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"Maybe they make the processes arbitrary difficult so that only those who really want to work for Google actually follow through?" I think it comes down to the

by GVIrish 12y ago

"Maybe they make the processes arbitrary difficult so that only those who really want to work for Google actually follow through?" I think it comes down to the attitude that they'd rather have a bunch of false negatives than one false positives. Since there is extremely high supply of qualified applicants they probably don't feel like their bizarre hiring process hurts them at all. Some people will get turned off by their hiring processes, but for everyone one of those 10 times as many will jump through those hoops. Over time I think Google's hiring processes absolutely do hurt them. The best of the best in the Computer Science world have many, many opportunities and they simply don't have to put up with nonsense. If Google is one of 10 suitors for an exceptional candidate and they take 6-8 months to make a decision, that candidate may already be long gone, just like the OP. For now I think Google can get away with it but I feel like in a few years we're going to be seeing articles about Google's 'brain drain'.

ufmace 12y ago
It may already be happening... where if not on HN would you find a community with a bunch of the best of the best in software? And when was the last time we saw a post anywhere on here about somebody having a positive experience interviewing or working for Google? Or anywhere else on the internet for that matter? I can see how it's difficult to screen out on the employer side when you're that big and prominent, but the first people who get screened out with this kind of stuff are the people with skills and self-respect. I'm probably far from being a top-tier software person, but I'd like to think I've learned to respect myself. There are way too many good companies with competitive pay and sane hiring processes to put up with being jerked around by Google, especially when the result is probably to be just another cog in the Google machine. The benefits may be nice, but money will buy you all of the laptops and gourmet lunches you want. It won't buy you respect.
potatolicious 12y ago
> "For now I think Google can get away with it but I feel like in a few years we're going to be seeing articles about Google's 'brain drain'." I feel like we're already there. A few years ago everyone was trying to work for Google, but I rarely hear about them in conversations nowadays. I'm not going to puff a lot of hot air about how awesome I am - but I do get a lot of interest whenever I'm on the market, and Google's process is simply too slow and too convoluted to interest me. Though Google pays well they, by a long shot, not the only players paying within their range. The last time I was on the market I was able to line up phone screens within 2-3 days of first contact, and on-sites the same week or the week after. Companies would decide on an offer/no-offer/more-talk-needed disposition within a day or two of the on-site. And all of these were companies paying at the top end of market, working on cool products with roles that would offer a lot of fulfillment. I just don't see why I'd put up with months-long processes getting hopped from one recruiter to the next and having endless exhausting interviews.

by GVIrish 12y ago

ufmace 12y ago

It may already be happening... where if not on HN would you find a community with a bunch of the best of the best in software? And when was the last time we saw a post anywhere on here about somebody having a positive experience interviewing or working for Google? Or anywhere else on the internet for that matter? I can see how it's difficult to screen out on the employer side when you're that big and prominent, but the first people who get screened out with this kind of stuff are the people with skills and self-respect. I'm probably far from being a top-tier software person, but I'd like to think I've learned to respect myself. There are way too many good companies with competitive pay and sane hiring processes to put up with being jerked around by Google, especially when the result is probably to be just another cog in the Google machine. The benefits may be nice, but money will buy you all of the laptops and gourmet lunches you want. It won't buy you respect.

potatolicious 12y ago

> "For now I think Google can get away with it but I feel like in a few years we're going to be seeing articles about Google's 'brain drain'." I feel like we're already there. A few years ago everyone was trying to work for Google, but I rarely hear about them in conversations nowadays. I'm not going to puff a lot of hot air about how awesome I am - but I do get a lot of interest whenever I'm on the market, and Google's process is simply too slow and too convoluted to interest me. Though Google pays well they, by a long shot, not the only players paying within their range. The last time I was on the market I was able to line up phone screens within 2-3 days of first contact, and on-sites the same week or the week after. Companies would decide on an offer/no-offer/more-talk-needed disposition within a day or two of the on-site. And all of these were companies paying at the top end of market, working on cool products with roles that would offer a lot of fulfillment. I just don't see why I'd put up with months-long processes getting hopped from one recruiter to the next and having endless exhausting interviews.