4 ms·

I've interviewed at lot of companies, a lot of which I had no intention of taking. The interview process I think says a lot about a company. I was very put of

by axaxs 8y ago

I've interviewed at lot of companies, a lot of which I had no intention of taking. The interview process I think says a lot about a company. I was very put off by the processes of 2 of the big companies, so much so I'd never consider them again as I think it's a bit of an indication of how they operate in general. I found smaller companies tend to have a much more honest conversation with you, and offer a lot of intangible benefits. That said, if I were looking for money and benefits, the big ones are hard to beat. Oops, forgot to answer the question. I work for a...smallish company now as I have for years, in a niche market. I appreciate the recognition I get, the freedom I'm afforded, no micromanagement, no stack ranking, etc. That's worth more to me than a larger salary, and having a known name on my resume at this point in my life.

asafira 8y ago
Out of curiosity, why do you think the interview process is a good indicator of how things would be like within the company? I feel like there must be a lot of variance there --- what if the engineer(s) you were with are bad interviewers? What if it wsa a bad day? What if it was a bad time to interview?
- axaxs 8y ago
  Eh... I'll try. I don't want to name any names or show spite. One company, the process was a mess. The recruiter I worked with was fired in the process, which took a few days to sort out. It had many rounds of interviews, each expecting me to purchase material to study. One interview was absurdly bad, one of those 'well, that's not what it says on my paper' types. One interview the interviewer seemed almost condescending, asking questions with no possible one right answer. Another company was much better in most regards, except when it came time for reimbursement. It was a bit 50/50 on whose fault it was, but it amounted to me being on the hook for a few hundred dollars. Not the end of the world, but I was sent a short rather cold message that made me feel like they thought I was trying to cheat them. I was trying to inquire about meeting me halfway, or what I could have done differently to avoid this, and never received a reply. As soon as I removed the flagged charges, it was paid and closed with no further communication. For a company who brags about perks and whatnot, the way they handled that turned me off. It was one of those 'notice how people treat people from who they have nothing to gain' moments. To add insult to injury, another group asked if I'd like to come back out. I replied rather short to that, which in retrospect I feel a little bad about. That said, it is true I didn't work for those companies. But to me, a recruiter or interview process is a first impression. It's their face to me. If I'm off base, though, I'd love to hear tales from others. Edit to add - I will name one company that I really liked their interview...a company in Texas called Meteora. They were using tech way ahead of its time when I interviewed. They never asked me filter questions, or treated me like 'another applicant.' I talked to a competent engineer who explained what they did, what was needed, and their tech stack. I was honest in having no experience with this stack, and they were honest in telling me I wouldn't be a good fit. I wish all interviews were as simple.
  - spraak 8y ago
    What happened in the interview where you owed money? I've never heard of anything like that
    - axaxs 8y ago
      I was given the hotel to stay at, and directions that I didn't need a rental car just to use a taxi or uber/lyft. In my city I've had bad experiences with Uber, so asked the hotel to arrange a taxi for my interview needs. It was a small SUV. The driver was nice, knew the company I was interviewing at, said he does these interviews all day, knew exactly where to go, was waved in by security and knew exactly where to drop me off. Three rides, plus tip, was a bit expensive, but I figured hey it's the bay area. It was a good distance from the airport. Although my receipt was basic, it listed a taxi company. The company I interviewed for told me it's not a real taxi company but a private driver service and they will not pay it. Actually, typing this again made me a bit mad. It was Facebook, who spent the majority of my free day there showing me all the lavish offerings. I actually really liked the people there I met, well most of them. I was very upset by the message they had sent me. I am but a clueless guy from the midwest. They picked the hotel and said get a taxi. I asked the hotel if they'd help with a taxi, and they took care of it. How am I to know it's not a real taxi company?
      - solarkraft 8y ago
        I thought taxi companies were "private driver service"s? Thanks for naming the company.
        axaxs 8y ago
        I may remove it, I'm not quite sure what is and isn't proper to share about an interview process. I will also say, I really did enjoy the interview, and met some of the smartest people I'd ever met in my time there. I def wouldn't let an internet stranger's experience with one part of the interview turn you away. Just my experience.
kyrra 8y ago
What is it you don't like about the Google interviewing process? Having been an interviewer at both Google and send mid-sized companies, I feel like the process at Google is a lot more objective and fair for hiring people.
- axaxs 8y ago
  See my other reply, you can probably figure out which one that is. Some of it was personal preference, some if it I found silly. I purposely didn't want to name companies, I felt it's tacky since it's my personal opinion and view. If you'd like to discuss privately feel free to dm me.
- TACIXAT 8y ago
  Not GP, I recently interviewed there and it felt super dry and impersonal. I think it is designed this way though. The teams ended up being awesome and I accepted on a project I'm stoked for.
- nojvek 8y ago
  Google interviewing process is a joke. If the interviewer can’t remember the name and is reading the wrong resume you’ve failed. I pretty much quit half way because I haven’t seen such a disorganized interview process. They probably get so many engineers wanting to work for them, I think they can afford to let things be broken. Kind of artificially restricting the funnel. Good for them I guess.

