Why I ignore Google recruiters

This is a real story, it’s not just about Google. I often receive letters from Amazon, Facebook and small Silicon Valley startups. They somehow find me - most likely through this blog, through my books or through an account on GitHub . They always start with the phrase: “Your profile has impressed us greatly,” and end with, “Let's schedule an interview.” I always answer in the same way, and they always disappear after that, often returning after a few months under a different name. I’ll try to explain my thoughts here. Perhaps you will do the same and we can make a difference.


Deer Hunter (1978), director Michael Cimino

Clarification: I understand that I am dealing with billions of dollars worth of companies that are the best in my industry, and that I am dust in the wind compared to them. I understand that their answers do not care for my answers - they just click the "Delete" button and move on. I also understand that they will never see this post and that this article is likely to change nothing. However, I have to write it.

Below is what I send back to recruiters:

Thank you for your appeal! Your proposal was very interesting to me. I have nothing against the interview. However, there is one condition: this interview should be conducted by the person under whose guidance I have to work. This means - my future immediate supervisor.

The recruiters who received this answer never answered me.

Why am I sending such text?

Very simple - I got a good lesson two years ago when Amazon suggested I get an interview for a job. I received a letter from them saying that they were very impressed with the information in my profile, and they cannot wait for the moment when the joint work begins. They need me, only me and no one else. I was naive, and this letter inspired me.

An interview was scheduled at the Seattle headquarters. They paid me a plane ticket (from San Francisco) and a day in a five-star hotel! I was shocked. They were really interested. Of course I do too.

What happened during the interview was most likely very close to Max Howellexperienced at Google : several programmers who did not know anything about my profile, offered me to draw different algorithms on the board for almost four hours. Have I done it? I don’t think so. Has an offer been made to me? Not.

What have I learned?

That it was a waste of time. For both sides.

Their bureaucratic machine is designed to process hundreds of candidates per month. To catch and attract such candidates, there is a whole army of recruiter monkeyssending out enthusiastic letters to people like me. They must somehow pre-select candidates, but they are too lazy to make this process effective and creative. They simply let candidates through random programmers, who are supposed to ask the most complex questions.

I'm not saying that the people who go through these tests are not good programmers. I also do not say that I myself am a good programmer - let's face it, I did not pass the test. I believe this filtering system is pretty good. I only claim that such a system is contrary to the letter received from the recruiter.

If at the beginning of the letter it were said: “We are looking for a specialist in algorithms”, then we simply would not have moved further and would not have spent our time. Clearly, I am not a specialist in algorithms. It makes no sense to ask me questions about traversing binary trees - I don’t know the answers to them, and there will never be any interest in learning. I try to be a good specialist in something else, for example, in object-oriented design .

There was an obvious discrepancy between my profile and the expectations of those who asked. I do not blame them, and I do not blame the girl recruiter. All of them are just slaves hired workers. I blame myself for not understanding it all right from the start.

I had to answer the recruiter that I would not want to be interviewed by someprogrammers, because I would almost certainly be doomed to failure. There was no need to try. I would like to talk with the person who really needs me: with my future leader. This person would read my profile information. From him there would be no meaningless questions about algorithms for the simple reason that he would know my future responsibilities and problems that I would be able to solve if the company hired me.

Unfortunately, as I continue to observe for two years of my football being kicked back to recruiters, they cannot change anything. They are required to provide a formal and standard selection for anyone, starting with the same warm and flattering initial promises.

I'm sorry, gentlemen, recruiters, but I won’t go through standard interviews anymore.