Today’s human resources (HR) representatives are a far cry from the paper-pushing Toby of the popular TV comedy series The Office, explains David Germann. A BYU Marriott School of Business alum, father, Googler, and all-around people person, Germann is one such example.
Germann graduated from BYU Marriott in 2015 with a degree in business management and an emphasis in organizational behavior and human resources. “BYU Marriott helped me see that HR can and should be a lot more than moving papers around,” says Germann. He explains that seeing people as strategic assets instead of just as personnel has changed workplace environments and his approach to studying HR.
“While I studied at BYU Marriott, I focused on gaining exposure to analytical work and strategic work,” explains Germann. “So as a young professional and recent graduate, I had skills that were unique to the HR world that I could bring to the job to create a company culture centered around people.”
Germann shares that he believes BYU Marriott exemplifies this people-first model. “As an HR nerd, it’s cool to watch BYU Marriott invest in its students,” he says. “The professors at BYU Marriott are second to none. The faculty looks at its students not just as potential business leaders but as people leaders.”
Germann admits that his approach to school at BYU Marriott was perhaps different than what his professors imagined for him. “I hustled hard,” Germann says. “I considered networking, building relationships, and starting my career through internships as a full-time endeavor, with school as sort of my side job.” Germann believes his attitude was crucial to helping him get where he wanted to be in his career.
Currently a recruiter in the People Operations department at Google, Germann continues to hustle and focus on talent management and people-driven policies. But getting to Google was a process that tested him.
As a student, Germann applied to Google four times before finally landing a position. “Google would say ‘no,’ so I would try for an internship elsewhere,” he says. Germann observes that BYU Marriott’s on-campus internship program was instrumental in helping him find opportunities that gave him the real-world, résumé-building experiences he needed to be considered for a job at Google. “I built this reputation within the HR program, kind of like, ‘Here's David. He's doing another on-campus internship.’”
In 2014, after several internships through BYU and at eBay and Goldman Sachs, Germann finally scored his long-awaited internship with Google. Two months in, he received a full-time offer.
While at Google, Germann has continued to explore the different domains of HR in order to round out his experience as an HR professional. “I’ve worked in people development, compensation, and business partnership,” says Germann. He currently works as a recruiter for Google, looking to find the company’s newest employees, or what the company refers to as Googlers. Day-to-day, Germann strategizes with hiring managers about the skills Google needs and works face-to-face with aspiring Nooglers (new Googlers) on their applications and interviews.
“Through my role at Google, I’ve learned that there are many people who, like me, have always wanted to work at Google,” says Germann. “I love my job because I get to collaborate with candidates to match them up with open roles at Google and, in a way, help people's dreams come true.”
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Writer: Liesel Allen