by axaxs 8y ago

asafira 8y ago

Out of curiosity, why do you think the interview process is a good indicator of how things would be like within the company? I feel like there must be a lot of variance there --- what if the engineer(s) you were with are bad interviewers? What if it wsa a bad day? What if it was a bad time to interview?

axaxs 8y ago
Eh... I'll try. I don't want to name any names or show spite. One company, the process was a mess. The recruiter I worked with was fired in the process, which took a few days to sort out. It had many rounds of interviews, each expecting me to purchase material to study. One interview was absurdly bad, one of those 'well, that's not what it says on my paper' types. One interview the interviewer seemed almost condescending, asking questions with no possible one right answer. Another company was much better in most regards, except when it came time for reimbursement. It was a bit 50/50 on whose fault it was, but it amounted to me being on the hook for a few hundred dollars. Not the end of the world, but I was sent a short rather cold message that made me feel like they thought I was trying to cheat them. I was trying to inquire about meeting me halfway, or what I could have done differently to avoid this, and never received a reply. As soon as I removed the flagged charges, it was paid and closed with no further communication. For a company who brags about perks and whatnot, the way they handled that turned me off. It was one of those 'notice how people treat people from who they have nothing to gain' moments. To add insult to injury, another group asked if I'd like to come back out. I replied rather short to that, which in retrospect I feel a little bad about. That said, it is true I didn't work for those companies. But to me, a recruiter or interview process is a first impression. It's their face to me. If I'm off base, though, I'd love to hear tales from others. Edit to add - I will name one company that I really liked their interview...a company in Texas called Meteora. They were using tech way ahead of its time when I interviewed. They never asked me filter questions, or treated me like 'another applicant.' I talked to a competent engineer who explained what they did, what was needed, and their tech stack. I was honest in having no experience with this stack, and they were honest in telling me I wouldn't be a good fit. I wish all interviews were as simple.
- spraak 8y ago
  What happened in the interview where you owed money? I've never heard of anything like that
  - axaxs 8y ago
    I was given the hotel to stay at, and directions that I didn't need a rental car just to use a taxi or uber/lyft. In my city I've had bad experiences with Uber, so asked the hotel to arrange a taxi for my interview needs. It was a small SUV. The driver was nice, knew the company I was interviewing at, said he does these interviews all day, knew exactly where to go, was waved in by security and knew exactly where to drop me off. Three rides, plus tip, was a bit expensive, but I figured hey it's the bay area. It was a good distance from the airport. Although my receipt was basic, it listed a taxi company. The company I interviewed for told me it's not a real taxi company but a private driver service and they will not pay it. Actually, typing this again made me a bit mad. It was Facebook, who spent the majority of my free day there showing me all the lavish offerings. I actually really liked the people there I met, well most of them. I was very upset by the message they had sent me. I am but a clueless guy from the midwest. They picked the hotel and said get a taxi. I asked the hotel if they'd help with a taxi, and they took care of it. How am I to know it's not a real taxi company?
    - solarkraft 8y ago
      I thought taxi companies were "private driver service"s? Thanks for naming the company.
      - axaxs 8y ago
        I may remove it, I'm not quite sure what is and isn't proper to share about an interview process. I will also say, I really did enjoy the interview, and met some of the smartest people I'd ever met in my time there. I def wouldn't let an internet stranger's experience with one part of the interview turn you away. Just my experience.

kyrra 8y ago

What is it you don't like about the Google interviewing process? Having been an interviewer at both Google and send mid-sized companies, I feel like the process at Google is a lot more objective and fair for hiring people.

axaxs 8y ago
See my other reply, you can probably figure out which one that is. Some of it was personal preference, some if it I found silly. I purposely didn't want to name companies, I felt it's tacky since it's my personal opinion and view. If you'd like to discuss privately feel free to dm me.
TACIXAT 8y ago
Not GP, I recently interviewed there and it felt super dry and impersonal. I think it is designed this way though. The teams ended up being awesome and I accepted on a project I'm stoked for.
nojvek 8y ago
Google interviewing process is a joke. If the interviewer can’t remember the name and is reading the wrong resume you’ve failed. I pretty much quit half way because I haven’t seen such a disorganized interview process. They probably get so many engineers wanting to work for them, I think they can afford to let things be broken. Kind of artificially restricting the funnel. Good for them I guess.