Google launches 2 Hour Recruiting Video Starring Owen Wilson and Vince Vaughn

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Google launches 2 Hour Recruiting Video Starring Owen Wilson and Vince Vaughn

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Wow! Talk about taking it to the next level! Wow.

Google launches 2 Hour Recruiting Video Starring Owen Wilson and Vince Vaughn

 

the-internship-google

Google is launching a 2-hour recruiting video starring Owen Wilson and Vince Vaughn. It will soon be in a movie theater near you.  Seriously. Check out the trailer below.


Okay, so its not REALLY a recruiting video, per se. It is actually a regular movie that takes place on the campuses of Google. It showcases what its like to work there and gives you a real feel for the great and wonderful things that take place there. Oh, wait a minute! Isn’t that a recruiting video?

Curiously enough, Google does not have a financial stake in the movie. (The LA Times said so.) But it did give the film crew access to their Googleplex campus and consulted with them on creating a Google-like set.

Fyi, the movie debuts on June 7th. I would really, really, really want to know how this affects their recruiting numbers. Will they get a surge of new applicants? How many of those candidates will they hire? And if so, how long before there is a recruiting video featuring Facebook? And not to be outdone, Microsoft produces one as well. Could this be a new trend in recruiting?!!!!

Probably not. But its fun to speculate. What do you think? Leave me a comment below?

-Jim

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105 Comments

  1. I’m sure applicant rate will increase, but if an someone didn’t already know about Google culture and the perks of working there before the movie, chances are they aren’t qualified in the first place.

    1. I disagree. Many high school students do not have a strong idea of what working for a company like Google (nor any corporate job) is like. This movie could have a nice impact getting such teenagers excited about computer science, math, and working at a silicon valley-type company.

    1. Um, maybe because you’re trying to recruit .NET developers for $17-20/hr. What an insult. What kind of deveoper do think will work at that rate? Is that what you want to offer your client?

  2. What I’m wondering is what happens to all the 20 year old when they turn 30… 40? Is it like Logon’s Run – do they just disappear?

    1. brilliant point. does google support diversity? is google against ism’s? . what are the age demographics at google hq? Google customer support, can you tell us?

  3. Google already has a very high numner of applications and I think they recruit 1 out of 2000 applications. I don’t think this is a recruiting video but it’s a marketing and advertising campaign.

  4. this is sure to be funny and places google in history of those companies that will be immortal through the utilization of hollywood….LOL

  5. Hiring strategies aside – is not use of their premises product placement – a form of sponsorship aka marketing, albeit clever marketing?
    As to hiring policies, am curious as to this notion that 20 something’s hold the title deeds to innovation!
    Love Owen Wilson look forward to seeing the movie.

  6. The army, air force and navy have been doing this for decades. Depending on which side does it, it’s often called ‘propaganda’.

    But I’m so going to watch this film anyways 🙂

  7. Actually most of the movie was filmed at the Georgia Institue of Technology campus in Atlanta. They just put up Google signs everywhere.

  8. Fantastic way to grab attention to internships at a big enterprise like Google.
    Movies should be made with internships in other companies as well. Good recruitment idea!

  9. This is definitely an innovative approach. The fact that the film is screened in theaters. Despite the fact that Google have no intentions to gained from the screening. Is it marks the next target of companies and brands? Become producers of content. Apparently so.

  10. Weird Google doesn’t need a recruiting video to attract candidates – I think they already have too many. Almost everyone in the world, including antelopes on savannah, applied to work there. And those guys and gals who fit to their profile don’t usually watch Owen Wilson movies, anyway 🙂

  11. Reminds me of when the Facebook Movie “Social Network” came out, it enlightened me about the intricacies of Facebook and why I needed to care. I look forward to seeing this movie–I LOVE Google and I in Joy Owen Wilson and Vince Vaughn (plus the 80’s references and music–how could it get any better)?

  12. I cannot believe Google didn’t pay any royalties for the advertising. This is total nonsense. There must be some hidden financing program.

    + John Goodman, sounds like fun. Another “entertaining” no brainer, sweet

  13. hahaha..I really loved it..looking forward to watch..I bet that Google has all the power needed to face the criticism they’ll get because of the movie..

  14. Owen and Vince will rock this movie. Recruitment will be on the rise regardless. 77% of US workers hate their jobs. Wouldn’t it be refreshing to have fun at work? What a concept!

  15. Google is rated the #1 place in America to work. And my friend was just hired as an intern! There is a lot of Google love: We’ve even adopted it as a verb and added tense to it. (English Major) At least we’re seeing some original material coming out of Hollywood. I was getting tired of sequels.

  16. I totally sympathize with these characters, how can I not?

    I work in the tech-web industry;
    I am from the 80’s;
    and I am o-o-old!

