My Google job was tedious and pointless • Hacker News Board

Re: My Google job was tedious and pointless

#191

Post by trgv » Tue, Oct 17, 2017, 6:28 PM UTC

untog wrote: post #136

FeepingCreature wrote: post #92

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sure you can. If you can't be professional in the workplace, take a damn day off. If you can't be professional in front of a crowd , then don't take the stage. Crying is for funerals. And national politics is for soapboxes, not for corporate presentations.

The fixation on crying in this thread is fascinating. If you feel like crying, but hold back, does that feeling just immediately disappear and you get on with your day? Of course not. You just bury the stress, and sooner or later it bubbles back up again in weird and unpredictable ways. Is crying at work more or less professional than having a panic attack at work and ending up hospitalised? Crying is just an express…

Take a day off if you're so emotionally affected by something that you're unable to stop crying. Or work from home.

Anything else is likely to be disruptive to your coworkers.

I have a lot of empathy for people experiencing emotional distress, whatever the reason. I would never complain about them and would do my best to offer sympathy when appropriate. But I really shouldn't be put in that position at work, and if I was emotionally disturbed I would not come into work so as to avoid putting my coworkers in that position.

I think this is all doubly true if we're talking about the results of an election. Some of your coworkers may be happy for the same reason you're upset.

Re: My Google job was tedious and pointless

#192

Post by jondubois » Tue, Oct 17, 2017, 6:28 PM UTC

nejenendn wrote: post #127

jondubois wrote: post #68

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've worked for big tech corporations a few times before, no matter how much they pay, I can never stay there longer than 6 months. There is so much inefficiency. It's good for 6 months but after that I feel myself getting dumber by the day. Not all corporations are like this but most of them are. Handing my resignation felt great every time. It's addictive in fact. Just seeing the disappointment in my boss' face and…

Jealous after bailing after six months? Are you sure it’s not pity? How many times have you quit in a row?

I'm almost 30, the longest company I worked for was almost 2 years; it was a startup and they're doing very well now - I would have stayed even longer but I wanted to move to Europe. Other than that I never stayed longer than 6 months at a company and I'm really glad because most of these companies were stagnant or failed.

I've quit my job probably about 10 times now. Employers don't care at all how often you change jobs; they all think they're special and so you'll stick around for them... They all think that they're the next unicorn... Funny thing is that if they were actually a unicorn, I would stay.

If my employer is a visionary genius, I make money.

If my employer is a delusional fool, I make money.

6 months is a good amount of time to figure out which one it is.

Re: My Google job was tedious and pointless

#193

Post by sealthedeal » Tue, Oct 17, 2017, 6:29 PM UTC

komali2 wrote: post #81

I really hope this article doesn't take off. I understand the pain of this person, but this has literally nothing to do with Google, and everything to do with: Recruitment Sucks. It's a fucking annoying, mind boggling job. If you're external, there's a couple highs when you negotiate a salary or are selling a candidate on a position or in a business development meeting with some bigshot at an engineering firm. But mo…

lol

Re: My Google job was tedious and pointless

#194

Post by komali2 » Tue, Oct 17, 2017, 6:29 PM UTC

pc86 wrote: post #149

komali2 wrote: post #131

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

UAE didn't tax them, and they didn't report their income back home.

If I blew the whistle, there would be no evidence to support my claim, I'd lose my job, my recruitment firm would permanently be blacklisted by the EPC, there would be no repercussions for the EPC manager, and the world would continue along. I did refuse to work the position after that, but it's not like a recruiter is going to "solve racism in Texas." I do that on my own time, outside of work.

EDIT: Yes, hearsay internet stories, just like the OP that started this thread. Grain of salt and all that.

Re: My Google job was tedious and pointless

#195

Post by ringaroundthetx » Tue, Oct 17, 2017, 6:30 PM UTC

rblatz wrote: post #126

ringaroundthetx wrote: post #102

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> and given what's happened over the last ten months, those feelings seem to have been justified. Its called losing, thats what it feels like, you are missing that there are A LOT of winners. Your sentiment is reinforced by presidential faux pas but thats a total sideshow to how people are successfully navigating this political environment, using it as a catalyst even for trade and commerce outcomes that will long ou…

When you treat everything like a zero sum game like this administration does you do create a lot of winners, but you also have to make losers. Turns out it's easier to just take those that already weren't doing well and make them even worse off. And yes this administration looks to make huge changes that will severely disadvantage the US energy sector for decades while they try to prop up the failing coal industry wh…

There are other sectors.

