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The Google Culture

Though we've grown a lot since Larry and Sergey started Google in 1998, we still maintain a small company feel. At lunchtime, almost everyone eats in the office café, sitting at whatever table has an opening and enjoying conversations with Googlers from all different departments. Topics range from the trivial to the technical, and whether the discussion is about computer games or encryption or ad serving software, it's not surprising to hear someone say, "That's a product I helped develop before I came to Google."

Our commitment to innovation depends on everyone being comfortable sharing ideas and opinions. That means that each employee is a hands-on contributor, and everyone wears several hats. Because everyone realizes they are an equally important part of our success, no one hesitates to ask Larry or Sergey a pointed question in our weekly TGIF meetings, or spike a volleyball over the net at a corporate officer.

Our hiring policy is aggressively non-discriminatory and favors ability over experience. The result is a staff that reflects the global audience the search engine serves. We have offices around the globe and dozens of languages are spoken by Google staffers, from Turkish to Telugu. When not at work, Googlers pursue interests from cross-country cycling to wine tasting, from flying to frisbee. As we grow worldwide, we continue to look for those who share an obsessive commitment to creating search perfection and having a great time doing it.

About the Googleplex

Our world headquarters building (aka the Googleplex) is located in Mountain View, California, a stone's throw from the Shoreline Regional Park wetlands. While not all Google offices around the globe are identical, they share some essential elements. Here are some things you might find in a Google workspace:

  • Local flavor, from a mural in Buenos Aires to ski gondolas in Zurich, expressing each office's unique location and personality.
  • Bicycles for efficient travel between meetings, dogs, lava lamps, and massage chairs.
  • Googlers sharing cubes, yurts, and huddle rooms (few single offices!) with three or four team members.
  • Laptops in every employee's hand (or bike basket), for mobile coding and note-taking.
  • Foozball, pool tables, volleyball courts, assorted video games, pianos, ping pong tables, lap pools, gyms that include yoga and dance classes.
  • Grassroots employee organizations of all kinds, such as meditation classes, film clubs, wine tasting groups, and salsa dance clubs.
  • Healthy lunches and dinners for all staff at a wide variety of cafés, and outdoor seating for sunshine brainstorming.
  • Snack rooms packed with various snacks and drinks to keep Googlers going throughout the day.

 

Here's a look at life at the Googleplex:
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