How Google Hires
It's too bad that Google has likely permanently ruined their HR image. They have developed an overwhelming reputation for arbitrary interviews and prolonged hiring decisions.<p>I'd like to think I'm a pretty good developer and have made a positive impact everywhere I've worked. Yet I'd never even consider applying to Google, because I know exactly how that process would go down.<p>1) Most likely result: I never hear back at all, because I didn't attend Stanford/MIT. (Never mind that I got accepted but didn't attend due to better financial aid elsewhere.)<p>2) If they do decide to interview me, I won't hear about it for months.<p>3) I'll have to drill on data structures and efficiency of sorting algorithms I've literally never implemented outside of an interview or academic setting.<p>4) Even having drilled on those arbitrary questions, I'll likely fail the interview because after a multi-day gauntlet of questions a random engineer didn't like the particular assumptions I put into my Fermi model of golf balls.<p>5) Of course, if they ever bother to let me know I failed, it won't be for months.<p>(Note: this is all based on actual Google hiring experiences.)