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Googler... ex-Googler

nerdy.dev

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Re: Googler... ex-Googler

#441

Post by marcusb »

goldchainposse wrote: post #88
marcusb wrote: post #60

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Usually there is a hidden variable that you don't know. This is frequently the case. I've worked at big employers (comparable in level of corporate-ness to Google if not absolute size) where the layoff process, roughly was: 1. Aggregate layoff target gets set and apportioned amongst functional leaders, then targets cascaded down to the line manager level. 2. Managers fill out a stack ranking spreadsheet for their t…

> diversity field If this was even in the spreadsheet, whether or not it were used, the current administration would love to hear about it.

This was more than a decade ago, so I doubt they care that much, and if you want to accuse me of being a liar, please have the integrity to just say that.

Re: Googler... ex-Googler

#443

Post by Kaethar »

Tainnor wrote: post #407
oblio wrote: post #314

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Is it, really? Aren't US tech interview notoriously difficult? Many rounds of interviews, background checks, etc.? Most purely European companies don't do that. Actually, unfortunately, some of them do, because of American influence. But for sure they didn't use to.

IME, this was true four years ago. Few rounds, assessments were mostly take homes or in-person "implement a feature" style, interview questions didn't seem to be built to trip you up. Now, every job I apply for has 4-5 rounds, leetcode is more common, they do behavioural and system design rounds that you have to prepare for, etc. One job I applied to even asked me two behavioural questions via email before I even tal…

Wait till you get a self recorded behavioral interview. I truly wonder if there is that much value to be extracted out of 10 minutes of people awkwardly responding to questions while trying their best to fill in the silence.

Re: Googler... ex-Googler

#444

Post by hobs »

neilv wrote: post #129
pjmlp wrote: post #47

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is a lesson that all senior developers know pretty well, that is why companies rather hire naive juniors, instead folks that already mastered how the game gets played, and cannot be sold on company mission, values, or whatever snake oil gets talked about during interview process.

Not all . You're talking about douchebag companies. If I try to hire someone in the future, and I'm talking straight with a candidate, about how we do things and what we're looking for, and they just nod their head, like I'm going through BS rituals that your stereotypical MBA thinks is professional to say but not mean... I will be sad. And if, while they're BSing me, they're congratulating themselves on having "mast…

Unfortunately for you you work and live in an environment created by other companies and its likely that if your company succeeds its one acquisition or bad top level management play from invalidating everything you implicitly or even explicitly promised.

I have worked for "good companies" before - and they have a tendency to make money and be targets for bad companies, add enough zeroes and even the good guys sell.

Re: Googler... ex-Googler

#445

Post by gnuly »

perching_aix wrote: post #321
Cthulhu_ wrote: post #176

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It looks like a Bluesky integration which will get a lot more engagement than a blog post. The author was a "CSS advocate" at Google, which implies a strong emphasis on networking.

I guess this also explains why the site is so fancy that I can't scroll it without my phone lagging horribly lol

I was going to suggest you to use reader mode, but firefox's reader mode doesn't detect the main content here, but rather the comments.

Re: Googler... ex-Googler

#446

Post by DannyBee »

readthenotes1 wrote: post #83

"I'm told this comes as a shock to my managers and other Chrome team leaders. I'm told it's not based on merit" If your manager is shocked by one of their team being laid off, the manager is probably next. Of course the OP was told it wasn't based on merit, or any other arguable-in-court characteristic. But it was. Someone decided Google was better off this way, or that OP was better off working somewhere else.

Eh - having had to do these myself at Google for large orgs over the past few years, i would not assume it was based on merit.

The cost disparities can be huge between team members and locations, and a lot of time it's being done to hit some EOY or mid-year budget number. They are also slowly trying to clean up location strategy.

So it's entirely possible it was based on cost and location, and not merit.

It would still be merit "under the covers" if everyone was the same cost/location, but they aren't.

Re: Googler... ex-Googler

#448

Post by slivym »

kouteiheika wrote: post #257

Right, okay, let's look at their most recent SEC filling to see how much money they lost in 2024 to justify layoffs... right, they made 350 billion in revenue (the highest ever in their history from what I can see) with a 100 billion in net income. Yep, this checks out, they definitely need to lay off people, can't afford them.

They're not a charity. What do you want them to do? Hire $100Bn worth of engineers until their net income is 0? The possibly difficult truth at Google is that there's probably <1% of the company that is really essential to their monopolistic search business. The rest are either working on other projects which might be strategically interesting but not essential, or are working on the core product but not in a way that's driving business. Is it wrong for the management to say "We need to be efficiently investing shareholder capital" or for the market to be looking at Google and saying "We want your money spinning monopoly business please, not your eccentric other bets thanks".

Re: Googler... ex-Googler

#449

Post by homefree »

icemelt8 wrote: post #319
oblio wrote: post #314

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Is it, really? Aren't US tech interview notoriously difficult? Many rounds of interviews, background checks, etc.? Most purely European companies don't do that. Actually, unfortunately, some of them do, because of American influence. But for sure they didn't use to.

What he meant is that the whole capitalist culture, less regulations, creates a more thriving economy which creates more jobs and hence more options to go to.

Yeah I’d argue this is so clearly the case and it’s one reason among many why the US has an enormous amount of successful tech companies and Europe has some amount that basically rounds to zero in comparison.

The ability to hire and fire easily is critical if you want to build successful companies.

There’s a reason ambitious founders move from Europe to the US and why most billion dollar tech companies are American. Europe has made really bad policy decisions around this for decades and their economy reflects it. Europe is poor and to an extent I don’t think Europeans really understand.

Re: Googler... ex-Googler

#450

Post by kome »

AndyKelley wrote: post #131

> I really was just a fuckin cog in a mega corp. Yes, you were. Next time, please choose a company that contributes to society rather than shoving ads in everyone's faces.

i am also extremely pissed at his complete lack of self awareness... of course, i am sad for what happened to him. but holly shit. do you think you were saving the world or what? you were working on a glorified spyware.
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