Google hires employees all the time, but interestingly the company has basically put out a help wanted ad on its Webmaster Central blog, looking for academics to help it improve search quality and fight spam.
“Yes, we’re looking for help improving Google search—but this time we’re not asking you to submit more spam reports,” writes Kaspar Szymanski of Google’s Search Quality team. “Although we still appreciate receiving quality spam reports, today we’ve got a different opportunity for you to improve Google Search: how about YOU join our team and do the webspam fighting yourself?”
Earlier this month, Google launched what it called “the biggest refresh in 10 years” to its spam report form. We looked at this more closely here.
It’s worth noting that the job is in Dublin. Szymanski posted the above image, saying that it’s an actual work environment photo taken at the Dublin office.
“Here’s what we’re looking for: open-minded academic graduates willing to work in a multinational environment in our Dublin office,” says Szymanski. “Looking at a site’s source code should not scare you. You should be excited about search engines and the Internet. It’s also essential that you share our aversion to webspam and the drive to make high-quality content accessible. PlayStation or foosball skills are a plus.
So what does Google look for in a spam fighter (or “Search Quality Associate”) exactly?
The requirements are listed as:
- Review assigned sites for quality and content.
- Improve the quality of Google’s search results by evaluating websites to identify areas of concern and interest.
- Cooperate with engineering teams to improve our search quality.
- Develop and share practices for search quality investigation and analysis.
- Investigate and analyze search quality issues in Google’s European indexes.
“As a Search Quality Associate, you have the opportunity to make a significant and direct impact on the quality of Google’s search results through search quality evaluation,” Google says. “You will be working on the cutting edge of search and the forefront of the web ensuring quality information is provided to millions of internet users, and you will be expected to keep pace with constant change in a fast-paced work environment, bringing innovative ideas to improve access to relevant information on the web. You are a web-savvy individual who is a take-charge team player, as well as a quick learner and strongly interested in providing a better search experience for Google users.”
The position requires he candidate to review assigned sites for quality and content and improve the quality of search results by evaluating sites “to identify areas of concern and interest.”