Why I can’t work at Google

http://venturebeat.com/2013/02/19/why-i-cant-work-at-google/

by acav • 13 years ago

27 22 13 years ago

dmoy• 13 years ago

This doesn't make a lot of sense to me. I didn't know anybody who worked at Google before I joined, and a good chunk of my co-workers didn't either.

The author may be reading into the question "do you know anyone here?" too much. It could easily be that the recruiters are just trying to figure out if they can ask anyone inside for an internal reference. If not, no big deal. It would just be another signal to use.

devrelm• 13 years ago

The article is just marketing. He mentions multiple times that he works for Bright.com, "a San Francisco-based company that is building algorithmic tools to match candidates and employers."

He is purposely reading into the "do you know anyone here?" question so that he can make a story out of it.

diego• 13 years ago

If the author wants to work at Google and believes that knowing someone at Google is a prerequisite to get hired (doubtful) then he should try to connect with Google employees. It's not that hard, there are tens of thousands of them. Many of them participate in well known open source projects, and are active on mailing lists, social networks, etc.

In other words, the author created a limitation in his mind and didn't bother trying to overcome it. I'd call this anti-resourcefulness.

halcyondaze• 13 years ago

No offense, but why doesn't this guy just GET to know someone at Google? It's not that difficult to do!

AJ007• 13 years ago

Well then that wouldn't make for a very good article would it?

jemfinch2• 13 years ago

It certainly wouldn't be good advertising for his company, which sells a purported alternative to candidate referrals.

yen223• 13 years ago

How would a person, who doesn't have a CS background, network with people at Google?

I'm genuinely curious.

mayank• 13 years ago

Go to any Mountain View bar? Use LinkedIn to find FoFs who work at Google? Attend a public Google event and talk to employees? Of those, I'd go with finding social connections to an employee. Google has over 30k employees -- if you're more than 1 or 2 degrees removed from a Google employee, you might be doing something wrong.

iends2• 13 years ago

Conferences, the internet, email, blogs, twitter, facebook, google, etc.

datamart• 13 years ago

Of the dozen or so interviews I went through to get to Google, I was never asked the question, "Who do you know here?"

Of the hundred or so interviews I've given since I've been at Google, I've never asked the question, "Who do you know here?"

jemfinch2• 13 years ago

The author works for a company marketing a "a scientifically driven way to quantify the match between a job candidate and an open position" and is making claims derogating another mechanism for matching candidates and position. He's not exactly an unbiased observer.

For the record, I've been involved in hiring here, and I've never asked candidate who he knows at Google, I've never heard of a candidate being asked such a question, I've never seen anything related to such questions on interview feedback, and so on. If Hardtke's account is true (and that's extremely doubtful), his experience bears no relation whatsoever to mine on the either side of the interview table.

erikpukinskis• 13 years ago

His affiliation is fully disclosed in the article. I don't understand why you're outing someone for "bias" when they describe it in the body of the article. Are you trying to suggest that bias somehow means you're not allowed to have opinions about things related to your work?

iends2• 13 years ago

I'm sure that's exactly what he was trying to imply...Are you trying to suggest you're not a very good troll?

Lewisham• 13 years ago

I've been helping other people through the Google hiring process, as I'm about to graduate from my PhD and head off to Google (I went via the intern conversion, so my experience is atypical). I know a couple of talented undergrads, and some have applied there.

The recruiters have always asked every one that I knew of "who do you know at Google?" I know this because they have come to me saying "The recruiter is asking who I know and you're the only person, can I say you?" They all seem to have a sense of urgency in the question, which indicates to me they've been told it's important.

I think that the OP made it to phone screen alone indicates that he was past the first cut. I would be surprised if referrals matter from that point on, as you say.

chatmasta• 13 years ago

I'm applying to Google right now and was sent a form with an input box called "Do you know anyone at Google who is familiar with your technical abilities?"

edit: I'm an undergrad applying for an engineering internship and have an on campus interview.

dfrey• 13 years ago

Hey, it's the person I know at Google!

I came here to say the same thing that you did. The article smells of someone promoting their own venture rather than really critiquing Google.

Both times I applied to Google, I was asked who I knew at Google. Having said that, I didn't get the feeling that saying "nobody" would have really been a deal breaker for them.

opinali• 13 years ago

"Knowing somebody" is something that scores some points in your hiring game, but it's not a deal breaker. In my case I had a few referrers that I only knew online -- some good contacts, but nobody that I had worked together or even met in person. Rest assured you're good enough in the resume and interviews, you should get an offer. Of course, strong referrals can make the threshold for "good enough" a little lower; even Google's extensive recruiting process has limitations. The point of referrals is not nepotism, it's just providing important information about the quality of any candidate.

nbm• 13 years ago

I suspect he may be conflating recruiters and interviewers to some degree, if one assumes he is being honest.

Recruiters know that an employee referral is more likely to yield a hire, so it makes sense they might use that to prioritise those people in terms of scheduling interviews.

It would probably only rarely affect the end result (and if so, only on really edge-case candidates), but it would affect the speed to getting to on-site.

tmhedberg• 13 years ago

I've interviewed at Google NY, and though I do seem to recall being asked if I knew anyone that worked there, I never got the impression that my answer influenced the outcome of the interview process. It was just a friendly, casual question asked as a way to break the ice.

guyzero• 13 years ago

Per other commenters, this is basically a hit piece on Google by claiming that Google does something that it doesn't do to promote the author's own company which seeks to improve hiring.

DirtyMonkey• 13 years ago

After interviewing at Google, I've ever been asked whom I already know there.

Why I can’t work at Google

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