4 ms·

You've heard that, huh? HC doesn't pick your job, they decide whether or not to hire you. Hence the name. At Google it's typically trivially simple to switch t

by tylerl 8y ago

You've heard that, huh? HC doesn't pick your job, they decide whether or not to hire you. Hence the name. At Google it's typically trivially simple to switch teams (this article notwithstanding), so teams don't recruit and hire independently like happens in many companies. So after a hire is approved, they have to be matched up with a team. Teams decide whether or not a hire is appropriate for their team, and candidate decides whether or not team is appropriate for their interests. If you're approved for hire but you don't like the team you're paired with, say "I'd prefer to work on X", and if X is hiring and their hiring manager thinks you're a good fit, then you can go there instead. That route is more complicated because recruiters specialize in a given area, but the whole point is for you to like your job.

ganeshkrishnan 8y ago
Exactly the same at Ibm, eBay and jp Morgan when I worked there. There were even programs to let you try out new projects before you commit to them. All it took was the dev to say that he preferred working on a specific project. Some teams even have further internal hiring processes from the talent pool. I am not even sure OP knows that team switching was possible and how internal recruiting works for large organizations
- dunkelheit 8y ago
  It is not that internal transfers are impossible, but they are never as easy as advertised. Yes, many companies have formal processes for them, but stars still have to align just right both at your old team and the new one. > All it took was the dev to say that he preferred working on a specific project. Some teams even have further internal hiring processes from the talent pool. I'm not sure if I read that correctly, but don't these two sentences contradict each other? Of course some positions will be more coveted than others, so additional processes are necessary to choose from all the people interested in the position. But it means that just saying "I prefer to work on X" is not nearly enough to transfer (of course it isn't).
dunkelheit 8y ago
Good, I assume you have first-hand knowledge of Google's hiring practices. So, what number of teams can a typical candidate choose from? Compared to the total number of teams hiring? I guess the typical scenario is that a few teams express interest and then you can choose one of them, which is not much different from just "congratulations, this is your new team". > At Google it's typically trivially simple to switch teams How simple is trivially simple? Does the new team have to have sufficient budget/a vacancy? What kind of selection process is there if you are not the only one who wants to transfer to that team? What about your old team? What do you do with your responsibilities at the current project? Can you transfer immediately after you've been hired?
- joshuamorton 8y ago
  >So, what number of teams can a typical candidate choose from? Compared to the total number of teams hiring? I guess the typical scenario is that a few teams express interest and then you can choose one of them, which is not much different from just "congratulations, this is your new team". Depends on a variety of factors (candidate skills, season, other people, what projects are being worked on etc.). I've seen everything from between 1, and like 8-10. >How simple is trivially simple? There's an internal hiring board that people post openings on. You can apply. AFAIK, the manager can pick between people. Basically all of your other questions come down to "does the hiring manager want to allow it". >What do you do with your responsibilities at the current project? Depends, I'd hope people handle it like reasonable humans. In my case at least, I told my manager I was interested in transferring out in the next couple months, and he told me to stick around a bit longer so that he could make sure I got promoted. I ended up not transferring out as my work got more interesting. In general, its easier to transfer with the blessing of your current manager, but from what I've seen its not required. And there are probably long tail cases where transferring is difficult, or people do unethical things, but I'm not directly familiar with any, and I don't think they're the norm. So for most cases, transferring is trivial. Edit: And actually, if you read the entire story (more was posted on twitter after this article went up), he was able to transfer off of the team with almost no issues, to a team he found much more interesting, but instead left to go to Dropbox. The whole transferring this was literally a nonissue once he actually tried to do it.

by tylerl 8y ago

ganeshkrishnan 8y ago

Exactly the same at Ibm, eBay and jp Morgan when I worked there. There were even programs to let you try out new projects before you commit to them. All it took was the dev to say that he preferred working on a specific project. Some teams even have further internal hiring processes from the talent pool. I am not even sure OP knows that team switching was possible and how internal recruiting works for large organizations

dunkelheit 8y ago
It is not that internal transfers are impossible, but they are never as easy as advertised. Yes, many companies have formal processes for them, but stars still have to align just right both at your old team and the new one. > All it took was the dev to say that he preferred working on a specific project. Some teams even have further internal hiring processes from the talent pool. I'm not sure if I read that correctly, but don't these two sentences contradict each other? Of course some positions will be more coveted than others, so additional processes are necessary to choose from all the people interested in the position. But it means that just saying "I prefer to work on X" is not nearly enough to transfer (of course it isn't).

dunkelheit 8y ago

Good, I assume you have first-hand knowledge of Google's hiring practices. So, what number of teams can a typical candidate choose from? Compared to the total number of teams hiring? I guess the typical scenario is that a few teams express interest and then you can choose one of them, which is not much different from just "congratulations, this is your new team". > At Google it's typically trivially simple to switch teams How simple is trivially simple? Does the new team have to have sufficient budget/a vacancy? What kind of selection process is there if you are not the only one who wants to transfer to that team? What about your old team? What do you do with your responsibilities at the current project? Can you transfer immediately after you've been hired?

joshuamorton 8y ago
>So, what number of teams can a typical candidate choose from? Compared to the total number of teams hiring? I guess the typical scenario is that a few teams express interest and then you can choose one of them, which is not much different from just "congratulations, this is your new team". Depends on a variety of factors (candidate skills, season, other people, what projects are being worked on etc.). I've seen everything from between 1, and like 8-10. >How simple is trivially simple? There's an internal hiring board that people post openings on. You can apply. AFAIK, the manager can pick between people. Basically all of your other questions come down to "does the hiring manager want to allow it". >What do you do with your responsibilities at the current project? Depends, I'd hope people handle it like reasonable humans. In my case at least, I told my manager I was interested in transferring out in the next couple months, and he told me to stick around a bit longer so that he could make sure I got promoted. I ended up not transferring out as my work got more interesting. In general, its easier to transfer with the blessing of your current manager, but from what I've seen its not required. And there are probably long tail cases where transferring is difficult, or people do unethical things, but I'm not directly familiar with any, and I don't think they're the norm. So for most cases, transferring is trivial. Edit: And actually, if you read the entire story (more was posted on twitter after this article went up), he was able to transfer off of the team with almost no issues, to a team he found much more interesting, but instead left to go to Dropbox. The whole transferring this was literally a nonissue once he actually tried to do it.