Employment at Google

Google was founded on the 4^th of September, 1998, by Larry Page and Sergey Brin. They were both doing their PHDs at Stanford University at the time, and together they created the search engine which would change the Internet forever. They began working on the project in 1996, and the domain name for Google was registered on the 15^th of September, 1997. In the summer of 2015, the company changed its name into Alphabet Inc., and Google became the leading subsidiary and the parent for Google’s Internet operations and interests. Google’s unofficial slogan is “Don’t be evil”, and it has been ever since the company was founded. Considering its leading position in the Internet search industry, it is a more than appropriate one. Google’s global headquarter is located in Mountain View, California, and it is called the Googleplex. Those who want to see how the Googleplex looks like can watch “The Internship”, a movie that was filmed on the premises. While the movie about Google internships, viewers should refrain from believing everything they see. Aside from the search engine, Google has many other Internet-related products and services. The most lucrative one is AdWords, the online advertising service used worldwide, which places ads of related interest next to the search results. Google also has cloud computing and software products and services, but most of its revenue comes through AdWords. The company uses and owns over 1 million servers, located throughout the world.

The search engine processes more than 1 billion search requests every day, and, in 2013, it has become the most visited website in the world. As the company grew, so did the number of products and services. Gmail, Google Drive, and Google+ are one of the most famous Google products. YouTube is one of the most famous Google acquisitions. Blogger is just another example of the company’s strategy to cover the most lucrative areas of the Internet world.

Google is not just the most famous Internet-based company in the world; it is also a company that likes to have some fun while working hard. Everyone is familiar with the “Doodles”, which are special logos which replace the Google logo on the homepage for a short amount of time, and which are used when celebrating holidays, events, achievements, and people. The first Google Doodle ever designed and used was in honor of the Burning Man Festival of 1998, and was created by the founders. It notified users of their absence if the servers crashed. After then-intern Dennis Hwang was asked by the founders to design a logo for Bastille Day in 2000, Doodles have since been organized and created by a team of employees named “Doodlers“.

Google does like to have fun. For example, the search engine offers the “Answer to the Ultimate Question of Life, the Universe, and Everything”, which it is, apparently, 42. This is actually a quote from Douglas Adams’ book “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy”. When searching Google Maps for directions between places divided by a large body of water, such as the directions from Los Angeles to Tokyo, users get instructions to also kayak across the ocean. These displays of creativity keep Google one of the favorite companies in the world, and most tech oriented people dream of a Google career. Google’s hiring process is also unusual, and it is considered one of the toughest in the world. There are over 57,000 Google employees worldwide, and their number is constantly growing.

Google Application Process

Some of the most frequent queries people put into search engines are “how to work for Google”, “getting a job at Google”, “how to get hired at Google”, ” Google employment opportunities”, “how to get a job at Google”, “careers at Google” and “jobs at Google”.

There are many articles about Google employment and the intricate Google application process, written either by many of those who went through it or by former Google hiring managers.

Upon reading them, candidates will soon realize that there is no clear answer to the “how to work at Google” question, as opposed to the Answer to the Ultimate Question of Life, the Universe, and Everything. It turns out that getting a job at Google is a more complicated task than understanding the Universe.

With over 50,000 Google employees throughout the world, it would seem that there must be some ways to get a job at Google. The Google application process allows candidates to apply for Google jobs in one way only, which as you might have guessed entails sending your Google application online.

Of course, there are those rare cases when the candidate is targeted by a head-hunter and is asked to send in a resume, but those cases are extremely rare. The rest of the future Google employees need to follow the beaten online path in order to apply for those Google job opportunities.

To begin the Google job application process, one must first see if there is a Google job for which they would be a good match. Since we are talking about Google, one needs to know that the company advertises its varied available positions on its official recruitment website. Instead of going to the company’s official site, www.google.com, and searching for Google jobs using many different keywords, candidates can use one of the following links. The first one, https://www.google.ro/about/careers/, is the Google official recruitment page.

