This was a hard email to write, and I’m republishing it here since I think it’s an important issue.

Hi,

I have friends at Google. I think Google do really interesting work, and have lots of great people that I would love to work with. I think I would be able to fit in there, and help people succeed.

I’m reluctant to take this conversation further, for a few reasons:

These things do not give me a good impression of Google’s culture.

I’m lucky enough to be in the position where I can be more selective about where I spend my time.

I think I’d prefer to see how the company responds before we see whether it’s worth talking more.

All the best,

James