Google!

Dman001

Hey, I am thinkg of doing IT after school and I heard Google is a very good company to work for but I also heard Google was very hard to get a job in. Is this true? Does anyone work there and could help me?

DublinDilbert

Dman001 wrote: »

Hey, I am thinkg of doing IT after school and I heard Google is a very good company to work for but I also heard Google was very hard to get a job in. Is this true? Does anyone work there and could help me?

If your only doing the leaving cert now i would not narrow my options down to just one company, you'll be exposed to lots of different things at college.... who knows what companies will be around when you finish your degree/diploma.... doing something your interested in is the main thing....

Creamy Goodness

couldn't agree more, google isn't the only IT company out there.

there are various stories going around about google interviews, i know someone who had to do two face-to-face interviews to get a job, other people have gone through several phone call interviews only then to be forgotten about.

i was called for an interview there once, and whilst i was waiting i noticed a lot in the lobby. the atmosphere is pretty lax, dress is super casual, free drinks (they also get free food inside the canteen). it also had multiple awards in a display case most notably the 2007 most desirable company to work for award or something along those lines.

all seems like it would be a great place to work, but i'd imagine like most places that have this laid back attitude that there are hidden under-lying pressures and deadlines that you just don't see in their "google is great place to work" youtube videos.

board om

hey OP,

get ready for a big debate on this one. from my experience the people who work in google and like working there absolutely love it and wont hear a bad word said about it. buit the people who work there and dont like it absolutely hate it and have some horror stories. so it goes from extreme to the other. i think it is one of those companies that you either love it or hate it. its a very corporate enviorment, so very structured and by the book. i get the impression it is similar to Dell or Microsoft in that way. so if you are into a strict corporare enviorment and you like the whole micro mamagement thing, then you would probably like it there.

they do really look after their employees though. they give every benefit you can imagine. the benefit package alone is worth a hell of a lot. personally my view on benefit packages is that they are worth more to you if you are married and have a family. if you have a family (partner and kids) then the benefits package is great because things like healthcare and pension and that really make the difference. but if you are early twenties and arent really sure what you intend doing career wise, then you probably dont care about things like healthcare and pension. again the salary guidelines seem to be very conflicting. some peple say they pay very, very well. other people say that they pay very badly, so again it is hard to know.

regarding applying for a position, to my knowlege they dont use recruitment agencies so you willl have to apply directly. apparntly they wont accept anyone who does not have a degree. the degree doesnt necessarily have to be exactly relevant to he position you are applying for though, but you do need a degree.

thats all i can think of. im sure there will be a few google eployees that will be able to help you further. i will be interested to see what kind of respones you get for and against working there. should be interesting.

in the mean time check out this video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zjT1sUIS300

good luck with it.

jesus_thats_gre

Defo don't worry about what specific company you will be working for..

By then, Google may not even be the company that they are now sure. Just decide on an area that you want to get into and worry about doing well in college.

jesus_thats_gre

board om wrote: »

some peple say they pay very, very well. other people say that they pay very badly, so again it is hard to know.

From what I know, they seem to to be low to median payers and have absolutely no intention of changing that anytime soon.

board om

jesus_thats_gre wrote: »

From what I know, they seem to to be low to median payers and have absolutely no intention of changing that anytime soon.

thats what i couldnt figure out. most people you speak to say they dont pay very well at all. but then a few people have said they pay really well, in some case even paying over the odds. so i was never sure what the story was. tbh i think what some people who work there do is they add up the cost of the benefits package and include that when calculating their overall salary, which would obviousy make their salary look a lot better.

but OP, the other posters are corret, there are plenty of other companies out there that you could apply for. google arent the be all and end all of good companies. there are much betters companies to work for if you want a career in IT.

Dman001

Thanks for all the replies. I know there are other good companies other than Google but Google caught my eye with winning the Great Place to Work award a few times.

MIN2511

It's also quite difficult to get in!

There are loads of IT companies to choose from and as people say don't limit yourself!

Also they may win awards for Great Place to work in and when you get there you might hate it

AARRRGH

Have a read of this:

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055218446

nesf

Dman001 wrote: »

Hey, I am thinkg of doing IT after school and I heard Google is a very good company to work for but I also heard Google was very hard to get a job in. Is this true? Does anyone work there and could help me?

In some ways it's way too early to be thinking about individual companies, on the other hand, going into college with a definite plan about what you'd like to do afterwards and working towards that is a hell of a lot better than aimlessly landing in a degree with no real direction (not that there's a lot you can do about it sometimes).

The best advice I can give you is to only go into IT if you find it interesting. If you don't then it can be a very hard career to be satisfied in. It makes life far easier if you enjoy figuring problems out etc.

MIN2511

Op, are you going to college first or straight into the workforce?

fret_wimp

nesf wrote: »

The best advice I can give you is to only go into IT if you find it interesting. If you don't then it can be a very hard career to be satisfied in..

And even if you really really enjoy IT in college, it doesnt mean you will enjoy it when out working. you have so much freedom in college to do as you please with regards to projects, technologies etc etc. when you finally get into a company, you are tied to their method of doing things, their technolgies and systems, and despite the fact that you can see a gazillion ways to improve their system you wont be listened to because your ideas cost too much or would point out that someone above you is not doing their job properly. office politics really affects job satisfaction in cases such as that.

I will echo the comments above, only get into IT if you like it, not because you want to work for google because it looks/sounds trendy.

From what i have heard from google, they do pay well and have a nice benifit plan, but to move on in the company you have to work super long hours as everyone there is unbelieveably competitive and just to keep up you will find yourself doing 10-12 hour days. you wont be asked to do it, or expected to do it, but to be noticed above the next guy you will have to do it.

cronos

Dman001 wrote: »

Hey, I am thinkg of doing IT after school and I heard Google is a very good company to work for but I also heard Google was very hard to get a job in. Is this true? Does anyone work there and could help me?

Its funny I think its actually easier to get working for google if you do a business degree and go for the add/sales type jobs.