When I first came to Hyderabad in 2014, I started noticing something interesting - the laptop bags people carried to work. These bags were usually black and had their company’s logo on them.
Back then, I would dream about working for these companies. My fascination grew so much that I started judging companies by their bags. I’ve even applied to companies just because I liked their backpacks!
Some of the coolest bags I’ve seen are from:
I used to get excited even about getting just a t-shirt from hackathons.
Since my second job at Furlenco, I’ve been collecting company goodies like crazy. For the first few years, I would wear the t-shirts and hoodies, but lately, they’ve just been sitting in my closet.
Companies give out goodies not just to employees but also during meetups and events. I used to go to Google, AWS, and other tech meetups mainly for the free t-shirts. Eventually, I got interested in the actual content, but initially, it was all about the swag.
Even teams within companies would give out stuff during offsites and company events. When I was in the FSG group at Flipkart, we often got hoodies and t-shirts with our team’s branding.
I remember one company that sent me a welcome kit before I even joined! But things have changed in the last few years. In my recent job switches, companies usually just send a laptop, and you only get the welcome kit after joining.
This probably saves money but kills some of the excitement (at least for me).
I loved buying cool t-shirts and jackets from Flipkart’s office store. Wearing them made me feel like I belonged among all the tech people in Bengaluru.
Amazon has a similar store with great stuff, but it’s only for US employees. This seems unfair since they have so many people working in India. Interestingly, Amazon doesn’t put their logo on office buildings or bags either. 🫥
ServiceNow has a store in India and gives out branded bags. I’m planning to order a bag even though I got one when I joined (which is already in my collection box).
As a kid, I always used all my toys and clothes properly and shared them with my siblings and friends. I never had trouble letting go of things when they got old.
But these company goodies are different. I feel weirdly attached to them and want to keep them forever. They’re like trophies, and each one has a memory attached to it.
My favorite is my Amazon Day 1 t-shirt because it reminds me to stay curious and keep learning throughout my life and career.
I really want to get a Google’s noogler cap someday. I once got to wear one, but I want my own. It would be a special addition to my collection.