Description: Marissa Mayer joined Google at the age of 24, and now she is the VP of Local, Maps and Localization Services
Source: can .com
Date: April 3, 2012
Questions for discussion:
- Why do you feel Google is ranked as a great place to work?
- What is Marissa Mayer’s key to her successful career
Patrick
I believe that Google is such a great place to work is because the employees are free to do what ever they want. This show by hoe they allow their employees to bring their dogs to work and the beach volleyball court that they have on site at Google’s main head quarters. They also give many benefits to the workers such as numerous food courts, in which the food is provided to the workers for FREE! Who wouldn’t want to work there, creativity and imagination is encouraged and looks to be a geeks paradise.
I think that there are many reasons that Marissa Meyer has a successful career. First, I truly believe that she enjoys going to work each day. She’s doing what she likes and she relates with what she doing. For example she’s a geek, so everyday she gets to work and be a geek. Secondly, she is very involved in the creation of new things that are put on the website. As she is a VP, she most likely doesn’t have to do any thing but allocate jobs, But she does not do this because she cares about the company and believes that her contribution to the design and implication are a huge asset.
P
I think it is quite obvious why Google is ranked one of the best places to work. I recently came across an article covering all the amazing aspects of the Google workplace. The Google workplace is pretty much an amusement park for its employees, which was created to try to emphasize innovative thinking and a type of corporate culture. There are white boards everywhere to record any innovative thinking, a vast variety of any type of food or drink available in the cafeteria, slides to different floors, masseurs available on hand, rooms to give the employee’s brains a rest, areas for leisure activities with other employees that includes things like pool and foosball tables, and even a library. I think the physical workplace as well as the corporate culture within it is a major factor of employee satisfaction and positive morale. There are no time limits on how long employees can use the leisure and gaming rooms as well as the gymnasium, as long as deadlines are met. This most likely gives the employees a higher feeling of trust and responsibility, which they would not want to breach. Who wouldn’t want to work at a place with trust, strong corporate culture, and I guess all the amazing aspects of the workplace would be a great motivation as well.
Paige Magnussen
I really enjoyed watching this video. I think its empowering for woman everywhere as woman are usually smaller in numbers in any work force. Although she handled the interview great, Im not sure I could say the same. I find it annoying that there are so many men with a similar job to her with her similar successes and she gets coverage simply for being a woman. It should be because of how skilled she is. She must have had an amazing journey to her job now. Being a part of Google from the start right through to now is a major accomplishment. She watch the company grow, as her career did and Im sure she has some amazing stories. It’s also a massive accomplishment is be a VP at Google currently. At the time Google came out it was such a revolutionary technology and now it has become its own verb being used all around the world and in everyday life. People are always saying lets just Google it and to know that she has been a part of that and helped designed such a revolutionary technology is very amazing.. and yes she is a woman. I think it will be great to see the advancements that her team is continuing to make.
Lesley
Google is ranked as a great place to work because they allow their employees to feel comfortable and valued in the workplace. They allow them to bring animals, free meals with plenty of variety, and a fun, vibriant atmosphere. The VP and management team is very hands on and takes part in all of the decisions which motivates employees to perfect Google. All of the employees find what they are doing as very important which makes them want to do their best. Mayer’s key to success is providing great ads along with a great search engine. The culture in Google hasn’t changed which has kept her and the other employees happy with their jobs.
Kelsey Roberts
First off I would just like to comment on how happy I am to see such a successful woman being recognized! Marrisa’s key to such a succesful career were likely her ambition to succeed and her passion for the field of IT. She speaks very highly of google, and all of her collegues there, noting that during Google’s early days everyone at the company work 100-130 hour weeks. So her success didn’t come simply from being present at Google, it came from making a difference. Holding several patents in artificial intelligence and interface design it is clear that Marissa is not only extremely knowledgeable about what she does, but even more so she is passionate. I truly believe that the key to success in any job is loving what you do, and having the drive to meet your goals. By becoming a top female executive at Google, Marissa stands out from others and her work ethic really shows. She is dedicated to her job, and most importantly to Google.
Nichelle
Well from watching this video it is quite clear why Google is one of the best places to work – from free various types of lunches, the ability to bring your pets to work, and the fact the environment is so casual and open, Google is able to pride themselves on creating such an amazing workplace for their employees. The offer their employees something that various other organizations don’t – and that is excess incentives and freedoms. Common, how many organization’s appear to look like a beach front rather than an office building. By providing employees with these incentives, it encourages them to work harder and more efficiently because they enjoy what they do and enjoy coming to work every day. This is definitely a factor for majority of individuals and is most likely similar in Marissa Mayer’s case. Mayer’s key to success is the effort she placed into getting where she is today. Hard work, motivation and her love for what she does. Like she said, she’s not a Google employee, she’s a Google geek. She grew as an employee as Google grew as a company, and only constant effort and hard work can will get someone where they wish to be in life.