The point is that the feelings aren't justified for everyone. So for the parent poster to present that as a canonical reinforcement of how one should feel, or how one's executives should feel, or how all the employees at a multinational company might feel, is completely disingenuous.

Re: My Google job was tedious and pointless

#196

Post by briandear » Tue, Oct 17, 2017, 6:30 PM UTC

bllguo wrote: post #168

aresant wrote: post #40

While the fluffy headline promises a revelation about Google, this article is actually a poignant lament on the future of work automation. The piece's author holds a humanities degree in Psych/Neuroscience. I point that out because while we've accepted that blue collar jobs are/were "going to be automated" or "going overseas", there's still a pervasive trope that an undergraduate degree provides some protection and i…

Don't know about "poignant" - this reads like "I chose the wrong career and it's Google's fault" - but 100% yes, this is one of the biggest societal issues we face. The author may have realized a bit late that he doesn't enjoy HR, but he still deserves a chance to pivot. That's getting harder in our economic system and with automation and outsourcing.

I remember looking at Hacker News in 1895 and remember the fear of automation was just as noteworthy then. Weird how increasing automation over the past 200 years has led to record low poverty and a higher standard sign living that would have unimaginable.

Re: My Google job was tedious and pointless

#197

Post by Pyxl101 » Tue, Oct 17, 2017, 6:30 PM UTC

bllguo wrote: post #168

aresant wrote: post #40

While the fluffy headline promises a revelation about Google, this article is actually a poignant lament on the future of work automation. The piece's author holds a humanities degree in Psych/Neuroscience. I point that out because while we've accepted that blue collar jobs are/were "going to be automated" or "going overseas", there's still a pervasive trope that an undergraduate degree provides some protection and i…

Don't know about "poignant" - this reads like "I chose the wrong career and it's Google's fault" - but 100% yes, this is one of the biggest societal issues we face. The author may have realized a bit late that he doesn't enjoy HR, but he still deserves a chance to pivot. That's getting harder in our economic system and with automation and outsourcing.

Not just HR - the lowest rung of recruiting. It sounds like the author was doing cold-call sourcing.

Re: My Google job was tedious and pointless

#198

Post by [deleted] » Tue, Oct 17, 2017, 6:30 PM UTC

jondubois wrote: post #68

ogre_magi wrote: post #12

I worked at Google in a more technical role but I sympathize with this guy. The culture was awful and empty. It was sugar-coated candies and colors and happy, happy, happy like it was meant for a kindergartener. The politics were thick and covered everything. Executives got on stage at a company meeting and cried about the election. It was a cult, and not in the good way that a startup can sometimes be, but in a stal…

I've worked for big tech corporations a few times before, no matter how much they pay, I can never stay there longer than 6 months. There is so much inefficiency. It's good for 6 months but after that I feel myself getting dumber by the day. Not all corporations are like this but most of them are. Handing my resignation felt great every time. It's addictive in fact. Just seeing the disappointment in my boss' face and…

[deleted]

Re: My Google job was tedious and pointless

#199

Post by politician » Tue, Oct 17, 2017, 6:31 PM UTC

Kyragem wrote: post #45

YuriNiyazov wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So, the single example that you reach for when describing google as an amazing place to work is "beercart Friday?"

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

The finest sarcasm in this thread.

Re: My Google job was tedious and pointless

#200

Post by stuffedBelly » Tue, Oct 17, 2017, 6:31 PM UTC

jondubois wrote: post #68

ogre_magi wrote: post #12

I worked at Google in a more technical role but I sympathize with this guy. The culture was awful and empty. It was sugar-coated candies and colors and happy, happy, happy like it was meant for a kindergartener. The politics were thick and covered everything. Executives got on stage at a company meeting and cried about the election. It was a cult, and not in the good way that a startup can sometimes be, but in a stal…

I've worked for big tech corporations a few times before, no matter how much they pay, I can never stay there longer than 6 months. There is so much inefficiency. It's good for 6 months but after that I feel myself getting dumber by the day. Not all corporations are like this but most of them are. Handing my resignation felt great every time. It's addictive in fact. Just seeing the disappointment in my boss' face and…

hmm...you certainly burnt lots of bridges. If you did contractor work for those companies that would be fine, but a full-time hire that does this would be a serious red flag.