www.techcrunch.com/2009/01/18/why-google-employees-quit -> www.techcrunch.com/2009/01/18/why-google-employees-quit/
Michael Arrington on January 18, 2009 In 2008 Google HR set up a private Google Group to ask former employees why they left the company. We've been forwarded what appears to be authentic posts to the thread by a number of ex-Googlers, which we reprint below minus identifying information other than their first names. The thread shows a brutal honesty about what it's like to work at Google, at least from the point of view of employees who were unhappy enough to resign. Top amongst the complaints is low pay relative to what they could earn elsewhere, and disappearing fringe benefits seemed to elevate the concern. Other popular gripes - too much bureaucracy, poor management, poor mentoring, and a hiring process that took months. A few of the posts are more positive, and frankly there isn't a whole lot here that you don't see in other big companies. One message stands out though in most of the posts - employees thought they were entering the promised land when they joined Google, and most of them were disappointed. Some of them wondered if it meant they were somehow lacking. One person sums it all up nicely: Those of us who failed to thrive at Google are faced with some pretty serious questions about ourselves. Just seeing that other people ran into the same issues is a huge relief. Google is supposed to be some kind of Nirvana, so if you can't be happy there how will you ever be happy? It's supposed to be the ultimate font of technical resources, so if you can't be productive there how will you ever be productive? From: Stephen Date: Wed, 28 May 2008 13:25:07 -0700 (PDT) Local: Wed, May 28 2008 2:25 pm Subject: Re: So... Actually, I hit the Send button on this before I intended to. I was disenchanted the whole time, and yes, like you, my regret over the poor bargain I'd made affected my performance. Google actually celebrates its hiring process, as if its ruthless inefficiency and interminable duration were a sure proof of thoroughness, a badge of honor. But I would be willing to wager that Microsoft's hiring process, which takes a fraction of the time, does not result in a lower-skilled workforce or result in a higher rate of attrition. And let me say this: if Larry Page is still reviewing resumes, shareholders should organize a rebellion. That is a scandalous waste of time for someone at that level, and the fact that it's "quirky" is no mitigation. I was, like you, offered a considerable pay cut to go to work at Google. He announced himself genuinely surprised, which genuinely surprised me. Schmidt, in the presence of witnesses, promised to bring the benefits to a par. He consulted HR, and HR informed him that it'd cost Google 22 million a year to do that. So he abandoned the promise and fell back on his tired, familiar standby ("People don't work at Google for the money. A statement that always seemed to me a little Louis XIV coming from a billionaire. I still can't recall all the moralizing postures without a shudder of disgust. From: Ben Date: Wed, 28 May 2008 14:43:09 -0700 Local: Wed, May 28 2008 3:43 pm Subject: Re: So... Stephen wrote: > He > consulted HR, and HR informed him that it'd cost Google 22 million a > year to do that. So he abandoned the promise and fell back on his > tired, familiar standby ("People don't work at Google for the money. A > statement that always seemed to me a little Louis XIV coming from a > billionaire. I ran into a similar irritation while at Google, actually - during that time when the minikitchens were being stripped heavily. I heard that one of the reasons was cost - I remember figures mentioned like "thousands of dollars per day" - and it just didn't jive well with me. Google's net income for 2006, when I left, was 3 billion. Reduce profit by 2% to make your employees much happier . In some ways it seemed like Google was getting increasingly pennywise/poundfoolish, and that just seemed like a dubious situation. I flubbed my first coding pretty bad but after that it was clear that no-one on my interview loop had enough experience or knowledge to level me. On the other hand they figured that out and scheduled a follow on interview with the head of the Kirkland office who asked reasonable and pertinent questions. Unlike the previous posters, I was happy with my salary and (for some reason I can't articulate) I kept my own private medical insurance... Also I was surprised that Google seemed to be proud that they didn't communicate from one interviewer to the next: at Microsoft it was a good opportunity to find more appropriate interviewers, etc. Oh well, I thought my interview and hiring process was an anomaly. From: Laurent Date: Thu, 29 May 2008 08:10:08 -0700 (PDT) Local: Thurs, May 29 2008 9:10 am Subject: Re: So... As soon as I got inside, I had the feeling of being swallowed by a giant borg :) Really, I felt like I didn't exist, watching people buzzing around with laptops. I did however meet with Larry and Sergey during a product review meeting, and have only good things to say about these 2 guys. Regarding compensation, I did have to negotiate quite a bit to get on par with what I earned before. For options however, I didn't get much (something like 180 options and 330 gsu). What was strange with me at Google was: while outside, I had all these big ideas I could do if I ever worked there. Once inside, you have 18,000 (at the time, Feb 2008) other googlers thinking the same things. I think it's a good move for them to have App Engine: they won't need to hire that many people anymore, or buy small garage-guys because now developers will be able to develop over the Google OS for free for Google :) One last thing: Google also thinks inside a box (the browser). From: "shuba Date: Wed, 28 May 2008 22:01:06 -0500 Local: Wed, May 28 2008 9:01 pm Subject: Re: So... I totally second the statement that Google's Hiring process is slack. Agreed, they receive a record number of applications everyday, but still the feeling that the resume is lost in a black hole' when there is no reply in as long as 6 months, is terribly disappointing. Also, the whole exit process could be bettered and ironed out. I understand when Eric Schmidt says, one doesn't work for Google for the money alone. But, yes, bringing the perks on par with other bigwigs will bring down the attrition level to some extent, thou we all do understand that attrition is not a big problem for Google right now. From: Shelby Date: Thu, 29 May 2008 10:26:39 -0700 (PDT) Local: Thurs, May 29 2008 11:26 am Subject: Re: So... I had an equally ridiculous hiring process - although mine actually seemed normal (by Google standards) until the result. "And let me say this: if Larry Page is still reviewing resumes, shareholders should organize a rebellion. That is a scandalous waste of time for someone at that level, and the fact that it's "quirky" is no mitigation. So I ended up not eating at all that day until I returned to the airport at 4pm. However, I passed my interviews with flying colors and was surprised 3 weeks later when I still hadn't heard from my recruiter about the results of the hiring committee meeting. Finally he called to tell me that I was rejected because I was currently working as a Flight Attendant. A job I had started 4 months prior because it was a great opportunity to move into their management group but then the airlines started downsizing management and so I applied for the Google Travel Sales role instead. However, apparently the elitist hiring committee members believed that FA's are stupid and there was no way they would be able to work at Google. Lucky for me the recruiter agreed it was incredibly sexist and fought with HR to bring me on as a temp. Three months later they resubmitted me to the committee and had me remove my former job - instead I mentioned that I was "traveling" for four months and bingo! Good think Larry is such an excellent judge of character. I have to say though, that level of bureaucracy remained pretty much the whole time I was at Google. I finally left after a lifestyle change moved me to Austin and they re-nigged on an offer to move me into the Travel Vertical role for which I was promised before the move....
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