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Google interviewing process for software developer role in 2020

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Re: Google interviewing process for software developer role in 2020

#391

Post by jedberg »

zerr wrote: post #362
jedberg wrote: post #257

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is absolutely true. It was just as easy to fire someone as it was to hire someone, so hiring was a lower risk activity. But even so, most people did not get fired, contrary to popular belief. I don't remember the stats, but almost no one was fired within their first year for example.

Did you have any H1Bs at that time? I mean it would be a horrible experience for such persons - firing fast (and without any notice?) would most likely result in deporting her along with her family. Also, interesting - if a person is a high performer for the first couple of years and then becomes a low performer - most likely something is wrong with the company and/or the particular project/team itself.

> Did you have any H1Bs at that time?

Yes, a bunch. They are some of the highest paid H1B workers in the country. [0]

> I mean it would be a horrible experience for such persons - firing fast (and without any notice?) would most likely result in deporting her along with her family.

That is true, but it was never with no notice. You didn't get put on an official plan, but when someone was fired it usually wasn't a surprise.

> Also, interesting - if a person is a high performer for the first couple of years and then becomes a low performer - most likely something is wrong with the company and/or the particular project/team itself.

Netflix had no issues letting people go who just weren't needed anymore. They might have been very good, just not needed.

For example when we moved from the datacenter to AWS, everyone who dealt with datacenter ops was given the option to learn AWS or get a generous severance package. Also, when we moved from relational databases to Key/Value, the DBAs were asked if they wanted to learn to managed Key/Value stores instead, or if they wanted to look for new jobs.

[0] https://h1bdata.info/index.php?em=netflix&job=&city=&year=20...

Re: Google interviewing process for software developer role in 2020

#392

Post by eq_sd_ »

downerending wrote: post #383
paulcole wrote: post #322

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I'm convinced I'm probably smart enough for at least a handful of roles there There's a scene in Zero Dark Thirty where the CIA chief asks a subordinate for an assessment of another agent. "She's smart," he says. The chief shakes his had and replies, "We're all smart here." Google has 0 need for more smart people to apply. They have all the smart people they need and then some. What they want are people who will do…

A part of their research, geneticists give flies mutagens and then screen (filter) them for desired properties. A famous one opined that if you push a screen hard enough, you'll always get what you asked for, just not what you wanted. That thought has stuck with me, and I think it applies to this sort of interviewing as well. FAANG-style interviews push their screens extremely hard for a few traits. They get what the…

This comment will stick with me. This is how I have been thinking of it. Google et al are not looking for a person like me.

Re: Google interviewing process for software developer role in 2020

#393

Post by zerr »

jedberg wrote: post #391
zerr wrote: post #362

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Did you have any H1Bs at that time? I mean it would be a horrible experience for such persons - firing fast (and without any notice?) would most likely result in deporting her along with her family. Also, interesting - if a person is a high performer for the first couple of years and then becomes a low performer - most likely something is wrong with the company and/or the particular project/team itself.

> Did you have any H1Bs at that time? Yes, a bunch. They are some of the highest paid H1B workers in the country. [0] > I mean it would be a horrible experience for such persons - firing fast (and without any notice?) would most likely result in deporting her along with her family. That is true, but it was never with no notice. You didn't get put on an official plan, but when someone was fired it usually wasn't a sur…

> highest paid H1B workers in the country

Interesting, looking at the data, besides a couple 350K-400K (which is a norm at Netflix), they seem to be underpaid compared to non-H1Bs (i.e. the norm). Also, considering that "all in cash, no benefits/bonuses" policy of Netflix, H1B base salary data is indeed a total payment.

Re: Google interviewing process for software developer role in 2020

#394

Post by dijit »

lppkabacaba wrote: post #382
dijit wrote: post #9

I interviewed at Google for an SRE:Systems role around a month ago; I can share my anecdotes. The first interview put me in contact with a recruiter who would basically be my guide throughout the process, at first he asked me some basic questions to feel out where I was weak and then told me to prepare those weaknesses for the next round. The next round was 2 phone interviews, lasting about an hour each and over diff…

The same things, but in august 2019. I spent about a month to prepare for the on-site. The sections time-limit was about 45 minutes(not the 1hour) Failed on one coding section and on Googliness. HR coordinator said that I've slightly below the acceptable hiring level. Also, the free seminars for NALSD finished the two weeks before my interview. Also, I heard that I have only two remaining attempts of on-site at Googl…

> I have only two remaining attempts of on-site at Google

LOL WAT.

