Internal Microsoft Email Compares Life At Google Vs. Microsoft

Jun 27, 2007 at 11:32am ET by Barry Schwartz

Slashdot linked to a blog post that has what’s said to be an internal Microsoft email with a comparison of working at Google versus working at Microsoft.

The email is an interview between an ex-Google employee who Microsoft hired. Here are my top hits from this email:

He compares Google employees to kids who have everything taken care of for them, from food to laundry. Since these kids “don’t have a life yet,” this is perfect for them and they can be on email 24/7.
“Google doesn’t seem to think that private offices are valuable for technical staff. They’re wrong.”
On management; “conflict resolution between team members is very complex.”
At Google, “There is no career development plan from individual contributor to manager.”
Suggestion to Microsoft, “Make the food in the café free.”

Barry Schwartz is Search Engine Land's News Editor and owns RustyBrick, a NY based web consulting firm. He also runs Search Engine Roundtable, a popular search blog on very advanced SEM topics. Barry's personal blog is named Cartoon Barry and he can be followed on Twitter here.

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2 COMMENTS ON Internal Microsoft Email Compares Life At Google Vs. Microsoft

Neuro, June 28th, 2007 at 7:27 am ET:

Yeh very interesting I used to work for BT in a larger development organization that G has

some of the comments are priceless :-) calling for people to be sacked though what for I don’t know – obviously written my Linux fan boys or hobby programmers who think there leet cos the can put a unbuntu cd in a disk drive.

Longer term

Looks like G has mega problems looming the quote “My manager had over 100 direct reports”

The mixed up report structures the guy reports is interesting makes my view expressed on threadwatch is theres a lot of lower quality stuff shoved out of the door without sufficient testing.

Not having a career path and extremely flat structures will hurt them in future I know as BT was the same.

Anyone asked Vanessa for a comment