Many of us have heard about Google's strenuous hiring practices. The company hires some of the smartest people in the world to create and maintain the a Google network of sites that is becoming as ubiquitous as a common toaster. Just the fact that I wrote that sentence is a testament to the Google brand power.

How about being hired to work on the Google AdWords team -- you know, the team responsible for facilitating the advertising that brings in, by most reports, 99% of Google's revenue? That sounds like a big pot of stress to me.

One step to becoming part of the AdWords team is to complete an "AdWords Worksheet" from Google, which is given to applicants after passing a screening interview. It is geared to judge a candidate's basic knowledge of and aptitude for an an AdWords-related position.

This is quite an interesting worksheet indeed. One question, highlighted in this eWeek blog post, asks an applicant to respond to a tobacco company exec complaining that Google turned down his business while accepting ads for pornography. It seems this test question from the AdWords Worksheet is geared to make the applicant think outside the box for a response. With qualitative and quantitative measurements, the candidate is graded for ingenuity, thoughtfulness, completeness and professionalism.

With Google's revenue being raised -- at least, for now -- by AdWords, it's not surprising this is a strenuous test. GOOG shareholders should demand no less.

Brian White has worked in various executive positions in technology and telecommunications and now focuses on editing and writing.