Looking For A 'Start-Up Adventure’? This Is How Google Lured New Hires In 1999

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Google on Monday announced that it will reorganize under a new parent company, Alphabet. While Search, Android, YouTube and other core businesses will remain part of a slimmed-down Google, the larger Alphabet conglomerate will include some of the more experimental enterprises. 

The whole thing is a far cry from the Google of yesteryear. Feeling nostalgic, we took to the Wayback Machine -- a digital archive that stores cached web pages -- for a taste of what Google was like when it was just a startup. And we found something delightful: one of its first open jobs pages from 1999, just one year after the company was founded.


On this page, the fledgling search engine billed itself as a place where new hires could embark on a career full of "adventure."  It listed 17 open positions across engineering, marketing and other departments at its new headquarters in Mountain View, California. In addition to listing available jobs, this page included a list of reasons to work for the company:  

1. Hot technology
2. Cool technology
3. Intelligent, fun, talented, hard-working, high-energy teammates
4. In the center of the Silicon Valley
5. Excellent benefits
6. Stock options
7. Casual dress atmosphere
8. Free snacks and drinks
9. An exciting place to work! Your ideas can make a difference
10. Millions of people will use and appreciate your software

Even back in 1999 Google's aspirations weren't small. The rising star of search engine technology was committed to finding the most talented job candidates. Requirements for the vice president of engineering, for instance, included a "Ph.D. in Computer Science and 10+ years of relevant experience." Candidates for the staffing manager role were required to have more than "5 years experience in technical recruiting." Even the facilities specialist was expected to have "strong PC skills" and "a BS degree," in addition to "at least 2 years of experience in a project management role."

Aside from regular tech roles and marketing positions, one job description particularly stands out: Google's first in-house head chef.

The Googlers are hungry!!

One of Silicon Valley's hottest and fastest growing internet companies is looking for an experienced and innovative gourmet Chef to manage all aspects of Google's onsite Cafe. In this position you will be responsible for managing the Cafe, from menu planning to final presentation. The experienced Chef of choice should be creative and healthy in planning menus for Googlers. Here's a group of people with well traveled refined palates with a craving for epicurial delights.

The only Chef job with stock options!

The company ended up hiring Charlie Ayers for the head chef position in November 1999, after he won a cook-off judged by the company's 40 employees. Ayers led Google's cafeteria until May 2005, and he now owns a cafe in Palo Alto. 

The Google of today is a behemoth compared to its startup days, and it boasts a much more robust careers page, which includes descriptions of various teams and roles, as well as videos showcasing what it's like to work for the company. 

The real question now is, does Alphabet need a master chef? 
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