

CraigRood• 15 years ago

They both go very much hand-in-hand. Not saying they should be a single entity, but when you are at-least designing a website you should be aware of what "SEO" tricks are good and bad for the site.

SEO is so bad anyway in my opinion - should be more about User Experience and Usability

lovskogen3• 15 years ago

In norwegian we have a word for this, 'kleint'. In danish 'kikset'. Which means a high level of embarrassing.

troels• 15 years ago

I think the English word would be awkward

SeamusBrady• 15 years ago

How about cringeworthy? Def: Causing feelings of embarrassment or awkwardness

I could feel my toes curling at certain points. Funny, but not perhaps what was intended...

Mafana04• 15 years ago

I don't see his online marketing savvy reflecting on the way he chose to promote his own skills in the market.

Especially that he's saying "In this case the product is me, Matthew Epstein.". You're calling yourself a _product_ and yet you don't market that product remarkably, IMO.

Best of luck anyway, hope you'll get a good offer out of this.

johnx123-up• 15 years ago

Not gonna judge his skills or resume. But, I'm sure that he'll get a call from Google. Only very few guys can do anything like this. What if Google rejects? Will any other employer be able to work with him then?

vidar• 15 years ago

For gods sake, its a parody.

rimantas• 15 years ago

I really hope so.

Mafana04• 15 years ago

I would quote a sentence from your own profile: "Those who are afraid to make fools of themselves are fools already." :)

lovskogen3• 15 years ago

Didn't you see the last part of the video?

oceanician• 15 years ago

server is down

jamesbrewer• 15 years ago

Lol.

known• 15 years ago

Why Google? Why not Apple?

mars• 15 years ago

what a ct. bad bad bad borat parody. not funny at all isn't it?

tomerico• 15 years ago

For more details, see his blog post: http://www.matthew-epstein.com/land-a-job-at-google-journey/

Google contacted him a day after publishing it.

gaius• 15 years ago

I get:

"Your browser (Internet Explorer 6) is out of date. It has known security flaws and may not display all features of this and other websites."

Which is funny as I have the latest Firefox...

uladzislau• 15 years ago

It already worked for him (well, if it's true). "Day Two: Google Contacted Me. Well, that was quick."

http://matthew-epstein.com/land-a-job-at-google-journey/

ZoFreX• 15 years ago

I'm getting a 503 error. I would hope Google would hire people that can keep a site online.

I know, usually it would be very mean. But given the purpose of this site, for it not to be able to withstand the "HN effect" (is there a term for this? Penny Arcade have "wanged", which is my personal favourite) seems like a fairly gross oversight.

wisty• 15 years ago

My understanding (from what I've read on HN, and similar sites) - getting a Google interview isn't too hard. A PhD helps, a stunt like this helps, but you really just need to convince them that you might be useful.

Getting through Google's possibly broken interview system is the difficult part.

Still, this looks like more fun than writing a traditional resume.

mbrzuzy• 15 years ago

Agreed, I love what he did.

coreyo• 15 years ago

Google is hiring like mad. How hard is it really to get an interview?

shareme• 15 years ago

Or just get bought by Google

jturly2• 15 years ago

Yeah what was running through my mind when watching was why Google? Why not something a bit more challenging? I read that they are hiring 6,000 people this year. Why not start a startup instead, and try and get into a great incubator program?

gaetanomarano• 15 years ago

ok, work for Google, but, be very careful to reveal high value ideas to Google! -- ghostnasa.com/posts/008moonprize.html --

AlexC04• 15 years ago

I tried sending a reverse resume to Google. I sent in cupcakes with the URL of the custom-domain-resume-website on it. Got lots of hits from Mountain View and Atlanta on the day, but in the end didn't even an email saying "no thanks".

Oh well.

This guy's app is clearly way better than mine was :)

berserkpi4• 15 years ago

Wait wait I've seen this guy before... Is he Borat? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Borat Hahahahaha.

sachinag• 15 years ago

I'm an intern on the Mid-Market Product Marketing team. I reached out to Matthew to see if I can give him any help/advice now that he's already got the referral in.

tdfx• 15 years ago

I'm sure he appreciates it, but I'm fairly certain his primary interest is with the Market-Making Pre-Market Product Marketing team.

berserkpi4• 15 years ago

Matthew Epstein: Cultural Learnings of America for getting the job you dreamed.

akvlad• 15 years ago

He reminds me of Stephen Colbert.

larrys• 15 years ago

But was it even his idea and execution?

You can't really tell that much from this video. He had others involved (for shooting at the very least) and we don't know if he edited it, wrote the script or if any of the ideas were his or a friend. Not that anything was spectacular of course.

He should have at least put at the end some "credits" or even commentary on what part of it he was responsible for.

The video is trying to say "I'm creative and resourceful enough to do this video" but we don't know his actual role in the video other than that he was able to appear in this part.

hiremeaccenture2• 15 years ago

He has credits of people who helped him at the bottom of his website. We live in the same city and I have a similar website out as well www[dot]hiremeaccenture[dot]com

thorwawy99• 15 years ago

title should be "how NOT to get hired by google"

rwan• 15 years ago

Those questions were reasonable. It is supposed to test your strategic thinking skills. The attitude seems a little cold, according to your description in the article.

I used to work for Google in Sales.

vrikhter• 15 years ago

Update to the story is here: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2844001

hiremeaccenture2• 15 years ago

I also have a site that I am using to try and land a job. http://www.hiremeaccenture.com/

pablohoffman• 15 years ago

Did it work?

Google Please Hire Me

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