Working for the big boys
I was thinking about the big tech companies… mostly the ones I kinda watch - so Google, Yahoo, Microsoft and Apple. Recently it seems like there’s been a lot of shifts in the power dynamics of all of these places and with that shift in power came shifts in hiring patterns - at least as far as I can tell.
It doesn’t seem long ago, mostly because it wasn’t, that Ballmer was throwing chairs around everytime an exec left rainy Seattle for Mountain View. Google was hiring everyone then, the best and the brightest all wanted a piece of the big G. While you didn’t hear anything about Yahoo execs tossing chairs, I suspect there were some losses there as well.
Sort of like how now what with the Microsoft takeover looming and the stock not at lows only because of the offer. Microsoft’s circling Yahoo and trying to steal their talent away even before or perhaps in place of an actual takeover. Yahoo, on the other side of that coin struggles to keep it’s talent (the one’s it isn’t firing, anyway).
The new wrinkle is that now even Google’s losing its incredible allure. With its fantastic growth story starting to raise questions in this economic downturn and its stock price well off highs - it doesn’t seem to be so attractive a place to work for some. A few high profile moves made the news like G’s VP of Global Online Sales and Operations moving to become COO at Facebook. Or the series of guys who left to find their next fortune at some new statups.
Here’s the anomaly - Apple seems to be the new attractive place to work. With the iPod having turned the company around and the iPhone the new hot talk of the town it seems to be having a positive effect on hiring practices. Granted, it’s not a lot to conclude, but it is interesting that such a large, established company could in so short a period of time completely reinvigorate itself.
I honestly can’t remember another big company building such momentum so late in life. I mean, has Microsoft ever re-sexified itself? Or Yahoo since the big dotcom fall? IBM sorta did, but really, it just made itself relevant again, it didn’t really raise it’s excitement level to a furor. People want to work where there’s excitement (and the possibility of big stock money) so it’s startups a lot of times - but I’d guess Apple’s now offering the potential as well. Curious how these things work out.
March 17th, 2008 at 1:01 pm
All of the four companies you mentioned are being hit by the economy right as far as recruiting new talent. A lot of money are being put back into start-ups and you can see people moving away from the big companies to the little one for a chance to make it big (ironically that might mean getting bought by the company you just left). Even Apple is starting to get hit by the slow down in the iPod sales. The iPhone is a bright spot but it has also been loosing some of its luster. I’m curious to see how it does internationally.
Microsoft haven’t re-invented its entire company image, but it has in pieces. For example, xbox360 is a major player in the console world when no one thought it had a chance against Nintendo and Sony.
Yahoo has gone through one transformation previously when it hit bottom and then changed focus from being just a portal to providing a lot of services and content.
March 18th, 2008 at 9:46 am
I love it when you comment, Hsin, you keep me honest. :) As usual, I think you’re right - all the companies (and broadly, I think it’s safe to say *all* companies) are being hit by the economy. I think MS does have a few bright spots in it’s line up - XBox is the clear example, I think Silverlight could become something. But they haven’t been able to turn that success into something broader the way Apple capitalized on the iPod. See the Zune for a clear example of that.
Yahoo also definitely has turned itself around from after the dotcom crash. And I think it’s content/editorial/platform strategy was a winning one and this search/ad business is a big distraction. But it still is not anywhere near the big boy on campus that it once was. I think for now Google has peaked, and maybe forever - but it is at least taking a breather. Apple on the otherhand has a growing influence in the world and I think that is interesting.