5 ms·

Google is the first big company that I actually rejected after receiving an offer from them. I had a really bad experience, and just felt like the company was l

Google is the first big company that I actually rejected after receiving an offer from them. I had a really bad experience, and just felt like the company was looking for things I am much more qualified from. I was interviewed by engineers who were all just recent college grads, no managers, tech leads, or anyone I felt were probably more qualified to interview me. The environment felt toxic. Most people I talked to looked unclean, like they just got out of bed to work. Had red eyes like they were tired. And the workplace was just not as clean as I was hoping. There were a set of dirty plates in the conference room I was interviewed in, and no one bothered to remove them the entire time. From people I have talked to, my experience was pretty unique, and most people have had good interviews there. But even as an outlier, I don't like the chance of it being exactly like my experience. Things like this really put stuff in perspective for me though. I still went through the entire process, but in the end, rejected the offer. I wouldn't want to work in an environment like Google's, it feels toxic, and engineers feel like they are overworking themselves to death.

SteveCoast 9y ago
Maybe you failed the test that you were supposed to remove the plates :-O
- chrisper 9y ago
  It's not his job to remove the plates.
  - deleted 9y ago
    [deleted]
  - rounce 9y ago
    Interview task: Implement dirty plate & cutlery classifier.
  - Slansitartop 9y ago
    That's the joke.
bitL 9y ago
Actually your experience is not unique; you could see on Googlers in Mountain View or Zurich that many of them are one step from a burn-out, they are also often crammed next to each other in larger noisy rooms; most of them seemed pretty stressed out, not joyful, starting from receptionists. Such a huge contrast in attitude comparing to Microsoft (content/happy) or Facebook (high-energy).
- latencyloser 9y ago
  I too rejected a job at Google after feeling like they just wanted to pigeon-hole me, so to speak. But, as a former Microsoft employee as well, it's not all sunshine there either. While experiences tend to vary, there I was crammed in a small, loud room with too many other people who I'd argue were more complacent than content. Similarly, I've had colleagues at Facebook describe it more as "exhausting" than high energy. I've come to the opinion that, unless you're a "famous" engineer, or very senior one, that can command a lot of respect and autonomy, most of these "dream job" companies are going to feel a lot more like a well paying sweatshop. At least, that's been my experience as someone with only several years in the field.
  - bitL 9y ago
    Yeah, it depends on the project usually. It's like what you are hearing from people at XYZ (a higher rated company on Glassdoor than FB/GOOG I don't want to mention by name) who left to Google and 50% of them returning back after ~1 year telling everyone how much it sucked there :D I really think you should stay in such a company for 1-3 years, build your cash cushion (i.e. stage 1 booster) and then lift-off (make your own startup using connections you made).
    - kbwt 9y ago
      > people at XYZ who left to Google and 50% of them returning back after ~1 year If only it were possible to access the data Linkedin has on employee flows. You could get an idea on which companies are actually enjoyable places to work at versus ones that people are fleeing.
  - 9y ago
leemailll 9y ago
That’s really unprofessional and disrespectful for a company like google.
walshemj 9y ago
Is strange the US being such a litigious country that they let "civilians" with apparently no training interview people. I worked for a FTSE 100 company and unless you had passed a hard 3 day residential course you could not interview anyone.
- abadaba 9y ago
  At Google this is not the case. New employees are barred from interviewing for the first 6 to 12 months of employment. Afterwards they attend several training lectures, and shadow multiple interviews before becoming eligible to interview on their own.
regularfry 9y ago
Having read about (but not been through) the Google process, the idea is that you get interviewed by people who would be working for and with you, not (just?) people above you. Is that possible here?
Meey9oop 9y ago
> recent college grads, no managers, tech leads I've just completed an onsite at Google MV and this stood out to me, too. This is Google's famed incredibly tough bar to pass? Out of six companies that I interviewed with in the area, Google's interview was the easiest. I was also shocked at the lack of social skills from the interviewers. Most seemed to be 40-year-old college grads who had never left the Google campus. One interviewer arrived 20 minutes late, badmouthed the company and apologized in advance because I would probably get rejected. It really lowered my opinion from "wow this is famous Google I'll be with superstars" to "oh maybe I'll tolerate it for childcare benefits and comp but with an expectation to shift offices in a few years".

SteveCoast 9y ago

Maybe you failed the test that you were supposed to remove the plates :-O

chrisper 9y ago
It's not his job to remove the plates.
- deleted 9y ago
  [deleted]
- rounce 9y ago
  Interview task: Implement dirty plate & cutlery classifier.
- Slansitartop 9y ago
  That's the joke.

bitL 9y ago

Actually your experience is not unique; you could see on Googlers in Mountain View or Zurich that many of them are one step from a burn-out, they are also often crammed next to each other in larger noisy rooms; most of them seemed pretty stressed out, not joyful, starting from receptionists. Such a huge contrast in attitude comparing to Microsoft (content/happy) or Facebook (high-energy).

latencyloser 9y ago
I too rejected a job at Google after feeling like they just wanted to pigeon-hole me, so to speak. But, as a former Microsoft employee as well, it's not all sunshine there either. While experiences tend to vary, there I was crammed in a small, loud room with too many other people who I'd argue were more complacent than content. Similarly, I've had colleagues at Facebook describe it more as "exhausting" than high energy. I've come to the opinion that, unless you're a "famous" engineer, or very senior one, that can command a lot of respect and autonomy, most of these "dream job" companies are going to feel a lot more like a well paying sweatshop. At least, that's been my experience as someone with only several years in the field.
- bitL 9y ago
  Yeah, it depends on the project usually. It's like what you are hearing from people at XYZ (a higher rated company on Glassdoor than FB/GOOG I don't want to mention by name) who left to Google and 50% of them returning back after ~1 year telling everyone how much it sucked there :D I really think you should stay in such a company for 1-3 years, build your cash cushion (i.e. stage 1 booster) and then lift-off (make your own startup using connections you made).
  - kbwt 9y ago
    > people at XYZ who left to Google and 50% of them returning back after ~1 year If only it were possible to access the data Linkedin has on employee flows. You could get an idea on which companies are actually enjoyable places to work at versus ones that people are fleeing.
- 9y ago

leemailll 9y ago

That’s really unprofessional and disrespectful for a company like google.

walshemj 9y ago

Is strange the US being such a litigious country that they let "civilians" with apparently no training interview people. I worked for a FTSE 100 company and unless you had passed a hard 3 day residential course you could not interview anyone.

abadaba 9y ago
At Google this is not the case. New employees are barred from interviewing for the first 6 to 12 months of employment. Afterwards they attend several training lectures, and shadow multiple interviews before becoming eligible to interview on their own.

regularfry 9y ago

Having read about (but not been through) the Google process, the idea is that you get interviewed by people who would be working for and with you, not (just?) people above you. Is that possible here?

Meey9oop 9y ago

> recent college grads, no managers, tech leads I've just completed an onsite at Google MV and this stood out to me, too. This is Google's famed incredibly tough bar to pass? Out of six companies that I interviewed with in the area, Google's interview was the easiest. I was also shocked at the lack of social skills from the interviewers. Most seemed to be 40-year-old college grads who had never left the Google campus. One interviewer arrived 20 minutes late, badmouthed the company and apologized in advance because I would probably get rejected. It really lowered my opinion from "wow this is famous Google I'll be with superstars" to "oh maybe I'll tolerate it for childcare benefits and comp but with an expectation to shift offices in a few years".