Laura
I believe that Google is considered such a great workplace because they are innovators. They give their employees a lot of creative flexibility, and they forage into any area that interests them, and their customers. Also, employees see a lot of work variation, as it seems that most people that are employed at Google end up working on several different products. Also, Google appears to stay true to its work environment, so that employees feel they have a consistent and engaging place to work. Marissa Mayer’s key to success at Google is partly related to joining the initial team, and then sticking with the company long term. I feel as though Google is the type of business to reward hard work, and so Mayer’s commitment to the company, as well as her hard work and support over the long haul have likely driven her to higher promotions then she would have seen joining the business midway through. Mayer also seems to have fully embraced the culture of Google, and is clearly enthusiastic about her job. The two questions go hand in hand as Mayer and Google appear to work well together, and if one was not a good work place, and the other not a dedicated worker, this article would not exist.
Trevor Armstrong
Google is viewed as a great place to work because the company manages their employees in a proactive way. There are many initiatives to reduce employee stress, and a lot of extra incentives to be productive at work. Employees are assigned tasks that they enjoy doing, such as the logo designers in the video. This is an example of a task that could easily be assigned to one person, but yet they assemble a team to discuss creative ideas – and everyone is allow to give input into the design.
Marissa Mayer’s main key to success is that she ‘gets’ the industry. She confessed to being a nerd at heart, and she genuinely enjoys what she is working on. I feel that gender does not restrict what you can achieve in the workplace – those who work hard and go above what is required of them will get promoted before their peers.
M
Why would you not want to work at Google? Look at this Mountain View place in California for the Google headquarters, you can bring your pets to work and let them play outside and they allow you to eat in one of their 15 dining halls. Marissa talks about how they have 1000’s more employees but Google managed to maintain that same small Google culture they had before they were large and keep how they treat their employees consistent. Google is obviously a strong company as well and has had tremendous growth over that past years, so why would you not want to work there, I would only wish that I had started earlier like Marissa Mayer. Marissa Mayer seems to be very innovative and holds multiple patents for AI as the video says. She also ignores the gender aspect and just says she is a “geek” at Google and that helped her excel in her career, which is impressive in that she puts that entire aspect aside and just focuses on her career and the betterment of Google. Also another big factor in her successful career is how she joined when she was 24 and stuck around. She got in at the ground floor; she said they were working 100 hours weeks and a limited window of opportunity to make Google possible and her being one of these crucial beginning people has played a big factor.
Dennis Zhong
“Everything was up at Google last year — revenue, profits, share price, paid search clicks, hiring — and so, too, was employee love; the search giant climbed three slots in our ranking to reclaim the top spot,” Fortune noted in its ranking report. “The reason? Employees rave about their mission, the culture, and the famous perks of the Plex: bocce courts, a bowling alley, eyebrow shaping (for a fee) in the New York office. Then there’s the food: some 25 cafes companywide, all gratis.”
This is why the employees love Google.
Lacey Dodds
I think the main reason that Google is ranked as the best place to work is because of their culture and work-life balance environment. As was displayed in that video, Google treats their employees well. This involved providing in-house daycare, salons, grocery stores, meals, recreation facilities, etc. It seems like they believe that if they can make their employees happier at work, their employees productivity will increase, which is mostly accurate.
I think the reason why Marissa Mayer is so successful is because she enjoys what she does at work. As she said she is a self-proclaimed geek and loves working in IT. I also think that her success has a lot to do with her positioning in the company. She got into Google before they were well-known and successful and put a lot of hard work into the company and it paid off. She seems like she is a woman who works hard for what she wants. She is clearly motivated, and that motivation may stem from the perks she receives from the company. Most people go their whole lives without making patents, whereas, she has several which speaks a lot for her character. She also believes in the company, which is important because it is hard to put everything into something if you do not believe in it.