Here candidates can read more about the varied Google careers and the teams and many of the roles they could fill, as well as about Google’s locations. They can also take a look at how working for Google looks like. There is a very nice movie that will show them all they need to know. Of course, they can also search for specific Google careers by using keywords.

The second link, https://www.google.com/about/careers/search, takes candidates directly to the list of all available Google jobs, where they can narrow it by keyword(s), locations, and teams and roles. To decide which Google job they want to pursue, they have to read the job descriptions. These are very detailed and the Google recruiters make it clear what type of candidates they are looking for. If one decides that this is a good choice, they can click the red “apply now” button located both at the top and at the bottom of the page.

Candidates will see a very interesting button on these job descriptions pages. It is called “find connections”. Referrals are important when pursuing any careers, but when it comes to Google careers, as well as careers in many big and popular companies they can make a big difference. Many hiring managers consider that, if a new hire already has a friend that works at that company, it means that this person has something in common with the current employee and, thus, has something in common with others.

The new hire will adjust easier. This button, “find connections”, allows candidates to identify which of the people they know work at Google. Once he/ she finds the connection, the candidate can ask for a referral. This is one of the most helpful features one will find in job application processes around the world, if not the most helpful.

Some of the available Google careers feature at the beginning of their job descriptions a short line which says that, for immediate consideration, candidates may send a resume at this email address, jobs@google.com. This can be a very good idea, and this also means that the candidate needs to have a very well made resume. Even more so, the candidate could try and make sure the resume will stand out for the right reason. The number of resumes Google hiring managers receive is impressive.

If the candidates decide to apply using the Google application process, they need to click the “apply now” button. A new window will open, and the candidates will be asked to sign into their Google account. If they don’t have one, they can easily create it, although this will surely be an improbable situation. They will be required to fill in their name, country and city of residence, and upload a resume.

The Google job application process also requires them to give some details about their education and prior work experience, very few details. The rest of the information Google recruiters need is already in the resume. Candidates can choose not to write anything about their education and work experience for the same reason, which greatly simplifies things.

They also have the option of writing a cover letter or any other related information in a specified box. After completing the first part of the Google jobs and employment form, the candidates will be asked to disclose their gender if they wish to do it. Following this final step, they will be able to submit their Google application.

As one can see, the Google application process is simple and it has very few steps. It relies exclusively on the resume, and the candidates need to submit a really good one for them to be considered for an interview.

Minimum Age for Employment at Google

The youngest Google employee ever hired was Tom Vendetta, a 15 years old hacker. Google hired him because of his age and not in spite of it, because the company wanted to understand how young hackers think. We can safely say that the minimum age for employment at Google is 15, although there has only been one such young hire in the history of the company.

Nonetheless, some Google jobs can be age restricted, and many Google jobs do require some prior work experience. Candidates who want to work at Google should have at least the minimum age required by law in order to be eligible in the Google application process, unless they are geniuses of course.

Google Hours of Operation

Google has offices in many parts of the world, and each office has its own schedule. But the Google Mountain View headquarters has a regular tech company schedule. Most employees have somewhat flexible work starting hours and really flexible work ending hours.

Usually, Google employees arrive at the office around 9 in the morning, and finish their working day at 6 in the evening, sometimes later. As with all Silicon Valley tech companies, there are rarely 40 hours work weeks. But, since the campus does provide for almost everything, Google employees are happy to put in as many hours as needed.

Entry Level Google Careers and Income

Aside from internships, the company does offer many entry level Google careers, especially in tech related fields. Although these Google careers are considered entry level, the candidates need to have excellent skills in their related field in order to be considered for a Google job interview. Some of these entry level Google careers are: Software Engineer, Communications Associate, Risk Management and Compliance Specialist, People Analytics Consulting Analyst, Software Developer, and many more.

These are some of the entry level Google careers, but they are not similar with other companies’ entry level job opportunities. Google targets the best of people, and these Google jobs are considered entry level only because they require little or no classical prior working experience, although the candidates need to have practiced their skills in some way or another.

