3 ms·

I too work for Google, and one of the people who interviewed me had a really interesting team. So I asked to be put on it, and I was. What "allocation is a jok

by raldi 15y ago

I too work for Google, and one of the people who interviewed me had a really interesting team. So I asked to be put on it, and I was. What "allocation is a joke" experiences have you had?

alnayyir 15y ago
You had a bit more leverage going in than most, be fair.
- nostrademons 15y ago
  I don't think I had more leverage than most (I came in off a failed startup, plus two years of work experience before that and a pretty mediocre GPA), and they gave me my choice of teams. I was allocated to Search, but the recruiter made it clear that if I had a problem with that, there were other teams - GMail, Docs, etc. - that wanted me and I could go there.
prospero 15y ago
I was apparently lost in the shuffle, so when I contacted them a week before my start date to ask what was going on, they came back three days later with a single team. I met with the team, and told my recruiter that I didn't mind working with them (though it's not clear what would have happened if I had). I was then given a form with room for a dozen teams, and asked to rank my only choice on a scale from 1-10.
anon314 15y ago
I was given a preference sheet to fill out after receiving an offer, and I was given my first choice, also. It seems there is quite a bit of leeway to change teams if one finds something else more interesting.
akkartik 15y ago
If you asked for a team straight up, you basically didn't go through allocation. You're right that anybody can ask for a team. In practice, most don't realize that they should be discussing allocation before they sign the offer letter, when they have the most leverage. I know of people asking for and getting put on 'interesting teams' -- only to find themselves idiotically placed, in parts of a shockingly large team that make no sense given their backgrounds and motivations. It's not the end of the world, but it makes for a tough first year. I made some other points at http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2801866 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2801866.

by raldi 15y ago

I too work for Google, and one of the people who interviewed me had a really interesting team. So I asked to be put on it, and I was. What "allocation is a joke" experiences have you had?

alnayyir 15y ago

You had a bit more leverage going in than most, be fair.

nostrademons 15y ago
I don't think I had more leverage than most (I came in off a failed startup, plus two years of work experience before that and a pretty mediocre GPA), and they gave me my choice of teams. I was allocated to Search, but the recruiter made it clear that if I had a problem with that, there were other teams - GMail, Docs, etc. - that wanted me and I could go there.

prospero 15y ago

I was apparently lost in the shuffle, so when I contacted them a week before my start date to ask what was going on, they came back three days later with a single team. I met with the team, and told my recruiter that I didn't mind working with them (though it's not clear what would have happened if I had). I was then given a form with room for a dozen teams, and asked to rank my only choice on a scale from 1-10.

anon314 15y ago

I was given a preference sheet to fill out after receiving an offer, and I was given my first choice, also. It seems there is quite a bit of leeway to change teams if one finds something else more interesting.

akkartik 15y ago

If you asked for a team straight up, you basically didn't go through allocation. You're right that anybody can ask for a team. In practice, most don't realize that they should be discussing allocation before they sign the offer letter, when they have the most leverage. I know of people asking for and getting put on 'interesting teams' -- only to find themselves idiotically placed, in parts of a shockingly large team that make no sense given their backgrounds and motivations. It's not the end of the world, but it makes for a tough first year. I made some other points at http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2801866 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2801866.