Billy Abesdris
1. Why is google great place to work.
Google is a great place to work because everyone has a good job. The only way they got these jobs was by being extremely qualified. Harvard,Princeton top of the class in ivy school, that kind of stuff. Any job these people get will be what we peasents consider a good place to work; high respect, seldem answer to authority,High Pay, ect. Google happens to be a tech firm that doesnt need many low level people and can give all it’s highly qualified and therefore trustworthy staff the freedom to be great at their job. They also adobt a liberal and progressive attitude twoards the employer/employee relationship which few other firms dare to try. This has proven successful up til now but these structures rarely last long and the culture at google could change tommorow.
2. Mayers Career Success;
The key to Mayers successful career was her connections. I assume that almost everyone wants to work at google and it probably takes an ‘in’ to even get an interview. Next key was her schooling, surely going to harvard helped. Next key was her upbrining, this contributed to her attitude which in turn promoted success in her studies. Next key was her parents circumastance aligneing in such a way that ended up with her being born… key to her success was luck
Timothy Anderson
If I was a computer geek I would have ambitions of working with a company that is in the lead in developing technologies that people want and use and is very successful at it. Google is at the forefront of the search engine industry and should stay there for a long time. They are expanding rapidly into other related fields and their popularity is through the roof. They are innovative and create an atmosphere where computer geeks can be creative.
Google is a great place to work not only because of of the atmosphere that they create for the computer geeks to be creative but also they consider the creature comforts that people want in a work environment. People want to go to work and feel like they are at a place that is comfortable and relaxing. They also do not want to feel like there are any restrictions to what the can and can not do. Therefore google has created a workplace that fits their employees needs and wants.
Marissa Mayer is where she is today because she was in the right place at the right time and she had the skills and drive to take advantage of the opportunity that was presented to her by the two founders of the company. She worked really hard at the beginning and showed that she had the makings of a talented VP for google. She is obviously very good at her job and since she has been with the company for a long time she knows where the company has come from and that gives her a good vision for where the company should be going.
Google has many issues facing it today such as questions about how they should use the information they collect and how that power can be used and what measures should be in place to avoid the misuse of that power.
Rachael Brown
Google is ranked the best place to work in America because of the flexible environment and freedoms that employees experience there. For example, employees are able to bring their dogs to work, eat high-class meals for free, play beach volleyball on their breaks etc. Google also is known for finding ways to keep their employees motivated and happy, thereby creating an environment and company culture that all the best and brightest individuals strive to be in.
Marissa Mayer joined Google at age 24 when few people had heard of the company. Mayer was extremely involved in the growth of the company by writing computer code, and utilizing her “inner geek”. She was the first woman engineer at Google, and has grown with the company, becoming the VP of local maps and localization services. I believe that the key to her successful career was her computer based knowledge and ability to write code. She utilized her computer knowledge to help contribute to building Google as a company. Without her knowledge, she could not have gained an important place that she has in the company today. She is a prime example of how specializing in a certain area (in this case computers) can create success in the long term.
Darren Fletcher
Marissa Mayer seems like a real down to earth person and I can speculate on what makes her great. She is truly a dedicated woman that really put in some hard work back when everything was small. Being a very approachable person along with being down to earth is a quality that will help anyone get to the top and stay there. She is very informed and is a hands on boss that seems to be a great joy to work for. I admire Google for their dedication to her and her dedication to her. This marriage is truly a match and have quality employee’s in top management position is a much needed characteristic to become and maintain a high level of workplace culture that is sought after by all.
Sagrika
Google being the top ranked place to work at is no surprise because it is known for the perks it gives to its employees which makes the work experience worth while. There are places offered to bring in pets at the company, there are several dinning halls within the company for its employees. I am pretty sure the privileges offered by Google keeps the employees happy and it helps in the growth of the organization itself. The strongest feature of the company is maintaining the company’s culture even with the growing employee rate, they are able to maintain the loyalty from its employees.
Marissa has worked for Google for 13 years and there is a reason why she went for this long. One of them is because Google is a great place to work at. Even though she used to put 100 to 150 hours per week, she did not quit. It is because Google has provided a great environment to work at. She has maintained her loyalty towards the company and the company has paid her the benefits. I see it as a give and take process because Google is able to reward Marissa for her hard work and that is what helped Marissa become one of the leading women in the IT world and that is the reason Google is one of the top places to work at as it is able to reward its workers for their work.
Ashley O'Donnell
The reasons why Google is ranked highly for a great place to work is quite obvious. They are really one of the innovators in creating a unique and more free workplace. They aren’t very many large corporation that let you bring your pets to work, have athletic facilities such as beach volleyball. I have even heard that they have slides for the employee to play on and even barbershops to cut employees hair. Very few large corporations are also very unlikely to provide very many alternatives to food choices and provide them for free nonetheless.
