Google are right to brag
I didn't think Google would comment - but they have. Their blog, now back after the Blogger 'maintenance', has noted they've won Fortune's Best Company to Work For.
Google are a great company to work for. In fact, Google is a great company to visit. They always take care of you. I had a long chat with someone who Google was headhunting. He had the audacity to lead a team which beat Google into second place in an academic contest on machine translation. He wouldn't move. Despite all the perks he wouldn't give up his position in the University. Google kept on talking to him and in the end they offered him their equivalent of an "academic secondment" and he moved. He's still there. It's not just the perks. It's the culture.
I've seen this with the various Google teams we get to work with. People who show talent or aptitude in an area are quickly recognised and encouraged to bloom in that area.
Are there any downsides to working in Google? Yes. I work with a few people who have left Google (and a few who left Yahoo - we don't have any ex-Microsofters). The comments are all the same. Google is tribal. Don't expect the Google News team to talk to the Google Analytics team. Don't expect the Google Reader team to talk to the Google Webmaster Console team. To be honest, if that's Google's only growing pains then they've done well.
We've won "Best Company to Work For" awards too. Local ones ... but still excuses to have a night out with fellow workers. Always good!
Google are a great company to work for. In fact, Google is a great company to visit. They always take care of you. I had a long chat with someone who Google was headhunting. He had the audacity to lead a team which beat Google into second place in an academic contest on machine translation. He wouldn't move. Despite all the perks he wouldn't give up his position in the University. Google kept on talking to him and in the end they offered him their equivalent of an "academic secondment" and he moved. He's still there. It's not just the perks. It's the culture.
I've seen this with the various Google teams we get to work with. People who show talent or aptitude in an area are quickly recognised and encouraged to bloom in that area.
Are there any downsides to working in Google? Yes. I work with a few people who have left Google (and a few who left Yahoo - we don't have any ex-Microsofters). The comments are all the same. Google is tribal. Don't expect the Google News team to talk to the Google Analytics team. Don't expect the Google Reader team to talk to the Google Webmaster Console team. To be honest, if that's Google's only growing pains then they've done well.
We've won "Best Company to Work For" awards too. Local ones ... but still excuses to have a night out with fellow workers. Always good!
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