4 ms·

I am by no means an old-school software guy, but I have distinct memories of when my dad worked in emerging software companies. And more importantly, back when

I am by no means an old-school software guy, but I have distinct memories of when my dad worked in emerging software companies. And more importantly, back when Microsoft was 'cool'. It was like having free soda in the break rooms and awesome company picnics was -the- status symbol of a fun career. Now, people much more junior expect all of that, plus crazy workplaces, free meals, free babysitting, free carwash, free haircuts, etc. I wonder what the current entry level software engineer ad at Microsoft looks like. Which is weird, at my school UW, they weren't even there at the CS career fair. Meanwhile FB was there with free t-shirts, Google had a giant android costumed guy waddling around, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc. They all made it seem like you weren't even applying for jobs, and you weren't even expected to actually have to work. Microsoft definitely helped define the techie dream workplace, even after they got 'huge'. Why did that have to change?

nadam 15y ago
"Now, people much more junior expect all of that, plus crazy workplaces, free meals, free babysitting, free carwash, free haircuts, etc." Junior or not, only a tiny percentage of people can get these perks. For example google recieves 1 million CVs a year approximately 5000 of which get a job offer (0.5%). (approximately 35% of those who are allowed to have a phone interview are allowed to the onsite interviews and approximately 25% of the 'onsite-interviewed' people get a job offer.)
- alexis-d 15y ago
  Do you have any sources for those numbers? Thanks!
  - nadam 15y ago
    Sure. This is the most informative public document I've found on the Google hiring process, it contains the 35% and 25% estimation: http://www.qqtm.info/Interview/Google_Guide.pdf http://www.qqtm.info/Interview/Google_Guide.pdf The 0.5% (in fact less than 0.5%) comes from Google itself, from Don Dodge's blog: http://dondodge.typepad.com/the_next_big_thing/2010/09/how-to-get-a-job-at-google-interview-questions-hiring-process.html http://dondodge.typepad.com/the_next_big_thing/2010/09/how-t... I've researched this because I was on an onsite interview at Google on Tuesday and I am waiting for their answer right now...
    - alexis-d 15y ago
      Thanks, good luck!
- alapshah 15y ago
  That is totally true, but a very large percentage of those 1 million are people who simply have no chance of getting the job. Google is seen as a hot company and place to work for so it attracts a lot of resumes, much more than microsoft ever was... And they make it pretty darned easy to apply. There are some other interesting numbers in this infographic - salaries and such: http://img.gtricks.com/2011/10/job-in-google.png http://img.gtricks.com/2011/10/job-in-google.png
  - Drbble 15y ago
    I realize my comment is redundant because you already said "infographic", but that image is garbage. The salary numbers are incredibly misleading, since they ignore stock or are an arbitrary sample.
dsolomon 15y ago
UW reporting in (87-91) Way back when ... there weren't really career fairs. The big 4 (Microsoft, Boeing, Safeco, and Weyerhaeuser) just advertised in the paper. If there was a cool time to work for them it had to have been before then.

nadam 15y ago

"Now, people much more junior expect all of that, plus crazy workplaces, free meals, free babysitting, free carwash, free haircuts, etc." Junior or not, only a tiny percentage of people can get these perks. For example google recieves 1 million CVs a year approximately 5000 of which get a job offer (0.5%). (approximately 35% of those who are allowed to have a phone interview are allowed to the onsite interviews and approximately 25% of the 'onsite-interviewed' people get a job offer.)

alexis-d 15y ago
Do you have any sources for those numbers? Thanks!
- nadam 15y ago
  Sure. This is the most informative public document I've found on the Google hiring process, it contains the 35% and 25% estimation: http://www.qqtm.info/Interview/Google_Guide.pdf http://www.qqtm.info/Interview/Google_Guide.pdf The 0.5% (in fact less than 0.5%) comes from Google itself, from Don Dodge's blog: http://dondodge.typepad.com/the_next_big_thing/2010/09/how-to-get-a-job-at-google-interview-questions-hiring-process.html http://dondodge.typepad.com/the_next_big_thing/2010/09/how-t... I've researched this because I was on an onsite interview at Google on Tuesday and I am waiting for their answer right now...
  - alexis-d 15y ago
    Thanks, good luck!
alapshah 15y ago
That is totally true, but a very large percentage of those 1 million are people who simply have no chance of getting the job. Google is seen as a hot company and place to work for so it attracts a lot of resumes, much more than microsoft ever was... And they make it pretty darned easy to apply. There are some other interesting numbers in this infographic - salaries and such: http://img.gtricks.com/2011/10/job-in-google.png http://img.gtricks.com/2011/10/job-in-google.png
- Drbble 15y ago
  I realize my comment is redundant because you already said "infographic", but that image is garbage. The salary numbers are incredibly misleading, since they ignore stock or are an arbitrary sample.

dsolomon 15y ago

UW reporting in (87-91) Way back when ... there weren't really career fairs. The big 4 (Microsoft, Boeing, Safeco, and Weyerhaeuser) just advertised in the paper. If there was a cool time to work for them it had to have been before then.