Google Team Match / HC Help

Mark43
Dath23

Go to company page Mark43

Dath23
Oct 25, 2019 28 Comments

Hi,

I had an onsite at Google a couple of weeks ago. The recruiter said the feedback was that I was borderline L5/strong L4. He also added that nothing was guaranteed and the next step is HC.

Prior to going to HC, the recruiter said it'd be good for me to get a statement of support from a HM (he can only submit one per package) and that would be the team match for me.

So, I chatted with the hiring managers of the following teams.

1. Youtube Main App Eng Prod (San Bruno)
2. Build, Test, and Release Infrastructure Eng Prod (Sunnyvale)
3. Gmail FE Eng Prod (Sunnyvale)

Questions I have:

1. How does Eng Prod teams compare to traditional product teams? I don't have a problem building infrastructure as I have done plenty of product engineering in my life, but I would prefer not to be in an automation testing position which I have read on some other posts.

2. What are some of the pros/cons of each team? Which team would you choose? I'm mainly looking for a place where there is ample amount of opportunity with relatively little bureaucracy. I am leaning towards the YT or Gmail team. BTR doesn't seam as appealing to me, because I'm slightly more comfortable on the FE.

3. Any other considerations I should take into account?

YOE: 7
TC: 190

comments

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TOP 28 Comments
  • Don’t ever, EVER work on internal products. Promotions and reviews are very specifically biased towards results and metrics that come from public customers. Everybody at Google knows that internal tools and products are a career killer. Stay away.
    Oct 25, 2019 5
    • Google
      YWzz63

      Go to company page Google

      YWzz63
      I don’t agree with this. There’s EngProd orgs with EngProd VPs that you can be promoted just as fast as anywhere. Internal tooling moves faster and is all Eng driven versus PM driven on product side. More freedom and flexibility. Can make big impacts, but will need to work to show how it brought value.

      Would add EngProd is same pay ladder so L5 is 400k. Going from L5 to L6 is hard for anyone. EngProd also has less likelihood of pager duty and schedule crunch.
      Oct 25, 2019
    • Expedia Group / Product
      produxtBrah

      Go to company page Expedia Group Product

      produxtBrah
      EngProd =/= Enterprise IT/BizApps
      Oct 26, 2019
  • Google
    737max

    Go to company page Google

    737max
    Transferring from eng prod is harder compared to other teams. I would recommend going without support if you don’t have an urgency to switch jobs.
    Oct 25, 2019 2
  • Google
    737max

    Go to company page Google

    737max
    No harm in trying
    Oct 25, 2019 0
  • Google
    737max

    Go to company page Google

    737max
    eng prod is like test tools productivity tools etc. Not quite exciting if you are currently a swe. Among these teams Youtube is the best. Stay away from caribou aka gmail
    Oct 25, 2019 7
    • Google
      737max

      Go to company page Google

      737max
      @VTAa78 Gmail moves as fast as Youtube ? That’s like comparing a banana slug to an electric car. Things were painfully slow at Gmail until a couple of years ago. Not sure about this new director.
      Oct 26, 2019
    • Google
      VTAA78

      Go to company page Google

      VTAA78
      I’ve lead product teams in both orgs and my experience is that Youtube is also slow. We used to joke that we wouldn’t fail from a lack of oversight. Weekly VP review and intense scrutiny, we didn’t ship much and become great at executive presentations. Zero risk taking in Youtube.
      Oct 26, 2019
  • OP, have you cleared HC?
    Nov 18, 2019 5