Career Advice Talk

Is Google losing its Glam?

14th July, 2008 - Posted by Robin Ogden -

Great post by Deb Perelman – IT Grind on Google and the undercurrent inside of Google’s outer charm. Is their charm wearing off? Some people think so – according to Perelman’s post:

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“Is working at a company that does your laundry, gives you free food and lets you sit on bouncy-ball chairs kind of like being a kid again? More than one former Googler has argued this as they walked out the door–it was fun for a while, but it got old.”

“Google hires programmers straight out of college and tempts them with all the benefits of college life. Indeed, as the hiring brochures stress, the place was explicitly modeled upon college… But as the gleam wears off the Google, I can see why it’s no place anyone would want to hang around for that long,” said blogger Aaron Swartz.

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Additionally, I just read a story in the New York Times , written by Joe Nocera, – ‘On Day Care Google Makes a Rare Fumble’ – talking about the huge increase (nearly 75%) in day care costs that Google will be passing on to its employees. Day care at Google will move from $33,000 to $57,000 a year. Yikes… that’s a big chunk and Google is hearing it from the employees.

What’s becoming of the giant who offers everything for free (or close to it)? If there’s one thing I know about working for companies who have provided loads of freebies and low cost extras – once you start raising the price and taking away the ‘free espresso’ – so to speak, things begin to tumble. Morale takes a beating, hiring gets tougher, product delivery suffers, stock slips…whoops – is Google on the same slippery slide many other giants have taken? Is Google fast becoming: just another company – as Nocera’s New York Times story states?

What’s your take??

Posted by Robin Ogden – FiredUP Careers

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