My Google job was tedious and pointless • Hacker News Board

Re: My Google job was tedious and pointless

#141

Post by komali2 » Tue, Oct 17, 2017, 6:12 PM UTC

DarronWyke wrote: post #107

s73ver_ wrote: post #70

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Automated emails are pretty shit, and easy to spot. They also tend to turn off most people, making recruiting more difficult.

Yep. Any time I see a recruiter try to automate initial contact using a tool like Jobdiva or some such, it's an instant disqualification. Most of the time it's just plain shotgunned out and I never hear anything beyond the initial email. I had one recruiter, after doing that, call me and inquire -- I told him no, and explained to him that I don't do business with those who willingly use spamming tools.

I get why it's frustrating, but one way or the other the job has to get filled. When I was a recruiter I'd blast out emails as well, but only to candidates I actually thought were qualified.

Knowing that of 20 people the recruiter knows that are a good fit, only 2 might be available, what would your preferred method be of them going about their job?

Re: My Google job was tedious and pointless

#142

Post by SolaceQuantum » Tue, Oct 17, 2017, 6:12 PM UTC

jrs95 wrote: post #72

s73ver_ wrote: post #61

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There's a HUGE difference between "a president you don't like" and "a president who's entire platform was removing people like you from the country".

I didn't realize Google employed illegal immigrants.

And yet the travel ban blocked several google employees, so it’s clearly not just illegal immigrants...

Re: My Google job was tedious and pointless

#143

Post by weberc2 » Tue, Oct 17, 2017, 6:12 PM UTC

steve_musk wrote: post #95

miketery wrote: post #66

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Except, that's the point - people are overly emotional. All this waking up the next morning and the world is different is such a stretch. Nothing has changed.

Maybe for you, but for a large portion of America it was definitely like waking up in a new world. Its easy to call people overly emotional when you aren't living in a world where the President of the United States was elected by stoking the hate and fear that a large portion of your fellow citizens have against your race/religion/culture/etc...

I'll be the first to celebrate when Trump leaves office, but all of this "he ran on hate/etc" is at best dramatically overstated and at worst completely fraudulent. There's lots of valid criticism for Trump and his supporters; no need to make things up.

Re: My Google job was tedious and pointless

#144

Post by ythn » Tue, Oct 17, 2017, 6:13 PM UTC

drharby wrote: post #60

Kyragem wrote: post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes the bar at Google is very high and after busting my ass all week solving ridiculously hard problems having someone drop a cold beer and nachos on my desk on a Friday afternoon shows that Google takes employee satisfaction very seriously

Cant tell if sarcasm

Poe's Law

Re: My Google job was tedious and pointless

#145

Post by specialist » Tue, Oct 17, 2017, 6:13 PM UTC

maxxxxx wrote: post #18

cromwellian wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

To be fair, a lot of people were upset over the election, and given what's happened over the last ten months, those feelings seem to have been justified. But yeah, god damn a company for having a culture where people don't go around acting like jerks towards one another. God forbid we grow out of Kindergarten and get back to the real world where people are unhappy and take out their frustrations by raking their cowor…

I don't think an executive should ever complain about an election. They should focus on making their company successful and a good work place.

Do you support overturning Citizen's United? Because now everything is political, whether we like it or not.

Re: My Google job was tedious and pointless

#146

Post by jrs95 » Tue, Oct 17, 2017, 6:13 PM UTC

steve_musk wrote: post #130

georgiedown wrote: post #101

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If the majority of the country doesn't want you in, then tough titty. I would not stay somewhere where I'm not welcome.

Wow. Seems like you completely lack the ability to empathize.

I dunno, I thought it had enough emphasis.

Seriously though, it's hard to have it any other way when this issue has been moralized as much as it has. A nation has a fundamental right to control it's borders and determine who does and doesn't get citizenship etc. It is not a human right to have access to the United States.

Re: My Google job was tedious and pointless

#147

Post by Spooky23 » Tue, Oct 17, 2017, 6:14 PM UTC

pc86 wrote: post #111

bogomipz wrote: post #91

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>"As a non-American I'm so glad I don't work in an country where politics seems to create such hysteria in the workplace." Your America bashing is completely uncalled for and unwarranted. It's pretty sad that you don't realize that executives getting on stage and crying in front of employees the day after an election is a complete aberration. This was was not and is not commonplace.

I'm an American and I can say without hesitation that in most of the companies I've worked for, executive leadership has been uncomfortably political on both sides of the aisle. Even from the non-partisan side, I worked for a company where the owner decided it was now required that you vote. He didn't care what party you were registered or who you voted for, but if you didn't vote it would be brought up in a review.…

That's why I've avoided small business like the plague. That's an extreme position -- even political hacks aren't usually that political in their appointed positions!

Re: My Google job was tedious and pointless

#148

Post by sbierwagen » Tue, Oct 17, 2017, 6:14 PM UTC

jrs95 wrote: post #103

untog wrote: post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This post is being downvoted and I wish it wasn't, because it's a great example of the exact issue at hand. You might say that it is overly emotional, or too reactionary, or that the tone isn't appropriate, but think - really think! - what it would be like to wake up one morning to the unexpected shock that a President has been elected on the very possible platform of kicking you out of the country and ruining the li…

Except there was absolutely no talk during the campaign or after the election about cancelling H1B visas...

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/fact-checker/wp/2016/03/...

Re: My Google job was tedious and pointless

#149

Post by pc86 » Tue, Oct 17, 2017, 6:15 PM UTC

komali2 wrote: post #131

trgv wrote: post #88

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So Trump is objectively bad and it's important for business executives and higher-ups to openly acknowledge this. In the workplace. Got it.

Since this is a Bay Area Tech Company Bashing Thread, let's throw in a Texas Oil Company perspective, from the Obama era 1. Complaints about the president, racial slurs included, for "working with the Saudis" to "tank oil prices locally." 2. Complaints about the president, racial slurs included, for "forcing premiums up for the contractor's insurance." 3. Complaints about liberals in general for "forcing us to have m…

Despite the fact that all of these are uncited, how are engineers making $250k/yr untaxed in the UAE? Americans still need to pay income tax on income earned overseas. And if you know someone refused to hire a candidate because of their ethnic background, I'm assuming you blew the whistle and got them fired? The candidate certainly has a case and has a lot of money coming their way.

Re: My Google job was tedious and pointless

#150

Post by pm90 » Tue, Oct 17, 2017, 6:15 PM UTC

greggarious wrote: post #51

cromwellian wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

To be fair, a lot of people were upset over the election, and given what's happened over the last ten months, those feelings seem to have been justified. But yeah, god damn a company for having a culture where people don't go around acting like jerks towards one another. God forbid we grow out of Kindergarten and get back to the real world where people are unhappy and take out their frustrations by raking their cowor…

>But yeah, god damn a company for having a culture where people don't go around acting like jerks towards one another. God forbid we grow out of Kindergarten and get back to the real world where people are unhappy and take out their frustrations by raking their coworkers verbally over the coals. The idea that as long as you aren't yelling, swearing, or actively insulting someone you are not treating them poorly is on…

Every big company suffers the echo chamber problem to some extent or the other. And while Google engineers are a diverse lot, most of them (rightfully) consider themselves as some of the smartest people out there, and sometimes can be rather pig headed about looking at issues from a different paradigm. This is especially true on political (rather than scientific) issues.