[Phlow]

Having just interviewed at Google, with 15+ years of experience, spending 2 months brushing up on algorithms and data structures, of which none were part of my interview, leaving at the end of the day thinking they'd be crazy not to offer me a job, I was rejected. Several 20-something kids interviewed me, and I'm pretty sure I've forgotten more than they know.

I know they're Google and everyone wants to work there, but if their false-negative rate is so high, I'm not going to bother wasting my time. Don't tell me you're interested in me, create a study surface area that takes months to cover, when in reality the chance of being hired is quite small. It's disrespectful and it pisses people off.

[sssilver]

> I know they're Google and everyone wants to work there

If only Google themselves knew how far that is from truth.

[migstopheles]

> Several 20-something kids interviewed me, and I'm pretty sure I've forgotten more than they know

Not saying you didn't have a bad experience, but it's possible that this kind of attitude didn't help your cause much either...

[Phlow]

I had nothing but good conversations. No animosity at all during the interview. That comment is post-interview analysis.

[plonh]

You probably got the "he seems smart, but I would expect someone with this much experience to gave progressed farther in his career, no hire because no trajectory , we can't hire someone with 15 years experience at the '7 years of experience' level he interviewed at". For people who are solid contributors and not "management material", this looks a lot like ageism, but technically maybe isn't.

Now, why they want everyone at a 50K engineer company to be management material...seems ill advised.

[Phlow]

Obviously, I have no idea why I was rejected. If that is the case, no part of their interview tests what a lot of solid devs spend tons of their time doing in their career... solving problems. I have debugged countless problems. It's not sexy, not resume material, but it is reality. There are many, many very good devs working in smaller companies who have made a career out of getting things done. If Google isn't interested in people like that, I question that wisdom.

You also can't make a determination about "management material" by simply looking at a resume and seeing "they aren't a manager". Why am I not a manager, though? Because I still love development. It doesn't mean I don't mentor people. It doesn't mean I don't hold a lot of weight in determining how we do things.

I'm not really claiming ageism. I'm in my mid-30's. I'd be surprised if that was it. I do wonder if it's wise having 20-somethings interviewing people though.

[clebio]

That seems like a huge leap to a conclusion with the parent comment doesn't substantiate (without more information). Just sayin'