Poll: Have you ever applied to work at Google? • Hacker News Board

Re: Poll: Have you ever applied to work at Google?

#41

Post by rglullis » Tue, Jan 25, 2011, 9:59 PM UTC

Hum, I didn't apply and was rejected, sort of.

I was contacted some three years ago by a recruiter on LinkedIn, talked a couple of times via email, then the phone interview. The interviewer asked me questions about networking ("describe what happens during a HTTP request at the various levels of TCP/IP") and Linux internals ("what to do if your open a shell and any command you type results in 'Not enough memory'?"), and we chatted a little bit after that.

By talking with him, I learned that it was more of a sysadmin-y position (dealing more with infrastructure and supporting application developers) then actually working on their products.

My interested waned quite a bit after that. Combined with the fact that my Linux internals answer was far from stellar (I learned a thing or two about /proc afterwards), it didn't surprise me when I got the "we are sorry to inform you..." letter a couple of weeks later.

I don't know if I was being overconfident or if it was the effect of the "web 2.0" bubble, but I though then that I could be hired. I would apply today if I heard of some interesting position in Cambridge or NY to work on Android. Alas, it seems that the Android team is all in the West Coast.

Re: Poll: Have you ever applied to work at Google?

#42

Post by thetrumanshow » Tue, Jan 25, 2011, 10:01 PM UTC

erik_p wrote: post #18

Don't we also need: I applied and heard nothing back I applied, had a phone interview and was rejected I applied, interviewed in person and then was rejected I applied, was offered the position and turned it down. PS I fall in the applied and heard nothing but crickets back column -- i feel so ashamed, HN hold me and tell me it will all be okay :(

A great story of persistence, until the last bit. Were you just playing a game of tit-for-tat hard-to-get against Google hiring managers? Joking, but I am actually curious why you finally said no.

Re: Poll: Have you ever applied to work at Google?

#43

Post by brg » Tue, Jan 25, 2011, 10:01 PM UTC

rhizome wrote: post #9

thetrumanshow wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I tend to think that Google really suffers when smart people like you don't even try to apply. I think the typical awesome engineer is just a shade too self-deprecating to even think it possible to get hired there.

I don't think Google (or really any large company) is a good place to work for autodidacts.

It very much depends on how social and how much of a self-promoter you are. If you are willing to fight for the latitude to follow your own direction you will do really well. But it is important to be social as well, as you'll encounter more opportunities as well as your own sharp edges quicker.

Re: Poll: Have you ever applied to work at Google?

#44

Post by siculars » Tue, Jan 25, 2011, 10:02 PM UTC

Dropped out of college. I think that disqualifies me. (Probably not but close enough.)

Re: Poll: Have you ever applied to work at Google?

#45

Post by newman314 » Tue, Jan 25, 2011, 10:03 PM UTC

Was recruited (for a non-dev position, technical program manager).

First strike was the recruiter trying to lowball me that VPs at other companies come in at this level.

Re: Poll: Have you ever applied to work at Google?

#46

Post by elliottcarlson » Tue, Jan 25, 2011, 10:05 PM UTC

byoung2 wrote: post #39

elliottcarlson wrote: post #20

Solicited by Google recruiters but never applied: a) I don't think Google is a place for me in terms of age and society. b) I don't come from a CS background, am self taught but have over 12 years of professional experience behind me - I know what I am doing but can't rant of algorithms off the top of my head.

I don't come from a CS background, am self taught but have over 12 years of professional experience behind me - I know what I am doing but can't rant of algorithms off the top of my head. During an interview when I couldn't answer a question about CS theory I drew on something I learned as an English major: the analogy. I said: "Imagine that you aren't a tech company hiring a developer. You are a band hiring a lead g…

That's a great analogy - but when the actual test relies on CS theory it becomes a problem - otherwise I haven't had any issues with jobs in the past (not that I haven't been rejected before, I just haven't had any issues landing a job in a reasonable amount of time).

Re: Poll: Have you ever applied to work at Google?

#47

Post by silvajoao » Tue, Jan 25, 2011, 10:06 PM UTC

thetrumanshow wrote: post #5

So, at least one person said they were hired by Google. I have a question for those folks... When you applied, did you have any reasonable expectation that you would actually be hired to work there, or was it just on a whim... like a lottery ticket?

Yet another unrelated-but-related reply: I actually feel a fear of rejection when posting on HN. I know I usually don't have much to add, so I don't post often; but it has happened a lot of times to start writing a reply, and then just discard it for fear of being harshly downvoted/getting snark replies.

Re: Poll: Have you ever applied to work at Google?

#48

Post by notJim » Tue, Jan 25, 2011, 10:06 PM UTC

PhrosTT wrote: post #13

I was recruited and then rejected : ) To be fair the recruiter said it was a generic interview - I spent the week studying data structures & algorithms. And then I get on the phone and the entire interview was on JavaScript and how to hack around the same origin policy.

Man, really? I would do great in that interview. Data structures & algorithms are the main reason I don't apply.

Re: Poll: Have you ever applied to work at Google?

#49

Post by Locke1689 » Tue, Jan 25, 2011, 10:07 PM UTC

Full time only or internship?

Re: Poll: Have you ever applied to work at Google?

#50

Post by silvajoao » Tue, Jan 25, 2011, 10:14 PM UTC

dadkins wrote: post #34

silvajoao wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'll mention a related question I've been pondering on lately: how does one assess his own skill level? When one has people around who are clearly more able programmers, one can take the chance to learn from them and try to achieve their skill. But when you believe you might be the top programmer around your office, how do you determine whether you're really good, or you're just in a not-so-great environment? A lot o…

"The reason for failing to be hired is invaluable feedback on your shortcomings, which are much harder to self-assess." Good luck trying to get any useful feedback from a Google or Facebook rejection. Often it's just random.

Spot on. I actually know a couple of people who have been rejected and they don't have a very clear reason for the rejection.

However, I could tell during the conversation on the interviews whether I was doing well on a particular topic or not so well. I got the impression the questions just keep coming while you keep answering; when you say "I don't know this, I actually never saw similar problems before", I guess this is when the interview begins: how do you solve new problems and try to tackle them? This is also the feedback you can take away: where did you stop, and what would it take to go on?