Founded in 1988 by Larry Page and Sergey Brin, Google is one of the world’s most well-known technology companies. Initially providing internet browsing through its search engine: Google Search , the company has grown and, through acquisitions and partnerships, now offers services and products for every aspect of modern-day work and home life.
Google is an organisation focused on innovation. It seeks to recruit motivated individuals who share its mission to organise the world’s information and make it universally accessible for all.
The organisation offers several career opportunities for those at undergraduate, graduate, or experienced level across their nine specialisms:
Google also offers specific career programmes as routes into the organisation.
Google BOLD career internship programme : paid summer internship for students in their third year of a four-year degree programme.
Google Associate product marketing manager programme (APMM programme): open to students and those with limited career experience.
Google Associate product manager programme (APM programme - 12-week internship or a full-time graduate role): open to undergraduates who will graduate within 12 months of completing an internship or students who have recently graduated.
These programmes enable individuals to gain a specialist understanding of the projects that Google works on or build their niche skills and experience in designated rotational areas.
Applying to an organisation the size of Google can seem daunting to many candidates. The company runs a defined recruitment process comprising of fours stages:
While the application process at Google is rigorous, it is designed to understand who you are, your skills, achievements, and how your attributes and qualities match the role you are applying for. Google hires employees not just on the basis of the skills they have but their passions, interests, and experiences.
The first stage of the process is to search for a role that interests you and matches your abilities, career interests, and aspirations. Once identified, individuals can submit their CV/resume for their position.
Those successful at the application stage are invited to undertake several online assessments that may include a technical assessment.
If successful at the online assessment stage, candidates are invited to participate in a virtual chat, with the final stage of the process being a number of in-depth interviews.
It is worth noting that you can apply for up to three roles at Google within any 30-day window.
Google encourages candidates to self-reflect and consider their skills, attributes, and achievements when deciding on which role(s) to apply for.
Using Google’s career search tool,prospective applicants can search for vacancies that interest them. Once identified, applications are taken via CV upload.
Google encourages its applicants to consider their skills and experience but also their passional, interests, and motivations when applying for a role. The company is looking for a CV that is job specific and directly tailored to the position you are applying for, one that clearly outlines projects, accomplishments, and how these were achieved.
Google does not stipulate the length of the CV but does encourage applicants to be concise in documenting their information, encouraging information on the CV to be specific to the job.
Candidates have the option to submit a cover letter with their CV, but this is not a requirement.
There are a number of online assessments that Google uses as part of their recruitment process:
These assessments are designed to assess your aptitude in key skill areas relevant to the role you are applying for.
Information on the tests will be sent by email to those candidates who have successfully passed the application stage of the process.
Candidates who have applied for engineering-related roles will be asked to complete a technical skills assessment.
In this 90 minute test, you are asked to provide answers to two questions. The content being assessed typically covers algorithm or data/structure questions. For example, coding questions can include topics such as
The level of difficulty varies depending on the question, with the aim being to assess a candidate’s level of technical knowledge and understanding within their chosen specialism.
Preparation is vital to ensure you showcase your technical abilities in this assessment.
Those that are successful at this stage will also have their technical understanding assessed in the latter stages of the recruitment process.
Working with numerical data is an important skill required for many roles at Google. The numerical reasoning test allows recruiters to assess an individual’s ability to work with, understand, and interpret numerical data.
In this timed test, questions are presented in the form of tables, graphs, or charts. Candidates must use their understanding of mathematical principles such as algebra, ratios, fractions, or percentages to determine which of the multiple-choice answers given is correct.
The test is timed, adding additional pressure, meaning that you need to work quickly but accurately when completing the assessment.
The verbal reasoning test assesses a candidate’s ability to interpret written information. Information in this assessment is generally given as short passages of text. Candidates need to read, understand and evaluate this information, then answer the questions that follow. Questions are presented in the form of short statements. Through interpreting the meaning behind the text, you then select whether the statement is true, false, or you can not say based on your understanding of what you have read.
All questions are multiple-choice and may include synonyms, analogies, and word coding to determine your understanding and interpretation of words when in the passage of text.
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To better understand the way you prefer to behave in workplace situations, candidates are asked to sit a situational judgement test.
Questions in the test take the form of scenarios that you are likely to encounter when working at Google. You are asked to either select the response from the list that best describes how you would react in the given situation or rank the list of responses according to your workplace preference.
When sitting a situational judgement test, it is essential to answer the questions honestly, going with your gut instinct when selecting your response.
Individuals who have applied to specialist roles may need to complete a mechanical reasoning test as part of their online assessments. This test focuses on the assessment of a candidate’s technical knowledge and understanding in practice.
Questions may be asked on all forms of mechanical principles and concepts such as mechanical systems, levers, or pulleys. You may also be required to name or identify parts or components within a mechanical system, detailing their purpose or function.
The questions are generally presented as diagrams, with candidates selecting which of the multiple-choice answers given is correct.
Those who are successful at the online testing stage will be invited to participate in one or more short virtual chats. The aim is to gain a better understanding and insight into a candidates’ skills. The chats are held by phone or video call with a recruitment team member, then with the hiring manager for the area you have applied to.
These chats are often seen as an initial screen; those candidates that can demonstrate through examples that they have the skills needed for the role will move through to the final stage of the process: the in-depth interviews.
Google’s in-depth interviews allow recruiters to meet virtually or in-person with candidates to determine whether they have the skills, passion, and interest for a role at Google. Candidates typically take part in 3 - 4 interviews in one day, meaning the process is comprehensive in assessing your skills and competencies in relation to the role you have applied for.
Google’s interviews follow a clear set of rubrics enabling every candidate to be assessed according to the same criteria. The company believes that this approach encourages candidates to show what makes them distinctive through their past experiences and their skills.
Interview questions tend to be open-ended in their format, allowing you to demonstrate your problem-solving abilities and how you approach work-based situations such as team working. This format also means you can highlight your strengths when sharing your answers.
As the final stage of the Google application process includes several interviews, you get the chance to meet different representatives from the organisation. Getting to know their different perspectives on working at Google means you can also find out more about the culture, workplace, and opportunities at the organisation.