YouTube Reviews

Pros

Google benefits, great people as peers

Cons

Google hiring policy makes everyone have to work multiple jobs because there are so many open heads. Middle management is somewhat incompetent, and there are more managers than non-managers. General Google culture (read: elitism) gets in the way of making good decisions.

Advice to Senior Management

Some of the best people learned what they know from experience, not from going to Stanford, and plenty of Ivy League grads can't find their way with a subway map or figure out how to make their own coffee. Stop the elitist nepotism, cut the managerial fat, and start hiring/promoting people who know how to actually get things done.

Pros

The YouTube name is widely recognized, and makes for a pretty good line on your resume. There are also some office perks (free food, gym, etc.).

Cons

Don't expect a full time job out of a contract gig at YouTube. Management dangles Full Time like a carrot in front of contractors in order to get the most work out of them, but in reality only good connections will get you a full time job. If anything, working as a contractor only HURTS your chances of being employed full time at YT (if that makes any sense, go figure...)

Advice to Senior Management

At one point, three different higher-ups were telling me what to do. Management needs to be better organized when interacting with employees, and more TRUTHFUL to their workers. During my interview, my boss told me that contractors who proved themselves could work their way up in the company, but she never ended up doing anything to help me get a full time job at YT, despite me being one of the best-performing admins on my team.