Techie types have long considered Google–with its generous stock options, free food, free-wheeling atmosphere and vaunted 20% time–the ultimate in techie employmentdom. It’s THE place where the best and brightest go to work hard, yes, but also be a part of a new, more fulfilling software culture. But some ex-employee posts reprinted by TechCrunch tarnish that reputation a bit. Reportedly threads from a private Google Group that asks ex-Googlers why they left the company, the posts reveal that all may not be as wonderful as it seems from the outside.
Among the gripes listed are the long, drawn-out and specious hiring process, the poor comparative pay and benefits, and the overall bureaucracy of the company. One post used a car analogy to explain the pros/cons of working at Google:
One auto has a 5 star crash safety rating, with good gas mileage, low maintenance costs and good performance. Another, has bluetooth for your mobile phone, 10 cup holders, sexy looking instrument panel, premium sound system, DVD player and seat warmer but has poor gas mileage, poor performance, bad safety rating, expensive maintenance, etc.
Some will make a purchasing decision on what really matters; safety, performance, serviceability. Some will make a purchase based on “how many cup holders the car has”. Google is the car with all the sexy features but very little of what really matters. The amenities,extra-curricular(s) and conversastion peice of “working for Google” is what keeps most working at Google.
Another undercurrent running through the posts is that more recent hires aren’t as happy or fulfilled as those in the early heyday of the company. Could this be a sign, as Google Blogoscoped’s Phil Lensssen portends, that Google’s culture is changing such that the best and brightest may just not want to work there anymore? The posts are reportedly from former Googlers who made the decision to leave, so the overall picture is probably a bit skewed. But as Google matures, and begins to more prudently prune projects and recruiting staff, it’s bound to find that preserving its culture and top engineers becomes more difficult. What do you think? Is Google’s culture sustainable over the long-haul, and should it be?
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