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Why I Studied Full-Time for 8 Months for a Google Interview

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Re: Why I Studied Full-Time for 8 Months for a Google Interview

#51

Post by ceras »

JonDav wrote: post #25
fdsfsaa wrote: post #13

This guy is sad. All those people on Quora who ask unending questions about Google are sad. They're suckers. They've eaten up Google's marketing. You want to know the reality? Whatever's special about Google is long gone. Management let the smoke out a long time ago. Nowadays, Google is just another big software company, with all the opaque politics, purposelessness, and random nonsense that comes with being a big co…

I try to let new grads know this and they still fall for it. Just like when Goldman Saks comes calling. They just do not see these companies and the experience for what it is.

I don't think it's fair to say people are "falling for it." Their motivations may just differ from yours. For example, say you're interested in earning a lot of money as a software developer - where else are you going to work that's clearly better?

Re: Why I Studied Full-Time for 8 Months for a Google Interview

#52

Post by fdsfsaa »

ceras wrote: post #51
JonDav wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I try to let new grads know this and they still fall for it. Just like when Goldman Saks comes calling. They just do not see these companies and the experience for what it is.

I don't think it's fair to say people are "falling for it." Their motivations may just differ from yours. For example, say you're interested in earning a lot of money as a software developer - where else are you going to work that's clearly better?

Finance.

Re: Why I Studied Full-Time for 8 Months for a Google Interview

#53

Post by yawz »

When I saw that title, I was torn between "because you're an idiot" and "because you know what you really want". I'm old enough to know that everybody has an opinion, but I can't help but thinking that studying full-time for 8 months for a job interview is wrong. 8 months is a very long time, and I can easily think a dozen professional contexts where such a time could be put to much better use. It is sad.

Re: Why I Studied Full-Time for 8 Months for a Google Interview

#54

Post by jonas21 »

fdsfsaa wrote: post #13

This guy is sad. All those people on Quora who ask unending questions about Google are sad. They're suckers. They've eaten up Google's marketing. You want to know the reality? Whatever's special about Google is long gone. Management let the smoke out a long time ago. Nowadays, Google is just another big software company, with all the opaque politics, purposelessness, and random nonsense that comes with being a big co…

There's no need to personally insult him just because he has a different opinion on Google than you do.

Re: Why I Studied Full-Time for 8 Months for a Google Interview

#55

Post by jefferson123 »

rhizome wrote: post #47
jefferson123 wrote: post #33

This should not be promoted as a case study, or a success story for people to aspire to emulate. I hope this guy the best, but he obviously has some mental issue and he's trying to find solace in talking about it publicly.

What's the obvious part?

I think it's the goal he chose that is making it obvious: devoting his time on earth to landing an entry level job at some company -- a hyper materialistic and anecdotal "goal" at best.

Calling it a goal is funny because it has no value for life, to go all Nietzsche about it.

This is just drinking the capitalistic kool-aid and confusing it with something loftier. I call this a mental issue.

Re: Why I Studied Full-Time for 8 Months for a Google Interview

#57

Post by 40acres »

preordained wrote: post #40
fdsfsaa wrote: post #13

This guy is sad. All those people on Quora who ask unending questions about Google are sad. They're suckers. They've eaten up Google's marketing. You want to know the reality? Whatever's special about Google is long gone. Management let the smoke out a long time ago. Nowadays, Google is just another big software company, with all the opaque politics, purposelessness, and random nonsense that comes with being a big co…

That's maybe a bit harsh, but I'm pretty much with you. It's passed the tipping point where it's inevitable it takes on the mold of a soulless megacorp. its really obvious that so many people just "need" to get into Google because it's validation for their ego. "I told you I'm a special snowflake genius!" Google is awesome, and I'm at Google, so you know I'm awesome...yada, yada. The inauthenticity is palpable; you j…

I think this is a shortsighted view. I work for a pretty influential tech company as a Software Developer, I've interviewed with Google twice and have failed both times, but I look at interviewing with and potentially being hired at Google as a great challenge and opportunity rather than something to validate myself.

I'm 25, and I think I speak for a lot of folks my age when I saw that Google is the 'Bell Labs / IBM / whatever big influential company that makes a mark on you as a young adult" company of our time. Now I know that may not be the case now, but when I was deciding that being in technology was what I truly wanted to do (teenage years), Google was coming out with Gmail, and was the 'key' to the internet with search, and bought YouTube/Android, and was everywhere, so I really saw them as a pillar of modern day technology, and to a sense I still do. So whenever I get a call from a recruiter I can't help but be excited. I know their hiring practices are not perfect, but they are still a company who I look towards with bright eyes.*

* Albeit less bright as time goes on.

Re: Why I Studied Full-Time for 8 Months for a Google Interview

#58

Post by pound »

fdsfsaa wrote: post #13

This guy is sad. All those people on Quora who ask unending questions about Google are sad. They're suckers. They've eaten up Google's marketing. You want to know the reality? Whatever's special about Google is long gone. Management let the smoke out a long time ago. Nowadays, Google is just another big software company, with all the opaque politics, purposelessness, and random nonsense that comes with being a big co…

but pay is still excellent there

Re: Why I Studied Full-Time for 8 Months for a Google Interview

#59

Post by FT_intern »

bshimmin wrote: post #6

I feel like this is some sort of promotional piece, but I can't quite get the angle - is he a fictitious individual made up by Google? Is this an attempt by Apple to make Google employees look weird? Is he a real person who's looking to publish a book? Perhaps it's entirely legit, but it just seems so, so strange to me.

this would be a very legitimate "not a cultural fit" rejection

Re: Why I Studied Full-Time for 8 Months for a Google Interview

#60

Post by linkregister »

gravypod wrote: post #34

> I’ve spent thousands of hours reading books, writing code, and watching computer science lectures, all to prepare for the Google software engineer interview. Shouldn't you just be doing this anyway if you want to be a good computer scientist? That's how you learn. You constantly take in new information and attempt to apply it and Computer Science is one of the most enabling fields of this form of learning since 1)…

I agree he's way ahead of the game; being an engineer at Google would be a step back unless:

1. He gets placed as a staff engineer or director.

2. He gets a new shiny project that for some reason he has reasonable autonomy over.

Otherwise he'll get tired of the big-company politics. I can't imagine why a self-starter like this would want a set of bosses.

He's already at the next level, building his own companies (likely an app here and there). He may not be making millions but he's got the fundamentals down. I would think that most folks on HN would much rather be able to own their own businesses rather than being an employee at a large company.

Edit: further down some commenters investigated and figured it out: this blog post is marketing for a Google interview-prep training he intends to run.

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13195257

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