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Google Please Hire Me
- gbrindisi 15y agoI 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 15y agoI 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.
- atomicdog 15y agoThis kind of 'fanboyism' for companies seems kind of unhealthy to me.
- dbattaglia 15y agoUnhealthy 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.
- deleted 15y ago[deleted]
- usedtolurk 15y agoHe 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 15y agoThese are getting a little long in the tooth, wonder if they'll continue to be effective for much longer.
- andyv88 15y agoWould have been better without the video...
- marcovena 15y agoTotally agree!
- seymores 15y agoHmmm being desperate used to be a bad thing. Maybe I am old school.
- ristretto 15y agoExactly. Being modest was a virtue too. I am definately old.
- Gullanian 15y agoAre Google going to be interested in SEO? Anyway, good luck!
- fosk 15y agoI 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!
- berserkpi 15y agoI'm not the only one... sweet. :P
- czzarr 15y agothe video is very off-putting.
- localhost3000 15y agotoo much "ron burgundy"
- ThomPete 15y agoAs 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"
- nielsandersen 15y agoIn 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 15y agoI'd say more often than not that's the case I see. Is it ethical, though?
- DevX101 15y agoI know people who talk just like that, esp. in the marketing world.
- rand_r 15y agoThat looks to be obviously part of the joke, like his "modest" home.
- bendmorris 15y agoI agree with you, but he did include titles, so someone considering hiring him could easily verify these quotes.
- w1ntermute 15y agoA guy tried something similar (called "Can Google Hear Me") a few years ago: http://www.cangooglehearme.com/ http://www.cangooglehearme.com/
- sarcasmatron 15y agoAaron 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 15y agoWas 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 15y ago506 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 15y 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 15y agoSo, 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 15y agoI think you are. I took the mustache very seriously.
- theDoug 15y agoIt 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/ http://matthew-epstein.com/land-a-job-at-google-journey/
- leif 15y agothe "waah I didn't get to play all my cards" thing is weird. he wanted a google interview, he got a google interview, holster your guns matthew, the fight's over
- xd 15y agoIs 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 15y agoagree, they should not be allowed. Everyone puts effort when trying to get hired.
- Mafana0 15y agoI 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.
- g123g 15y agoI 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 15y agoSounds like http://linkedin.com http://linkedin.com to me.
- g123g 15y agoNot 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.
- sarcasmatron 15y agoOr "American Idol".
- mkrecny 15y agoUsing 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 15y agoI've downloaded this guy's resume (http://googlepleasehire.me/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/Resume-of-Matthew-Epstein-Product-Marketer-Digital-Strategist.pdf 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.
- nielsandersen 15y agoAlso the scale of that grid seems a bit off. Or maybe the guy just really is good at everything.
- Udo 15y agoGenerally, 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 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 15y agoYour character sheet is awesome.
- Udo 15y agoThanks :-) I had fun making it! I would have made it even nerdier but I'm not sure how well that would go over for most freelancing clients...
- ca136 15y agoThat 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.
- rjd 15y agoWell I think I'll be plagiarizing that resume layout, slick and precise.
- mrich 15y agoAs 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.
- hluska 15y agoAs a marketer, I feel exactly the same.
- corin_ 15y agoJust 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.
- hluska 15y agoIn 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.
- Mafana0 15y agoIsn'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 15y agoin the skills section of his rrsume, apparently SEO and web design are basically the same thing: "Web Design/SEO" That speaks volumes.
- CraigRood 15y agoThey 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
- lovskogen 15y agoIn norwegian we have a word for this, 'kleint'. In danish 'kikset'. Which means a high level of embarrassing.
- troels 15y agoI think the English word would be awkward
- SeamusBrady 15y agoHow 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...
- lovskogen 15y agoCringeworthy describes the feeling very good :)
- Mafana0 15y agoI 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 15y agoNot 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 15y agoFor gods sake, its a parody.
- oceanician 15y agoserver is down
- jamesbrewer 15y agoLol.
- known 15y agoWhy Google? Why not Apple?
- mars 15y agowhat a ct. bad bad bad borat parody. not funny at all isn't it?
- tomerico 15y agoFor more details, see his blog post: http://www.matthew-epstein.com/land-a-job-at-google-journey/ http://www.matthew-epstein.com/land-a-job-at-google-journey/ Google contacted him a day after publishing it.
- gaius 15y agoI 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 15y agoIt 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/ http://matthew-epstein.com/land-a-job-at-google-journey/
- ZoFreX 15y agoI'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 15y agoMy 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 15y agoAgreed, I love what he did.
- coreyo 15y agoGoogle is hiring like mad. How hard is it really to get an interview?
- shareme 15y agoOr just get bought by Google
- jturly 15y agoYeah 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 15y agook, work for Google, but, be very careful to reveal high value ideas to Google! -- ghostnasa.com/posts/008moonprize.html --
- deleted 15y ago[deleted]
- deleted 15y ago[deleted]
- AlexC04 15y agoI 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 :)
- berserkpi 15y agoWait wait I've seen this guy before... Is he Borat? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Borat http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Borat Hahahahaha.
- sachinag 15y agoI'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 15y agoI'm sure he appreciates it, but I'm fairly certain his primary interest is with the Market-Making Pre-Market Product Marketing team.
- berserkpi 15y agoMatthew Epstein: Cultural Learnings of America for getting the job you dreamed.
- akvlad 15y agoHe reminds me of Stephen Colbert.
- larrys 15y agoBut 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.
- hiremeaccenture 15y agoHe 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 15y agotitle should be "how NOT to get hired by google"
- rwan 15y agoThose 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 15y agoUpdate to the story is here: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2844001 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2844001
- hiremeaccenture 15y agoI also have a site that I am using to try and land a job. http://www.hiremeaccenture.com/ http://www.hiremeaccenture.com/
- pablohoffman 15y agoDid it work?