Google is no different

... from the other big companies that treat people like shit. When it comes to recruitment anyway. So here's the end game.

First things first, the rejection letter:


Fair enough. I can handle rejection. What I can't handle is being made to wait close to 4 weeks, and me having to chase them up for an answer. I had initially been told that it would take 2 weeks max after the interview for someone to get back to me. Next thing you know, Jimbo from Google HR is on holidays to Thailand, and nobody else can tell me what's going on. Company policy.

My interview was on the 31st August, I didn't get a response till the 26th September. I would expect this kind of behaviour from a cruddy blood sucking recruitment agent, but not from Google HR. I don't know about anyone else, but before I go on holidays, I always do a handover of all my outstanding tasks. That way, people aren't depending on me when I leave the country.

Secondly, I got a verbal offer to contract with Google for 3 months in a different role, but within the same team. The idea was to "grow" me into the role I had initially applied for. Of course I agreed, working for Google's an opportunity too good to pass up. So I asked, "How long will this take to turn around?" The answer I was given, "Really fast, I can get this happening by the end of the week." In the meantime, my task was to find out market rates and get back to Google. Which I did.

Did I hear back? No.

Any response to my email enquiries? No.

So I call back. Numerous times during the next few weeks. I get the following excuses from Google HR:
- Really busy, couldn't get to it. Budget meeting arranged for next week.
- Budget meeting fell through, the Budget-Guy is sick.
- Budget-Guy is online, but can't manage to talk to him. Will keep trying.
- Budget-Guy was sent to Mountain View, he just returned and has locked himself up in his office.

I understand that things get in the way of the best of intentions. However, what *absolutely* shits me, is that at no time did Google HR _bother_ to keep me up to date with whatever's been happening. No calls, no emails, no updates. Radio silence. The verbal offer was made on the 26th September, my final talk to Google HR was today, the 31st October. That's another 4 weeks that this has dragged on for. From start to finish, the total time has been about 8 weeks of fucking around on their side, and still no answer! In the meantime, I've signed on with a different company because I need the squiddies.

Pretty shit treatment from a company renown for treating its employees really well.

Personally, I don't think it's the company that gets things wrong, I think it's the attitude of Brits towards work. I get the feeling that people don't try to get things done here. Or there's no logic in the way they approach doing things. I was honestly tempted to screenshot and blog about my current project's ridiculous directory structure on the network drive. It's the most inefficient way of organising documents I've ever seen. But, that's another rant for another day :P