7 ms·

I'm much younger than you, but I also interviewed with Google last year, got rejected after on-site, apparently a "close call" too. Did you grind leetcode enoug

by typon 7y ago

I'm much younger than you, but I also interviewed with Google last year, got rejected after on-site, apparently a "close call" too. Did you grind leetcode enough? ;)

riku_iki 7y ago
What signal gave you "close call" impression?..
- mcguire 7y ago
  In my case, it was the recruiter in Dublin, where I interviewed, writing "it looks like we are coming to a successful conclusion" about a week before I got the generic dismissal email.
- typon 7y ago
  The recruiter told me I had 3 really positive reviews and 2 somewhat positive and 1 negative review. It's usually more feedback than I expect from companies but it was good to hear. It also matched with my expectations knowing how the interview went. She apparently took it to another hiring committee and they said no as well.
  - sandino 7y ago
    The recruiter told me I had 3 really positive reviews and 2 somewhat positive and 1 negative review. And apparently at Google - the negatives carry the day.
    - itp 7y ago
      That's true at a lot of organizations. The cost of a false positive hire typically vastly outweighs the cost of a false negative, particularly when you have the luxury of being perceived as a premiere employer in the space (from which follows a steady stream of qualified applicants).
      - sandino 7y ago
        I know the rationale. Then again if it's just one 1 person out of 6 (including 3 other persons who gave "very positive" reviews) then maybe that one person is just being ... negative. As the modern interviewing culture (not so subtly) incentivizes them to be.
        lonelappde 7y ago
        "Somewhat Positive" means No Hire, so it was 3/6.
        sandino 7y ago
        So "somewhat positive" = "negative" actually"? That's what I was getting at - apparently it's negativity-driven, all the way down.
    - cortesoft 7y ago
      Well, if the other candidates had 6 positive reviews, it makes sense.
      - lonelappde 7y ago
        Why? How many openings were there, and how many other applicants?
        cortesoft 7y ago
        Fewer than the number of candidates that got 6 positive reviews?
- gregfjohnson 7y ago
  (A quick note/disclaimer: I am extremely happy in my current situation, and work for a great manager; no interest in moving, despite my flippant comment.) The signal was what I was told when I got a subsequent unsolicited contact from a Google recruiter. She communicated this information to me verbally. (I believed her, and in retrospect still do. She was great during the whole process; never gave me the slightest indication that she was in any way deceptive or dishonest.)
PopeDotNinja 7y ago
Developer and former recruiter here. You cannot trust the reason you have been rejected to be honest. You can only believe that they were clear about rejecting you. For example, "it was a close call" could mean: - you were late to the interview, and we didn't like that - we closed the job and stopped recruiting everyone - you had mustard on your shirt, and we didn't like that - an interviewer was late to an interview, insisted you proceeds anyway, and you could not possibly have received a vote of confidence for the questions asked in the time allotted And so on and so on. The only things you can really trust are got hired, didn't get hired, and never heard back. That's it.

by typon 7y ago

I'm much younger than you, but I also interviewed with Google last year, got rejected after on-site, apparently a "close call" too. Did you grind leetcode enough? ;)

riku_iki 7y ago

What signal gave you "close call" impression?..

mcguire 7y ago
In my case, it was the recruiter in Dublin, where I interviewed, writing "it looks like we are coming to a successful conclusion" about a week before I got the generic dismissal email.
typon 7y ago
The recruiter told me I had 3 really positive reviews and 2 somewhat positive and 1 negative review. It's usually more feedback than I expect from companies but it was good to hear. It also matched with my expectations knowing how the interview went. She apparently took it to another hiring committee and they said no as well.
- sandino 7y ago
  The recruiter told me I had 3 really positive reviews and 2 somewhat positive and 1 negative review. And apparently at Google - the negatives carry the day.
  - itp 7y ago
    That's true at a lot of organizations. The cost of a false positive hire typically vastly outweighs the cost of a false negative, particularly when you have the luxury of being perceived as a premiere employer in the space (from which follows a steady stream of qualified applicants).
    - sandino 7y ago
      I know the rationale. Then again if it's just one 1 person out of 6 (including 3 other persons who gave "very positive" reviews) then maybe that one person is just being ... negative. As the modern interviewing culture (not so subtly) incentivizes them to be.
      - lonelappde 7y ago
        "Somewhat Positive" means No Hire, so it was 3/6.
        sandino 7y ago
        So "somewhat positive" = "negative" actually"? That's what I was getting at - apparently it's negativity-driven, all the way down.
  - cortesoft 7y ago
    Well, if the other candidates had 6 positive reviews, it makes sense.
    - lonelappde 7y ago
      Why? How many openings were there, and how many other applicants?
      - cortesoft 7y ago
        Fewer than the number of candidates that got 6 positive reviews?
gregfjohnson 7y ago
(A quick note/disclaimer: I am extremely happy in my current situation, and work for a great manager; no interest in moving, despite my flippant comment.) The signal was what I was told when I got a subsequent unsolicited contact from a Google recruiter. She communicated this information to me verbally. (I believed her, and in retrospect still do. She was great during the whole process; never gave me the slightest indication that she was in any way deceptive or dishonest.)

PopeDotNinja 7y ago

Developer and former recruiter here. You cannot trust the reason you have been rejected to be honest. You can only believe that they were clear about rejecting you. For example, "it was a close call" could mean: - you were late to the interview, and we didn't like that - we closed the job and stopped recruiting everyone - you had mustard on your shirt, and we didn't like that - an interviewer was late to an interview, insisted you proceeds anyway, and you could not possibly have received a vote of confidence for the questions asked in the time allotted And so on and so on. The only things you can really trust are got hired, didn't get hired, and never heard back. That's it.