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.
Why I can’t work at Google
11–20 of 23 posts
Re: Why I can’t work at Google
#12This 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.
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.
Re: Why I can’t work at Google
#13Per 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.
Re: Why I can’t work at Google
#14No offense, but why doesn't this guy just GET to know someone at Google? It's not that difficult to do!
How would a person, who doesn't have a CS background, network with people at Google? I'm genuinely curious.
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.
Re: Why I can’t work at Google
#15The 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 suc…
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.
Re: Why I can’t work at Google
#16No offense, but why doesn't this guy just GET to know someone at Google? It's not that difficult to do!
How would a person, who doesn't have a CS background, network with people at Google? I'm genuinely curious.
Conferences, the internet, email, blogs, twitter, facebook, google, etc.
Re: Why I can’t work at Google
#17The 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 suc…
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?
I'm sure that's exactly what he was trying to imply...Are you trying to suggest you're not a very good troll?
Re: Why I can’t work at Google
#18The 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 suc…
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.
Re: Why I can’t work at Google
#19The 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 suc…
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.
Re: Why I can’t work at Google
#20The 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 suc…
"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.