This is a good enough reason for me to stay away tbh. I did not hear this from my recruiter.

Re: Google interviewing process for software developer role in 2020

#395

Post by gowld »

unishark wrote: post #307
antoinealb wrote: post #247

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I did not study CompSci but microengineering (mix of things, including robotics and manufacturing) and I am now working there as a SRE. Some colleagues are mathematicians. So definitely not only CS background :)

So in interviews do they also test mathematicians and engineers on undergraduate courses?

Yes. It doesn't matter what field you were in, it matters how well you know the skills they are looking for.

Re: Google interviewing process for software developer role in 2020

#396

Post by gowld »

trhway wrote: post #67
cmckn wrote: post #36

I interviewed with Google last spring. My experience was different, but about as disappointing. I applied for a job, and received an out-of-the-blue email from a recruiter about a different job a couple months later (my resume must have landed in some "recent" bucket). The position was in Google Cloud. I was frustrated by the "you'll talk to a team after you've passed 100 hurdles" nonsense. I had one phone screen wit…

> I think they just needed to fill a lot of positions quickly. 3 years ago i got that impression too. Google seems to be scrambling to get into cloud business believing that they are somehow entitled to success in what is a completely foreign business for them. Anyway, it was a surprise mirroring the experience of a couple acquaintances (who is in the same boat - long time enterprise software devs) - the interview wa…

How low comp?

Re: Google interviewing process for software developer role in 2020

#397

Post by antoinealb »

unishark wrote: post #307
antoinealb wrote: post #247

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I did not study CompSci but microengineering (mix of things, including robotics and manufacturing) and I am now working there as a SRE. Some colleagues are mathematicians. So definitely not only CS background :)

So in interviews do they also test mathematicians and engineers on undergraduate courses?

Had exactly the same interviews as my colleagues from a CS background.

Re: Google interviewing process for software developer role in 2020

#398

Post by what_ever »

meowface wrote: post #298
what_ever wrote: post #274

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Disc: Googler Since you are comparing to AWS, do you have any source for apparently lots of products that were killed in Google Cloud?

True, my analogy wasn't great. But when comparing Amazon as a whole and Google as a whole, the only thing Amazon killed that comes to mind is the Fire Phone (maybe there's more I'm not aware of), while there's a laundry list of things that come to mind for Google. Also not totally fair because Google has provided a ton of free web apps and Amazon hasn't, but I think it feels more personal when Google removes somethin…

How many Amazon apps do you use other than Amazon.com, Kindle, Echo? How is it still a fair comparison?

Re: Google interviewing process for software developer role in 2020

#399

Post by mav3rick »

cheez wrote: post #158
compiler-guy wrote: post #140

Google is an enormous company. Well over 100,000 employees. The answer to any question in the vein of, "Does X happen at Google?", or "Does Google do X?" is almost surely yes: Somewhere at the company, some team is probably doing that. Google's interview process is notoriously bad for some folks, and that is absolutely true and something Google tries to fix. And there are absolutely plenty of unhappy people. Even if…

Numbers on both sides. Just because they have thousands of employees out of billions of people means nothing special about their process/culture. There are likely to be thousands of people in the world who are fine with it.

If things were truly bad they can just go work for other FAANG. That is not the case. Since it's HN.."Google must be bad but people are just lazy"

Re: Google interviewing process for software developer role in 2020

#400

Post by mav3rick »

akhilcacharya wrote: post #381
mav3rick wrote: post #367

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No no one is writing basic CRUD apps at Google. At that scale there are optimizations needed at every level. I know people who work on the cutsom kernel for the servers to front end people for apps.

They definitely are, including internal tools and the like. My friend works on one like that. This is like claiming nobody at Amazon or Facebook works on CRUD apps, lol.

I'm sure Amazon definitely has boring jobs.
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