Google Software Engineer, Mobile and Console Video Ads, YouTube, Job Description and Duties

A Google Software Engineer develops the new Google technologies and products, which can be focused on a multitude of tech related fields, such as information retrieval, large-scale system design, networking and data storage, distributed computing, security, natural language processing, artificial intelligence, UI design and mobile, and many more.

The software engineer will work on a specific project, assigned according to the company’s needs, and will sometimes change teams and projects if required. These employees will manage their individual projects, from deadlines to deliverables. They will design and develop, test and deploy, maintain and enhance their software projects.

Aside from these responsibilities, Google Software Engineers Mobile and Console Video Ads, YouTube, will also be required to:

Build video ads offerings, and create new prototypes as fast as possible.
They will need to work at the intersection of consumer and partner-facing features.
They will design and implement new Google features within the company’s mobile applications.
They will build the libraries and frameworks and also the network protocols.
They will optimize the IOs mobile applications.

The minimum qualifications the candidates who want to get this Google job are:

A Bachelors degree in Computer Science or practical experience to match it.
Some software development experience in the related frameworks.
To be completely fluent in English, both in writing and speaking.

What qualifications the Google hiring managers would prefer the candidates to have are:

A Master’s or PhD in Computer Science or in a related field.
Some experience with at least one of these programming languages: Java, C/C++, C#, Python, JavaScript, Go, or Swift.
To have developed software in JavaScript, HTML5 or ActionScript.
Understanding of video or advertising spaces.
Knowledge of the iOS SDK performance tools and optimization techniques.
To be able to learn more programming languages if required.

Google Software Engineer, Mobile and Console Video Ads, YouTube, Salary and Compensation

The yearly salary of a Google Software Engineer, Mobile and Console Video Ads, YouTube starts at $86,000, which could explain why Google jobs are so popular. More so, the yearly salary can reach $220,000, and sometimes even exceed this figure. The salary is not the only compensation these Google employees receive. They can also get Cash and Stock Bonuses, and Profit and Commission Sharing. The total compensation for a Google Software Engineer can hit $1 million per year.

Internships at Google

Young people still in school can also begin a Google career, provided they are very, very good in their field. They can find many Google internship opportunities, most of them in technology related fields. Those specialized in software development are the most lucky ones, since most of the internships target them. But there are other Google internship opportunities as well, such as Legal Intern, Business Intern, and Associate Product Manager Intern.

Google internships last from 10 weeks to a few months, and they are paid. At the end of the Google internship programs, the best of the candidates will receive Google job offers available for them either right at the end of the program or after graduation. Google internships are the most popular ones in the tech world.

Google Software Developer Intern Job Description and Duties

A Google Software Developer Intern researches, creates, and develops new software solutions. They will greatly improve their data structures and algorithms skills during the Google internship, and they need to have a solid foundation in computer science to be able to think of new and original solutions and to constantly improve the existing ones. A Google Software Developer Intern will be part of a team which works on Google’s core products and services, and they will also have the opportunity to contribute to the projects that support critical functions of engineering operations.

These interns will work in one of the following areas, depending on their education, skills, and experience:

Product and Systems Development
Engineering Productivity
Site Reliability

The minimum qualifications needed in order to be considered for a Google Software Development Internship are:

To currently study for a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science or in a related field.
To be enrolled in a full time degree program and to return to school after the ending of the internship.

There are some preferred qualifications Google hiring managers look for:

Some experience in software or algorithms.
To have good knowledge of Unix/Linux or Windows environments and APIs.
To have excellent implementation skills in some programming languages like C++, Java, and Python.
To be familiar with network programming.

Google Software Developer Intern Salary and Compensation

Even the interns’ salaries are impressive at Google. The weekly salary of a Google Software Developer Intern is around $1,500, the equivalent of a yearly salary of $80,000. A Google Software Developer Intern will also receive relocation bonuses, which can reach $10,000, and usually depends on the duration of the internship.