    Do I need to apply to an interview for an internship and hope for a follow-up job at Google too? … Ok! Where do I sign up? ^^

  17. World’s most recognized brand. This movie is going to be awesome. Even better than The Social Network… wonder what Facebook will be up to after this debut. A summer movie for them perhaps – a love story off FB. Ha! Just a thought.

  18. Some said Google practices age discrimination, others it is a PR or recruiting strategy. Leaving the PC correctness on side, the movie seems to be pretty funny but most of all, it gives a chance to reflect on all the previous mentioned comments. Google´s premise is innovation. For the employees watching, it will be a chance to think if they are turning becoming just “the same”. It is an opportunity to have them thinking about they are becoming more like everyone else in their industry and how they can change paradigm again. At the same time, it is a great opportunity in terms of recruiting for a company that is looking for diversity and the next “big thing”.

  19. Google is always thinking outside the box, being differente, being creative. Maybe this movie will be another Hollywood production, and I really hope not.

  20. This looks completely lame. This movie appears to be for those baby boomers who think they need to wait in line to buy apps at the Apple store. I think even Honey Boo Boo is smart enough to realize this is not a reflection of what it is like to work at Google.

    1. Not surprised it’s not a Google flick per se, or we’d have seen younger, more current faces. the tacit support in allowing Googleplex access is a new one. Whether or not this is a direct Google move or one that came off the Friday generate-your-idea-dear-staff incubation structure, be sure the whole board and business drivers will keep an eye on the impact and assuredly move in if it’s either a great success or indicates an opening for such…a safe way to test the waters 🙂

    2. I normally can’t stand these 2 buffoons, but this did give me a giggle. Perhaps a few of their more serious colleagues could star in a movie about the “darker” side of SV and how people are destroyed over an idea. Hey, I was once a writer – maybe it’s time to pull out my pen!

    3. I have a problem with sweeping generalizations. I do know how to purchase an app (go figure). But, hey, here’s a shout-out to Tom for stereotyping Boomers.

    1. I’m right there with you Liz. The movie looks great. Some of the youngsters here might need to loosen up a little and have some fun!
      You don’t have to hyper analyze everything you see. I don’t think the movie is a message for everyone to run out and make a “recruiting video”, although if done right it could be a great idea.

    2. Gen X and Y is too busy working to pay for your damn Social Security and Medicare and your unfunded pension obligations to have a sense of humor. None of that will be around for us when we hit retirement age, which will probably be 85.

      1. So you take it out on the baby boomers? Because it’s their fault somehow that this whack system we’re all a part of is failing all of us? Come on…. They were only trying their hands at the “system” they were given at the time. Our current engine of society is fundamentally flawed. I’m sure the next generation after us will have many similar things to say about our current system and then try to find fault with us? When we’re just trying our hands at the “system” we’ve been given.

  21. I wouldn’t work for Google. After doing a couple of phone interviews with them, they seem to go out of their way to try and prove that “they” are smarter than you. I was completely turned off by the attitude and surliness.

    1. After actually working there, I can tell you for a fact, the pretentiousness ended after the interview. After the interview, things change. They exist to help you grow.

      It’s sort of like getting beat down into a gang. After the beating, you’re family.

    2. Same here Rob, I agree with you 100%. One of the believes is that most of us think that a great company must also be a great company for us to work. I don’t think so.

  22. Last I checked google had no recruiting problems(they never did). Both these guys are very funny, but you should look at this from an ROI perspective. How many people would actually now want to work at google after this video?(again they never had a problem attracting talent). They spent a whole lot of money on these super star actors and was there a more effective way of getting attention of future recruits? Its all about the ROI. The last theory could be something you, I and others don’t know. I guess we will find out.

    1. There is not one company that is doing well in Silicon Valley that has ‘no recruiting problems.’ Google may attract a great deal of talent but their recruiters are on the phone everyday making calls to find the hot candidates. I know.

    2. It is good publicity. It is also a good part of a bigger branding strategy. This is fun, new, and gives some insight into their corporate culture. If anything it makes them more know, by putting them in the news and in peoples mouths. They are not only our main search engine but their name exists on so many other plaines now, in so many different interests, for all ages. Clever move in my opinion.

  23. Judging by the Trailer, the movie is also a satire (of Google) and pokes fun at our need for ‘winners and losers’, so-called A-Players, superstars, heros and other forms of ‘Rankiing’ that permeate society and the business world. Although it may not be an accurate account of daily life at Google, all movies and actors use exaggeration and drama to get a message across, and I see a strong message of “Get over Yourselves”. 🙂 Every dog has their day…

  24. So it’s not a movie about Google per se, but your concern is about Google using this film as a recrutiment tool? Aren’t you perpertuating this message by directly linking this movie with Google on the basis the film may have been shot there? It’s this type of “analysis” that the company was most likely banking on. If the film is well recieved, they will happily imply they were involved, if it tanks they can say that any simillarity to companies living or dead was purely unintentional…

  25. Well, lame, corny, dumb, whatever you may call it… There will be people going to see this movie and yes it is food for thought for those that find it hard to come out of there tight boxes!!!!

