5 Essential Steps for Anyone Applying to Google

Are you applying for a job at Google or other tech companies? Here's an article for you. Having worked at Google for the past decade, I have participated in hiring interviews, been involved in onboarding and also successfully referred folks across different teams. Here are my honest tips that might help you succeed with your job application!

Step 1: Identifying the opportunity

By this I mean finding the right job for you, and this really varies across different people. As you can only apply for a maximum of 3 jobs, do make sure you choose the ones that really fit your skillsets and experiences. If you are relatively junior, here are some quick guidelines:

• For students: Google does have internships and apprenticeships, and these roles get a significantly higher chance to convert to FTEs (full-time employees) upon graduation
• For juniors: find roles labelled as "early" in experience level, and especially sales roles which have more flexible skills requirements

Step 2: Understand the opportunity

Once you have identified the 3 jobs, research. On top of just referring to the job descriptions, do make sure that you do a little bit more research about the team structure, organisation vision and about the people. Here's an example of some key questions that you need to understand before even applying.

• job nature: is it a new role or a replacement opportunity?
• organisation structure of the team: is it a regional team or global team? how big is the team?
• leadership: who's leading the team currently and globally? how's their experience relevant to the team vision?
• market environment: how is the team/product performing in relation to the industry dynamics? For instance, if you are applying for jobs in Google Cloud, how is GCP's market share in relation to other market players such as AWS/Azure? Is this function growing or shrinking in the age of AI?

Why do you need to do so much research even before applying? One: because you want to apply for the RIGHT opportunity. In this age of constant tech layoffs, I have heard stories of people getting fired once they got hired because of re-orgs. Some job functions are particularly hard hit, including HR, marketing, partnerships, etc. Doing initial research can help you visualise the vision of this role, and understand what you can offer from a hiring manager's point of view. But I get it, sometimes a lot of this information may not be easily accessible online, so here comes my next tip.

Step 3: Talk to people

This is the most important tip and this is non-negotiable. Talk to Googlers, ideally working in the exact team you are applying for. Get answers to all the questions above, plus:

• status of this opportunity: how's the hiring status now, do you still stand a chance
• about this opportunity: what's the KPI, how to measure success, any best practices, what teams/parties the role interacts with
• about future opportunities: how's the team expanding, will there be headcounts coming up soon
• about the team: how's the manager, how's the day-to-day, anything they like/dislike about the job, how's the culture

Even if you are not able to get these questions answered, still find some Googlers to explore if they are happy to refer you. Honestly, without referral it's very difficult to get in, as HR is receiving a lot of applications every day, not to mention internal applicants will often be prioritised. However, do note that Googlers generally get a lot of requests for referral, and as everyone's busy, do make your LinkedIn connect request stand out.

Step 4: Refine your resume and cover letter

Once you have obtained enough information about the role (refer to questions above) and get the support from a referee, it's time to prepare your resume and cover letter. Make sure that your resume communicates clearly that:

• you have the relevant skillsets and work experience as required by the role
• you have worked in a similar setting and with people in the industry

In the cover letter, highlight how you as a potential new member can add value to the team, and how you see the impact and vision of the team, as relevant to your personal aspirations.

Bonus: I don't have experience and I couldn't get referred

OK. Let's say if you have tried your best and still couldn't figure your way, the final bet is to find contractor roles at Google. Contractors are those that still work at Google, but are employed via agencies and do not enjoy the perks. While this is the situation, I would still recommend trying these opportunities because being a contractor, you get to work with FTEs and build relationships, get first-hand insights about the team and have almost the same level of exposure; all which grants you a MUCH HIGHER chance of getting converted into an FTE yourself.

And voila, that's all until the point of application. However, here's what I have to say: application for jobs at Google isn't as easy these days. The internal restructuring is still ongoing, which means there are still constantly people that are being laid off, and these people will all apply for the job opportunities you see in Google Careers and will be prioritised before external candidates. This means a lot of the openings you see on the career website might be filled already. Besides, as you can probably check out my previous publications, working experience at Google is still amazing but at the same time you also have a lot of other options these days, that offer similar benefits, better flexible work policies, and a less corporate culture.

Having said that, if you want to get a chance to work at Google, hiring these days is concentrated in advertising and cloud sales roles. Having worked in both organisations, reach out to me or reply to this newsletter if you have specific questions.

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