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Comment by notAtGoogle | Hacker News Reader

I had applied to work at Google. A few years ago, Google would have been in my top 5. This time the experience was disappointing. Their offer was low, a little lower than what I make at a startup. When I tried to negotiate with my recruiter, she said "we think this offer is good enough" and that was it. Instead, they offered me a small signing bonus if I responded yes WITHIN THE NEXT TWO HOURS.

So they made me the offer on thursday, I responded on Friday afternoon, and they demanded an answer by Friday at 5pm. I ended up rejecting the offer but the whole experience left a bad taste in my mouth.

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As someone who has experienced an exploding offer, don't ever take them. If it's that hard of a sell and they're putting that much pressure on you, you don't want the job. I will never, ever except an exploding offer again even if it comes from someone I know.

The hiring process at Google is affected by a lot of variables. But for senior engineers, the salaries + benefits (especially stock and bonuses) are definitely very competitive.

It's also much easier to negotiate a better deal if you have a competing offer from another firm. And doing extremely well on the interview process also helps, along with a strong track record or in-demand skill set (e.g. mobile development). This is generally applicable to the most tech companies, not just Google.

Disclaimer: I'm a hiring manager at Google.

Blind allocation for senior talent is just st00p1d.

And I speak from personal experience. As Erich stated, all the cool work is taken at Google. Blind allocation will likely land you on a team doing work unrelated to the standout work that got you noticed by Google in the first place.

If you don't mind trading away your life's passion for Google's admittedly fantastic perks, then it's a great career move. OTOH if you're finally making your mark in the world such that Google notices you, don't fix what isn't broken, avoid Google(1). My stint at Google could best be described as "Career Interrupted."

1. Exceptions: Acquihires and moonshots in your area of expertise. These are no-brainers and a great deal. Google perks plus compelling work? Sign me up. Sadly no longer an option for me because I got labelled as unmutual for leaving.

I don't think, that pressing down wages because so many want to work for Google does the company real good. Happier (content) programmers are better programmers.

Funny that you mention Google's low offer, there was an interesting article about salary at the big companies around here: http://pando.com/2014/01/23/the-techtopus-how-silicon-valley...

I think every personal rejection to Google would be a hell because after all the hell interviews... there comes the moment you have to reject the offer. I find that pretty sad :(

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