Google

I did an internship as a Software Engineer at the London office and also had the opportunity to visit Mountain View.

• My team was great, all super talented people from different areas (most of them Ivy-Leaguers) – theoretical physicists, CS folks, hardware specialists, and even individuals with backgrounds in social sciences – all of them software engineers, too.
• The project was super interesting and meaningful. Unlike other companies, Google has very good tutorials and material to get you up to speed in whatever you do.
• The atmosphere is great. The awesome food and the little micro-kitchens make you feel very comfortable. But it's not only the food; most engineers are very outgoing and fun, and the ones who aren't are good at heart.
• Reputation. Google not only creates great software but also does what many other large companies fail to do: they conduct research in areas beyond their core business, in areas that are completely new, only to prove everyone wrong and show what can be done. Examples (just to name a few):
  • Google Fiber
  • Google Glass
  • Project Loon
  • Google driverless car. Personally, I find this super exciting.
• Benefits. There are so many, even for interns! I don't know where to start. You can spend 20% of your time on a project of your choice. I did a 20% project with another intern, which was really fun.
• Cool activities. The recruiters did a truly awesome job organizing weekly fun activities (e.g., we watched "The Internship" before its original release in the cinema, flew to the Zurich office for the "intern summit," just to name a few). And this was in addition to all the other fun stuff happening every day.

Many people think highly of themselves. But I guess this is normal in companies that hire the best. Luckily, most people aren't like this.

Keep hiring awesome tech people.

Maybe raise standards for technical questions.