BLADAM - Entry - Getting hired by Google

DISCLAIMER: This is my personal blog. The blatherings here aren't (necessarily) the views of the current company I work for, companies I've previously blessed with my presence, my loving parents, the Illuminati, or anyone other than me, me, me!

Getting hired by Google

I recently noticed that a fellow Googler posted some thoughtful tips about interviewing at Google, and -- now that I'm a bit more comfortable blogging about Work -- I figured I'd contribute to the conversation a bit by offering my own, unofficial tips.

Note the unofficial part. I work in Search Quality; aside from occasionally being asked to interview candidates (like most Googlers) -- I have nothing to do with our recruiting, recruiters, etc., nor do I pretend to speak for the HR folks. The stuff below is based on my own observations and opinions.

* * *

Application and interview tips

Broadly: be interesting, be humble, demonstrate outstanding competence in your direct area, briefly highlight your well-roundedness (academically, workwise, and personally), and clarify how you are an excellent fit with both the position you're applying for and Google overall.

Admittedly, with an insane number of applications a year, it is a bit of a numbers game. Some outstanding people get rejected. And, though I haven't witnessed this personally, I'm sure some jerks get offers. Luckily, Google's been overhauling its hiring processes, and I'm optimistic that particularly the percentage of great people getting overlooked (in relation to the number of apps) will decrease.

Some specific tips and notes:

Write a decent cover letter

Write with a tone that's professional yet warm... not stiff or dry. Your (discernible) voice should come through.
Keep it to one page (max!) or less. Maybe even a lot less.
Convince Google of the fits described above -- that's critical!!!

Your resume can be in PDF, Word, HTML, or text formats (unless otherwise requested, of course!)

But note that it will be ultimately printed out. This means that reasonable pagination can be helpful and also suggests that a comprehensive 20 page document is perhaps not a great idea. When you want your recruiter and interviewers to know more about your background & interests, links are your friends.

Respectful persistence can be appropriate

If you genuinely have another offer on the table, let your recruiter know!
If the recruiter promised to get back with you in [x] days, and in [x+1 or x+2] days you haven't heard back, politely e-mail them.

If you have a friend at Google who can articulately and sincerely vouch for you, that can work in your favor.

Your association / relationship with that person matters. They'll be asked how they know you and how well they know you (and your skills).

Passion matters and is skillfully perceived. You're probably wasting your time unless you really are excited about a particular position.
Getting turned down for one Google position does not mean you're ineligible to apply for another position down the road.
General interview advice that probably applies for pretty much any company:

Ask thoughtful questions.
Allow time for traffic and parking and finding the right building. Google -- at least the Mountain View campus -- is a big place!
Dress one or two steps better than you expect your interviewers to be. Less than that, and people may wonder about your judgment. More than that, and people may think you're clueless or arrogant.

The "right" dress at Google probably varies by department. Engineering folks tend to be more informally dressed than sales folks. If you're interviewing for a senior management position, I'd probably dress a bit more formally than you would for an intern interview. But the official advice also really makes sense here: dress comfortably. If you feel comfortable and confident, it'll show.

Get a good night's sleep the two nights before. Sleep deficits are cumulative. If you have a morning interview, make sure you're getting up early the two or three mornings before to get yourself ready to be mentally and physically alert during your interview time. On a similar health note, drink and eat smartly the day of your interview. Hunger pangs are distracting.
Invest in a good pen to take to interviews. The heft and reliability can be a real-even-if-small confidence booster. Taking occasional notes can help you remember info or questions for later, and also might indicate a sense of thoughtfulness and interest to your interviewer.
On the whole, think of interviews kind of like first dates. You don't want to do all or even most of the talking. You're there to impress, to learn, to help determine whether there's a good potential for a relationship. First impressions are important. Show you are caring and thoughtful by asking good questions. Avoid having spinach in your teeth (floss beforehand!).

Possibly-little-known factoid:
No Googler -- not even Larry or Sergey -- can singlehandedly extend an employment offer to anyone. While candidates don't have to go through as many interviews nowadays, most candidates -- regardless of level -- typically interview with quite a few peers; team-fit is critical!

* * *
I expect to offer some more Google-thoughts in the future, but -- as a reminder -- this is my personal blog, and as such, I expect to generally blather on about anything I feel like discussing, ranting, dissecting, punning, lamenting, etc... which is more likely than not to be boring to the impatient sort.
Oh, and one last thing: please keep comments on-topic as a courtesy not only to me, but to the cool folks reading my blog. Thanks!

* * *
Related entries:
- A blunt note to HR folks and interviewers
- How to evaluate your current job & career... and thoughtfully consider future options

and lastly, for a blast-from-the-past... some perspective & a bit of cranky ranting...

- What do you do? (self = job?) And how are you?

- Blathered by Adam on Wednesday, April 18, 2007 at 2:29 [ Permalink ]
- Filed under geekery • search engines • google • grab bag • tips • society • workplace
- Commented on by no one yet. Bummer. Please leave a comment below so this entry is less lonely. one person so far. Check out their comment below (and leave your own, too!)