  26. A majority of the movie was shot in Atlanta at Georgia Tech, and not on the Google campus in Mountain View. It was pretty cool to see a standard college campus turned into a “Google” campus. They really did have slides and fancy couches set up during the shooting to make it seem real. Guys working at Google have it real good!

  27. These guys are awesome. I don’t think there’ a single Vince Vaughn movie that I didn’t like. He gave me something to aspire to when I saw Swingers while I was in college (do the math), and I even enjoyed some of the (gag) pseudo-chick-flicks he was in like The Break-Up. This movie looks funny, especially for those of us who have our fingers on the Googlepulse and who offer internships to aspiring online marketers. I may even use this clip to recruit my own interns, in more of a “what not to expect when interning with my company.”

  28. As a software developer, although not a huge fan of comedies, I will definitely be seeing this movie. I am a little older and past my prime, so I won’t be running over to apply with Google, but if they’d been around when I was fresh out of college, of course I would have. It’s a dream job. I will see the movie just to get a feel for what working at Google might be like.

    But for now, I must return to my crappy hours and substandard wages working for the state of Kentucky (a dead-end job if I ever saw one–warning, fellas!).

  29. “Link bait” is quite possibly becoming the most annoying trait of journalists nowadays. It’s just so lazy to make up a lie in the headline, then correct it in the article with a disclaimer like “ok so the headline is a load of bull, just to get you over here under false pretences…”

  30. “Will they get a surge of new applicants? How many of those candidates will they hire? And if so, how long before there is a recruiting video featuring Facebook? And not to be outdone, Microsoft produces one as well. Could this be a new trend in recruiting?!!!!”

    If you’re asking “Will there be a new trend of companies releasing blockbuster movies to entice better candidates to respond to job ads?” the answer is patently no. But, taken broadly, many companies (even SMEs) already have videos on YouTube promoting their company and what it’s like to work there, so it couldn’t exactly be called a “new trend”.

  31. Movie, comedy, contemporary themes, top actors, 20TH CENTURY FOX, late Spring 2013 release. Geek entertainment magnet.

  32. Key things to take away from the article…Google did not invest in this movie, so what is it – free advertising. I think it is targeted at our kids coming up through the ranks, they are painting Google as a fun place to work, a company that can laugh at itself. I think it is brilliant.

  33. Tech unemployment is 3.5% and the sheer lack of talent (numbers) make a competitive market. What I took away was, I hope Google signed up for editing rights before they release and it would have been a good idea for a company to hire them to actually do a “recruiting movie” (a la Funny or Die – Will Ferrel type short).
    There’s so much boring, old, drab, dreary, dull, and monotonous recruiting “techniques” still being used. Think of the last time you tried to read through and respond to a job posting. Everyone says funny or hip is good and techies like things like challenging projects, but few seem to recruit/advertise this way.

  34. Google is never looking going to pay fair wages, their mission is to subevert capitalism and go with cheaper H1Bs.

  35. This is just too funny – *rofl*
    It is infantile, but also reflects some of the over-belief we have in the culture of Google. Earlier we could buy into their revolutionary youth approach were innovation, ingenuity and integrity was crucial to the culture and that bought them a lot of points and they are still living out of them… But come on, this satire is awesome, Google have no or less core values left and the new lead it is under have a totally different approach to tech and the society in a whole. So NO it is not a Google add as a tech would perceive it. Happy hunting for ingenious pple Google.
    Disclosure: Still support the Android movement, but I wish Google would have done more for Open Source and GPL.
    //L

  36. Looks like fun movie. I will watch it.
    I recall when I started to work for Microsoft it had the same “campus” feeling. So many young, talented and bright people in one happy place. No wonder both Bill’s and Steve’s companies manage to produce magic products.

  37. Recruiting videos are not anything new. Many applicant sites allow you to attach a file (including videos) and they teach this in job hunting in the bigger schools now as a way to set yourself apart. With 25.00 aps for video editing like iMovie anyone can make one. The issue is does it really set you apart? If you aren’t great at public speaking or don’t look as good on camera you may be prejudged before you ever make it in for an interview.

  38. The #s won’t change. Maybe if two real nerds with smarts were playing the roles but not with the two who are twice the average Googler’s age. In fact I think quality will go down. More who shouldn’t ever apply will.

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