Marissa Mayer’s success in her career I believe has very much to do with the Google company itself. I think the Google environment has been very essential to the advancement of her career. They seem to really encourage creativity which has let her to really put her thoughts and ideas out there giving her the chance to succeed. Also, by referring to herself as a geek instead of a woman it really ignores the gender aspect allowing her to fit into the company like anybody else since she was the first woman engineer in the Google company.
Michael Holland
I believe Google is ranked so highly as a place to work, because they treat their employees as people, and not as machines, robots, or as drones. Google understands the need to take care of its employees, and it does. Whether is be the free onsite food services or hair styling, Google makes the effort to keep its employees comfortable and happy. A growing trend in the workplace today is to allow employees to operate in whatever manner they choose, at home even, as long as the work gets done, and they still provide a good image for the company. Google goes the extra mile and makes its employees feel good about being part of the company, and makes them want to continue on.
I think the key to Ms.Mayers success is the fact that she does not let the fact that she is a women hold her back. She identifies herself as a “geek at google” rather than a “woman at google”. Traditionally it has been difficult for women to achieve such success as Ms Mayers has due to gender basis, however that is starting to change, and it is starting to change because of women like her who work hard, put the time in, and just show the rest of the world that they can be successful, and that there is no difference between men and women when it comes to business.
Linli He
I definitely think it is quit clear why Google is ranked number one of the best places to work when I finish watching this video, because the employee have a great flexible time to do whatever they want. The Google workplace is more like a recreation place for the employees, which makes employees feel comfortable, and stimulate innovative thinking. The Google workplace offers 11 Gourmet restaurants that caters the diverse food needs of its employees, and all food is free. The workplace is also provided health fitness center, ares for leisure activities, including pool, foosball tables, volleyball courts. Even barber, company massage, and car wash are available in the corporation. These services or entertainments are seems like a company culture; they gives the empoloyees’ brains a rest, and satisfy their employees. The employees all seem to have a great time in the workplace, and most importantly the workers are extremely happy. The Google gets in return from employees; extreme loyalty, people love to work even at odd hours and great productivity that makes them grow phenomenal. The Google company have a small creative teams, highly flexible, and highly motivated teams. The Google gives their employees most comfortable place to work, and employees in Google bring a great benefits to the company.
Tuan Tran
Yes, I definitely agree that Google is ranked as one of the great place to work. All that perks, you gotta be crazy to reject a job offered with Google. I will work there for free just to network with the employees and to gain connection and learn experience within the organization. Knowing that there are one billion Google users worldwide and able to go to sleep or tell your friend that your work contributes to helping one billion people surf the net is rewarding. However, I have to watch my weight because of all that free food. Well I know I am too dumb to hold a high salary position but if the pay good for janitor and even with some of the perks I still would work consider working for Google. Marissa Mayer’s key to her successful career is hard work and love what you do. To me, any job is rewarding if you look forward to going to work. Therefore, you have the passion and love what you are doing and you can build a success.
Joe thiongo
this video is a great example of a company that brings out the best out of the employees by providing them with the opportunity to work in a comfortable environment. most companies do not feel that making employees comfortable will help boost work ethic and productivity. Google has created an environment that allows the employees to bring their dogs to work and a free meals. this helps the employees to value the company and the work they do because google has taken the extra stride to make them feel at home. As you can see today, google has become a top company because of putting employees first. the employees then feel really loyal to the company and do all they can to help it succeed. This feeling is translated by Marissa Mayer in the interview. Marissa is very proud of being an employee of google and credits google for helping her excel in her career. Even though she was working long hours at google, she was ok with it because she was determined to see it succeed to see another day where she can work at a place where she loves. I am sure that every google employee loves coming to work everyday because of the loyalty they have to the company. The company plays a huge role in the success of Marissa’s career because google helps her and all other employees to work in an environment that brings the best out of them.
Lealand McCallum
I believe that google is a great place to work because of a few reasons. One reason being that the employees have the freedom they need/ want to create their work the way they want. They have a set deadline in which they must have their work done by, but it’s not just a strict 9-5 day which is awesome. Maybe you’re a person who enjoys sleeping in and staying up late to finish up. another reason is the perks that Google provides. there are plenty of videos on YouTube giving tours of google’s campus’ they have fitness centers in which you may workout if you want, numerous food choices to fit everyone’s needs and wants.. I think it really boils down to the freedom and trust that Google instills in their employees. They just say have this done by such and such date, they don’t tell them how, where, or when they complete it, they just want it completed.