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Bait and switch, where they try to convince you to take a lowball offer because you'll work on prestigious projects like Chrome, then turn around and put you on

Bait and switch, where they try to convince you to take a lowball offer because you'll work on prestigious projects like Chrome, then turn around and put you on G+ is most definitely a punch. Just because it happens (regularly) doesn't mean you should just roll over and take it. There could be inaccuracies here, it's a twitter rant after all, but as presented, that would demoralize a lot of people. You don't have to force your own happiness just because some people aren't getting their dream job at a dream company.

ganeshkrishnan 8y ago
Then reject the job offer? Would you take up the job if the salary was reduced on day one? Some devs would roll with lower salary, some with different projects. You can still call the shots instead of going ahead and whinging publically
- Novashi 8y ago
  >Would you take up the job if the salary was reduced on day one? I'd certainly tell people on as many public forums as possible instead of just letting someone walk all over me and also see if I could get anyone with influence to reverse the decision. Do I sit and take it? Hell no. And you shouldn't either because you should have more self-respect.
  - ganeshkrishnan 8y ago
    Is this your definition of "walking all over you"? How much of a bubble is silicon valley? I have worked in the biggest bank in Australia where subcontractors were siphoning away the source codes and customer data via mobile hotspots. I blew the whistle to data security and got fired in return. Company later paid me huge chunk of money in return for silence. Sometimes you just gotta walk away to better deals. Life is unfair more so if you have a big ego.
    - goliatone 8y ago
      Since you’re sharing, how did you get from being fired to being offered payment for silence? You got terminated and a day/week/month later the bank reached out to you offering money just in case, or they fired you and approached them asking for “cautionary” compensation, or something in between? Not trying to make a moral judgement, I’m wondering how these escenarios play out in real life
      - tyingq 8y ago
        Guessing the sequence of fired->get lawyer->send letter->settlement+non-disclosure is pretty common.
      - ganeshkrishnan 8y ago
        Similar to what the commenter below said except I had one more step of federal court intervening and forcing the settlement
    - Novashi 8y ago
      >Is this your definition of "walking all over you"? How much of a bubble is silicon valley? Yeah it is, but I don't live in the valley. I mean, your example fits my definition too. I just have a much lower threshold that I tolerate apparently. But lets wait for someone else to come by with a more impactful story than yours and we can reset the goal posts.
      - ganeshkrishnan 8y ago
        Sure. Also there was a guy complaining that free food in Google was an execuse to keep employees longer in office to make them work.
    - dunkelheit 8y ago
      Breaking promises is considered unethical in most cultures, not just in silicon valley. Maybe "walking all over you" is an overstatement, but an egregious thing that has happened to you doesn't make what happened to the OP less bad. I've heard this is standard behavior for google - completely disregarding what an applicant wants to work on and putting them instead on a project chosen by the hiring committee. Considering that the range of different projects where you may end up is enormous, I agree that it sucks.
- will4274 8y ago
  > Would you take up the job if the salary was reduced on day one? This is a labor law violation, because it's obvious, even to government regulators, that it's unfair to the employee. I would hope everybody would object to labor law violations on their first day of work.
rdiddly 8y ago
It's tempting to think of Google as a monolithic entity that "has a will" and "says things" and "makes promises," but in fact what happened was probably more like... He didn't get the Chrome job. His resume was "kept on file" as they say. Months later a different job came up with a totally different team of people, and someone on that team remembered him and recommended him. (Slap of ingratitude to that guy I guess. Just one of many things this guy got wrong.)

ganeshkrishnan 8y ago

Then reject the job offer? Would you take up the job if the salary was reduced on day one? Some devs would roll with lower salary, some with different projects. You can still call the shots instead of going ahead and whinging publically

Novashi 8y ago
>Would you take up the job if the salary was reduced on day one? I'd certainly tell people on as many public forums as possible instead of just letting someone walk all over me and also see if I could get anyone with influence to reverse the decision. Do I sit and take it? Hell no. And you shouldn't either because you should have more self-respect.
- ganeshkrishnan 8y ago
  Is this your definition of "walking all over you"? How much of a bubble is silicon valley? I have worked in the biggest bank in Australia where subcontractors were siphoning away the source codes and customer data via mobile hotspots. I blew the whistle to data security and got fired in return. Company later paid me huge chunk of money in return for silence. Sometimes you just gotta walk away to better deals. Life is unfair more so if you have a big ego.
  - goliatone 8y ago
    Since you’re sharing, how did you get from being fired to being offered payment for silence? You got terminated and a day/week/month later the bank reached out to you offering money just in case, or they fired you and approached them asking for “cautionary” compensation, or something in between? Not trying to make a moral judgement, I’m wondering how these escenarios play out in real life
    - tyingq 8y ago
      Guessing the sequence of fired->get lawyer->send letter->settlement+non-disclosure is pretty common.
    - ganeshkrishnan 8y ago
      Similar to what the commenter below said except I had one more step of federal court intervening and forcing the settlement
  - Novashi 8y ago
    >Is this your definition of "walking all over you"? How much of a bubble is silicon valley? Yeah it is, but I don't live in the valley. I mean, your example fits my definition too. I just have a much lower threshold that I tolerate apparently. But lets wait for someone else to come by with a more impactful story than yours and we can reset the goal posts.
    - ganeshkrishnan 8y ago
      Sure. Also there was a guy complaining that free food in Google was an execuse to keep employees longer in office to make them work.
  - dunkelheit 8y ago
    Breaking promises is considered unethical in most cultures, not just in silicon valley. Maybe "walking all over you" is an overstatement, but an egregious thing that has happened to you doesn't make what happened to the OP less bad. I've heard this is standard behavior for google - completely disregarding what an applicant wants to work on and putting them instead on a project chosen by the hiring committee. Considering that the range of different projects where you may end up is enormous, I agree that it sucks.
will4274 8y ago
> Would you take up the job if the salary was reduced on day one? This is a labor law violation, because it's obvious, even to government regulators, that it's unfair to the employee. I would hope everybody would object to labor law violations on their first day of work.

rdiddly 8y ago

It's tempting to think of Google as a monolithic entity that "has a will" and "says things" and "makes promises," but in fact what happened was probably more like... He didn't get the Chrome job. His resume was "kept on file" as they say. Months later a different job came up with a totally different team of people, and someone on that team remembered him and recommended him. (Slap of ingratitude to that guy I guess. Just one of many things this guy got wrong.)