Google's ex-VP shares top skill looked for at job interviews: 'Very few people had it'

Claire Hughes Johnson shared how she would evaluate prospective Google employees. (Screengrab from video shared by @chughesjohnson on Twitter)

Claire Hughes Johnson spent 10 years at Google as a vice president where she oversaw aspects of Gmail, Google Apps, and consumer operations. Her role required her to spend almost 40 hours a week conducting job interviews. Recently, she opened up about the top skill she looked for in prospective Google employees.

"I always had one skill that I looked for in candidates before anything else: self-awareness," Johnson told CNBC. "Sure, your experience and skills matter, but they can be learned. And when someone is highly self-aware, they’re more motivated to learn because they’re honest about what they need to work on. They also relate better to their colleagues and managers."

She also said that self-awareness is a rare trait. "Research shows that although 95 percent of people think they’re self-aware, only 10 percent to 15 percent actually are," Johnson told CNBC.

Elaborating on how she would evaluate candidates during their interviews at Google, Johnson said, "I always watch for two words: Too much 'I' is a red flag that they may not be humble or collaborative; too much 'we' may obscure what role they played in the situation. There needs to be a balance."

"I typically learn something revealing when I ask about their specific role. A positive answer would be: 'It was my idea, but the credit goes to the whole team'."

Johnson added that she used to ask the candidates how their colleagues would describe them. If they only said good things, she would question what constructive feedback they received and what they had done to improve to check their orientation towards learning and self-improvement, and to see if they have taken that feedback to heart.