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This is incorrect! I began as a full-time remote employee and stayed so for 16 months until it made more sense for me to move to HQ. There are hundreds of remo

This is incorrect! I began as a full-time remote employee and stayed so for 16 months until it made more sense for me to move to HQ. There are hundreds of remote workers, but being local has definitely allowed me to not need to rely on email and video chats so heavily. (Disclosure: Google employee)

EGreg 9y ago
How does one request full-time work in the interview? Is it normal to do it during the onboarding process?
- theDoug 9y ago
  Full-time remote work? If you're going to reach an agreement on where you will live and work it's better to do it as early in the process as possible. I'd say WELL before onboarding and interview. Like conversation #1 with the recruiter/internal contact. It's about mutual understanding and respect, and making sure your physical position would provide value. The smaller the team, the better, but it's 100% on you to explain when there are 70,000 counter-examples in play. Same would go for discussing why a certain regional office (like Seattle) would maybe work vs. Mountain View. You have to be where you will give your best work to your self and team. I got really tired of flying back and forth and holding meetings being the one remote person out of ~12-20 got really ridiculous, so a move was inevitable for me.
- jon-wood 9y ago
  When I'm applying for jobs I'll open with an email to their recruiter saying that I'm interested and intend to apply, but only if they can confirm they're open to me working remotely the majority of the time, I also mention my expected salary range. Doing it that way saves us both time and hassle in going through the motions only to find down the line that it would never have worked out because of either work arrangements or salary.
milesward 9y ago
I concur: I'm typing this from my home office in Palm Springs, and I'm a Director at Google.
- foobarge 9y ago
  Same here - not a the same level though :-) Undisclosed location from the European Alps - I've always worked remotely, even when my company HQs were in Sunnyvale and I was living a few blocks from the office.
- nunez 9y ago
  how long did it take for you to obtain clearance on that? i tried to create a plan to go remote within a year of starting, and i was told that people WAY more senior than me have tried and failed to go remote
- JeremyBanks 9y ago
  Directors might get to work remotely. Good for you. I hope you enjoy Palm Springs while your reports are trapped on 101. Mere Developers are essentially never permitted to work remotely long-term. Google would rather lose someone valuable like Tim Bray to a major competitor than allow him to do so. If you're a global subject expert like Professor Hinton, maybe you'll be accommodated, but you dare don't mislead people into believing it's remotely common. That would be a lie.
  - obstinate 9y ago
    Probably more dependent on one's immediate manager and/or chain than on company wide policy. Personally, I would not want to report to someone who spends the majority of time remote. But maybe this person is a really great boss.
    - openplatypus 9y ago
      > I would not want to report to someone who spends the majority of time remote Why? There is really little to no difference if person is in next cubicle or video chat away.

EGreg 9y ago

How does one request full-time work in the interview? Is it normal to do it during the onboarding process?

theDoug 9y ago
Full-time remote work? If you're going to reach an agreement on where you will live and work it's better to do it as early in the process as possible. I'd say WELL before onboarding and interview. Like conversation #1 with the recruiter/internal contact. It's about mutual understanding and respect, and making sure your physical position would provide value. The smaller the team, the better, but it's 100% on you to explain when there are 70,000 counter-examples in play. Same would go for discussing why a certain regional office (like Seattle) would maybe work vs. Mountain View. You have to be where you will give your best work to your self and team. I got really tired of flying back and forth and holding meetings being the one remote person out of ~12-20 got really ridiculous, so a move was inevitable for me.
jon-wood 9y ago
When I'm applying for jobs I'll open with an email to their recruiter saying that I'm interested and intend to apply, but only if they can confirm they're open to me working remotely the majority of the time, I also mention my expected salary range. Doing it that way saves us both time and hassle in going through the motions only to find down the line that it would never have worked out because of either work arrangements or salary.

milesward 9y ago

I concur: I'm typing this from my home office in Palm Springs, and I'm a Director at Google.

foobarge 9y ago
Same here - not a the same level though :-) Undisclosed location from the European Alps - I've always worked remotely, even when my company HQs were in Sunnyvale and I was living a few blocks from the office.
nunez 9y ago
how long did it take for you to obtain clearance on that? i tried to create a plan to go remote within a year of starting, and i was told that people WAY more senior than me have tried and failed to go remote
JeremyBanks 9y ago
Directors might get to work remotely. Good for you. I hope you enjoy Palm Springs while your reports are trapped on 101. Mere Developers are essentially never permitted to work remotely long-term. Google would rather lose someone valuable like Tim Bray to a major competitor than allow him to do so. If you're a global subject expert like Professor Hinton, maybe you'll be accommodated, but you dare don't mislead people into believing it's remotely common. That would be a lie.
- obstinate 9y ago
  Probably more dependent on one's immediate manager and/or chain than on company wide policy. Personally, I would not want to report to someone who spends the majority of time remote. But maybe this person is a really great boss.
  - openplatypus 9y ago
    > I would not want to report to someone who spends the majority of time remote Why? There is really little to no difference if person is in next cubicle or video chat away.