Comment from Rocky Agrawal [ BLADAM Profile \| URL ]	Some good tips there, Adam. Does Google train interviewers on interview techniques? I recently took a class AOL offers on behavioral interviewing. It covered how to get interviewees to get specific, detect b.s. and discrepancies, questions to avoid. I wrote up some advice on interviewing. - Posted on Friday, April 20, 2007 at 13:09 [ Permalink to this comment ]
Comment from Paula Neal Mooney Ohio [ BLADAM Profile \| URL ]	Interesting. I’m sure everyone wants to work at Google every since Oprah did that feature on you guys with the yummy free food and such… Paula Neal Mooney http://paulamooney.blogspot.com - Posted on Monday, April 23, 2007 at 14:12 [ Permalink to this comment ]
Comment from member Adam San Francisco [ BLADAM Profile \| URL ]	Rocky, yep, we get interview training here at Google as well… and are also encouraged to shadow more experienced interviewers. Paula… I didn’t see the Oprah feature, but we do get really good food - Posted on Wednesday, April 25, 2007 at 14:19 [ Permalink to this comment ]
Comment from Greenflash Turkey DNN Camp [ BLADAM Profile \| URL ]	I would like to work at google, but i need some extra skills. - Posted on Wednesday, April 25, 2007 at 16:35 [ Permalink to this comment ]
Comment from Zack Lincoln, NE [ BLADAM Profile \| URL ]	Adam, awesome tips. I got my first contact from a recruiter in response to a resume I sent awhile back. Was curious what to expect from this point forward? .. Several email xchanges? Telephone Interview, Personal Interview etc? Of course if you are bored, you can drop me an email so I can send you 2000 question reply about Google and the hiring process! And if you want to thwart spambots .. ask the recruiter for my code samples .. (got a nice one in there that doesn’t require CAPTCHA’s) - Posted on Friday, April 27, 2007 at 18:06 [ Permalink to this comment ]
Comment from Ken TX [ BLADAM Profile \| URL ]	I wish I could work at Google or Yahoo. - Posted on Friday, May 18, 2007 at 13:20 [ Permalink to this comment ]
Comment from Teo [ BLADAM Profile \| URL ]	Why does a bright guy like you end up spending time stating the obvious and then called it the “getting hired by google..” I am not being funny, but things like, don’t party the nite before, or avoid eating while talking, and how about don’t be late…thanks anyway - Posted on Monday, June 4, 2007 at 7:18 [ Permalink to this comment ]
Comment from James Buy a Business [ BLADAM Profile \| URL ]	Excellent tips, Google is going to start it’s own SEO/SEM firm, So let me ask you does Google hire SEO experts? - Posted on Wednesday, February 20, 2008 at 2:41 [ Permalink to this comment ]
Comment from Jose Learn to Read [ BLADAM Profile \| URL ]	I Wish i could work for Google. But just think when Microsoft will take over Yahoo. Which company will pay more salary to employees? MS or Google? - Posted on Wednesday, March 26, 2008 at 5:50 [ Permalink to this comment ]
Comment from Online Shopping USA [ BLADAM Profile \| URL ]	Hey Jose, If you think salary is important. than you are wrong, in each field you need to have job satisfication. that will brings happiness for you, well ms now not going to buy yahoo, so i don’t think any recent competiton may occour in se field. - Posted on Wednesday, May 21, 2008 at 14:19 [ Permalink to this comment ]
Comment from SEO Florida St. Petersburg FL US [ BLADAM Profile \| URL ]	Any MNC requires onpage experience rather than having excellent knowledge in any field. It’s a dream of every webmaster to work with Google. Whenever Google starts it’s own internet marketing firm, it won’t hire SEO’s/SEM’s. Google will going to hire SEO/SEM companies. - Posted on Friday, August 1, 2008 at 1:13 [ Permalink to this comment ]
Comment from Land For Sale [ BLADAM Profile \| URL ]	Getting hired by Google is itself a great achievement. Every one wants to be a Googler, But one can only expert like you reaches there. Congrats. - Posted on Monday, September 15, 2008 at 13:11 [ Permalink to this comment ]
Comment from Liz Voss San Antonio [ BLADAM Profile \| URL ]	Great article. I found it especially helpful since I was turned down by Google only 2 weeks ago. I’m now planning my new strategy. Thanks. - Posted on Saturday, October 3, 2009 at 7:20 [ Permalink to this comment ]
Comment from Ismet Dumlupinar [ BLADAM Profile \| URL ]	Adam, looks like you have a problem with captcha, it basically displays your name - Posted on Saturday, October 3, 2009 at 8:05 [ Permalink to this comment ]
Comment from Ismet Dumlupinar Turkey [ BLADAM Profile \| URL ]	Captcha problem seems like resolved… - Posted on Sunday, January 3, 2010 at 11:16 [ Permalink to this comment ]

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