Google reviews

Although my peers made the best efforts to treat me "as an equal", the fact that I was a lowly *contractor* was never far from my mind. Yes, I was entitled to all the same physical privileges (massages, food, never ending snacks) but I received no other benefits (medical, 401k), and could not even gain access to internal job postings, because, well, I wasn't really a "Googler". I was also not entitled to a share of the sales bonus on ANY of the campaigns I worked on, although all full-time Googlers were. But I wasn't bitter, because I was working towards something, and I had a plan. I went out of my way to prove myself, work late hours, get noticed, and although my manager did make an effort to hire me on full time, it never happened, because it was never truly made a priority. Another thing that rubbed me the wrong way was the sense of entitlement many Googlers seem to have. Complaints about food choices and other corporate decisions were not out of the norm - I think many people have forgotten what the real world is like...

Career advancement and career development at Google is challenging. Google is short on titles, erring to title beneath individual's experience. Navigating internal promotions is very difficult and finding the resources to set one's self up for advancement is realized only by the most political and resourceful.