Google is the antithesis of branding. If Coca-Cola were breaking into today's soda market and plopped white unmarked cans on the grocery shelf that were labeled "Hypothesis" without benefit of any descriptors, pre-launch advertising or "buzz", they would fail miserably.

Your personal experiences while walking the aisles of your local grocery store is identical to an active job search. You have made a conscious decision to go to the store/find a job. You have an idea of what it is you want. You enter the "store" in the form of the internet job boards and will be presented with aisle after aisle of brightly colored and neatly arranged jobs (products), each of which is vying for your attention. The brands that have invested heavily in marketing are direct, authentic and compelling. Every job is labeled "interesting" and they all vie for varying experiences such as "fun", "fast-paced" or "challenging". In a job search or trip to the store, recognized brands have recognized products and recognized employer brands, Nike, Microsoft, Nordstrom, Southwest, compared to the grocery aisles Coca-Cola, Kleenex and Windex.

Google’s employment brand has been viral; it was created by their leadership and has led to their ability to out perform every competitor when it comes to talent acquisition. Google constantly shifts their employment brand as they grow to maintain the allure. People want to work for Google because they are perceived as the best. Google’s employer brand is both authentic and relevant because they DELIVER on their brand promise. This is the ideal employer brand.

Google is what is referred to as a "magnet employer"; one that everyone wants to work for, such as Coca-Cola is a magnet brand. When your job search leads you into the Mom and Pop store (directly to a smaller firms website) to do your job hunting, your branding experience is limited to their careers landing page. The first impression is how much the company has invested in your initial candidate experience. Is the page welcoming? Does it provide any links or language to establish culture?

When evaluating your next employer from either the initial brand reaction or through the entire candidate/employer experience, you have to use a few evaluators:

Does the company's brand describe the meaning of working for the organization? Is it compelling?
Does the brand describe an experience? It isn't a slogan, logo or press release; it should reveal actual experiences of current employees.
Is the brand relevant to you? Does it interest you or attract you?
Is it unique? Does the brand remove the company from the pack of similar companies you’re evaluating? Would a current employee recognize the brand as their company?
Is it authentic? While it is impossible as a candidate to judge whether the branding reflects reality, a great way to examine authenticity is to ask the people who interview you if they recognize the values and culture you describe from their own branding.

Lastly, IF you decide to evaluate a company by its brand (and you should), remember that employer branding is about value and culture, NOT products and services