4 ms·

I interviewed with Palantir last fall. After failing to impress me (and honestly coming across as a bit too evil for my taste), I brought my job decision down t

I interviewed with Palantir last fall. After failing to impress me (and honestly coming across as a bit too evil for my taste), I brought my job decision down to being between two other companies and told Palantir that I was appreciative of their time but I wasn't interested in any more interviews. A.G., a senior engineer there -- who I guess has some involvement with recruiting -- called me up to try and convince me to do an onsite interview. He told me that while I might have been the smartest person in groups at college and even at Facebook (where I have interned previously), and thus been on such a higher plane of thought that I had trouble explaining my ideas to the lesser peons, "that sort of thing doesn't happen here at Palantir". He also noted that if I needed more time to make a decision, I could always accept my Facebook offer and renege on it later if I decided to go to Palantir. Yeah... asking me to be dishonest while simultaneously insulting all of my friends and everyone I've ever worked with is not a good way to get me to join your company. After that and after the Palantir/Wikileaks thing recently, I'm quite glad with my decision to stay far, far away from Palantir, "next Facebook or Google" be damned.

bane 16y ago
What was it about their vibe that read "evil" during the interview process?
- jwatzman 16y ago
  When I had dinner with a bunch of engineers, they talked about some examples of things that their code was used for. It assists our military, for example, in collating data and mining it so that they can more effectively kill people. They also assist the government with other tasks, such as (by I assume analyzing tax returns) helping the IRS track down tax evaders. Finally, they have a new product which helps hedge funds manage unfathomable amounts of money. None of these things are projects I particularly want to dedicate my time to. Aside from this, other issues popped up during the interview process. Their interviewers were way too impressed with me (which makes me question the caliber of engineer the interviewer is typically in contact with) and were way too convinced that their company had "nowhere to go but up" and that their equity was a sure thing. No company is invincible. That said, I know people who have interned there and people who work there full-time now. They are good people, so despite my terrible experiences with Palantir they aren't all bad.
- Tycho 16y ago
  Aside from anything else though, they're called Palantir. I mean, IIRC, that didn't pan out too well for people in LOTR.

bane 16y ago

What was it about their vibe that read "evil" during the interview process?

jwatzman 16y ago
When I had dinner with a bunch of engineers, they talked about some examples of things that their code was used for. It assists our military, for example, in collating data and mining it so that they can more effectively kill people. They also assist the government with other tasks, such as (by I assume analyzing tax returns) helping the IRS track down tax evaders. Finally, they have a new product which helps hedge funds manage unfathomable amounts of money. None of these things are projects I particularly want to dedicate my time to. Aside from this, other issues popped up during the interview process. Their interviewers were way too impressed with me (which makes me question the caliber of engineer the interviewer is typically in contact with) and were way too convinced that their company had "nowhere to go but up" and that their equity was a sure thing. No company is invincible. That said, I know people who have interned there and people who work there full-time now. They are good people, so despite my terrible experiences with Palantir they aren't all bad.
Tycho 16y ago
Aside from anything else though, they're called Palantir. I mean, IIRC, that didn't pan out too well for people in LOTR.