I can’t stress this strongly enough. I’m an engineer at Google, and do a lot of interviews here.
The hiring decision is based on interview performance, estimates of where you should be—based on history, age, etc.—and such things. It is not at all based on GPA. GPAs are only important inasmuch as it might get you past the first bar of getting to an interview at all, something you can automatically bypass by having someone who already works for Google recommend you, as well as a couple other ways. Personally, I was headhunted over IRC; my GPAs never came up at all, and they didn’t ask for a copy of my transcript until after I’d already signed a hiring contract.
This is, of course, not true for all companies—but I do think it’s true for the better ones. In short, actual skill is what matters.
I can’t stress this strongly enough. I’m an engineer at Google, and do a lot of interviews here.
The hiring decision is based on interview performance, estimates of where you should be—based on history, age, etc.—and such things. It is not at all based on GPA. GPAs are only important inasmuch as it might get you past the first bar of getting to an interview at all, something you can automatically bypass by having someone who already works for Google recommend you, as well as a couple other ways. Personally, I was headhunted over IRC; my GPAs never came up at all, and they didn’t ask for a copy of my transcript until after I’d already signed a hiring contract.
This is, of course, not true for all companies—but I do think it’s true for the better ones. In short, actual skill is what matters.