Pros
- Perks are the best you'll find anywhere: Food, fancy drinks, baristas, massages, bring your dog to work, fun events every week/month, full relocation benefits, the list goes on... anything you want! - Technology of course: It's great using Gmail/Google for Work products (much better than Microsoft suite that we're all used to outside of Google), and there are high quality cameras/screens in every conference room for meetings on Google Hangouts, making it very easy to work with remote teams - Pay and bonuses: Usually much better vs. other companies, especially since they offer stock units that vest over time and Google stock is worth a lot (though I did hear from other Googlers that they could get paid a lot more at other companies? not sure what they're referring to...). - All in all, it's working for Google, which in itself is a pro and "cool" to many!!
Cons
- Very competitive atmosphere: People take credit for others' work and there have been many cases where this has happened across several teams. These people want to look better to senior leadership/get more hires/justify their roles. - Different experience dependent on what team you're on: Dynamics vary a lot. Often, your boss must be vocal enough or well liked in order for you to succeed (as the person below them) since you have no access to upper leaders. - Poor Management & Leadership: Just really bad in a lot of cases and don't really know what's going on. Lack of product knowledge and it's very obvious. - Promotions are selective: "Favorites" will often be easily promoted, when others may deserve it more. There is only a certain # of people who can be promoted every cycle. - At times, feels like a sexist environment for women: Males favored, listened to more, and "boys club" mentality at management level. - "Flat" organization but very hierarchical: Try to hire smart, experienced people in at the low level, meaning you must do everything on your own and feels like you're alone on an island of 1 without help or anyone to manage/hire in below you. Managers are usually people who have been at Google for a long time, and they are the ones with access to the senior leadership teams. - Hiring: Takes a long time. They say they only hire "smart people"; however, the company is so big now, that's really impossible... many employees are not as smart or cool as Google advertises. - Unwilling to allow transfers to other offices: If you like Mountain View, great! If you do not like Mountain View, which most people do not, good luck with trying to transfer offices and stay in your current role. Internal transfers are also not as easy as advertised. - Bureaucracy: It's a huge company. Don't expect it to be all roses or feel like a small, fun company. There's a lot going on all the time, and you can easily get lost in the shuffle depending on the above re: managers, team, promotions, etc.