Google Careers in Management

Google employees have great chances to professionally grow within the company and get a management Google career. But the company is also looking for new managers. There are many management Google jobs available, in many fields, from Computer Science to Marketing to Human Resources. Nonetheless, the most frequent management Google jobs are in technology related fields. Among management Google careers there are: Technical Program Manager, Account Manager, Musing Merchandising Manager, Platform Sales Manager, Staffing Channels Manager, Product Launch Manager, Product Marketing Manager, and many more.

Google Technical Program Manager Job Description and Duties

A Google Technical Program Manager leads multi-disciplinary engineering projects and manages the schedule of the project, identifies the risks and communicates them to all stakeholders involved. They need to communicate the team’s analyses and recommendations to executives, as well as communicate the technical trade-offs with the engineers. They will be required to solve many challenging and novel problems, and they will need to collaborate with various teams in order to successfully complete the project.

The responsibilities of a Google Technical Program Manager are very complex and they include:

Supporting the operations and analytic projects which are related to the budgeting and allocation of the internal computing resources.
Supporting the following operations and analytic projects which include billing, service fulfillment, internal chargeback and price modeling, supply chain management, and capacity planning needs.
Playing an essential role in the advancement of strategy, policy, and supporting tools regarding the operations of the project.
Providing tool development and / or hands-on scripting whenever it is necessary.
Working with partner teams to launch and deliver related projects.

The minimum qualification required of those pursuing this Google jobs is to have a BA or BS degree or the equivalent practical experience.

The preferred qualifications Google hiring managers are looking for are:

An MBA or a technical degree.
At least 5 years of experience in managing technical projects.
Excellent communication, interpersonal, and analytical skills as well as outstanding multitasking, prioritization, and organizational skills.

Google Technical Program Manager Salary and Compensation

The yearly salary of a Google Technical Program Manager starts at $84,000 and can go as high as $224,000. It is greatly influenced by the candidate’s skills and prior work experience and education. The yearly compensation for a Google Technical Program Manager can exceed $224,000 because Cash and Stock Bonuses can be awarded. The average yearly salary for this Google career is around $163,000.

Basic Tips for Applying at Google

Since the Google application process relies heavily on the candidate’s resume, it is on this that the focus should be. Every year, between 2.5 and 3.5 million Google applications are received. It is a mind blowing number, and Google hiring managers need to go through all of them. Naturally, resumes all start to look and “sound” alike, so, to make sure your resume doesn’t go unnoticed, it needs to look and “sound” a bit, or a lot, different from the rest.

Creativity is very important for the Google application process and so is the courage to stand apart from the crowd. Successful Google job applications need to have both of these qualities because it shows that the candidate also has them. So, along with great skills, the right education and work experience, candidates need to present themselves in a way that will catch the recruiters’ eyes.

When writing a resume, there are a few things candidates need to consider:

The information in it should be as condensed as possible while also containing all the relevant data.
The resume should be focused more on the candidate’s achievements and less on the job duties and responsibilities.
In general, recruiters are interested in how the candidate helped the company achieve its goals. This is what candidates need to write about in the resume.
When writing about their achievements, candidates need to focus on numbers. If, for example, they increased a website’s conversion rate, they need to specify by how much. If they debugged a program, they need to specify how complex the task was and how long it took.
If the candidate doesn’t have a classical work experience, the resume should be focused an all the practical things he or she has done.

These basic tips can be applied for all job applications, not just for Google. But, since Google has its own way of doing things, in the next part of this article we will highlight some specific tips.

Pro Tips for Applying at Google

As we said before, Google is also looking for creative people. Even if technology jobs might not seem to be creative, they, in fact, are. It takes creativity to come up with a new app or software, just as it takes creativity to find new ways to solve a complex problem. The first thing a candidate can do to show he or she has this quality is to create a resume that will stand out for all the right reasons.

There are many examples of such successful resumes around the web. Some of these resumes were submitted at Google and contributed to the success of the candidates. Before submitting your Google application, it would be a good idea to do some research on this matter to help you find the needed inspiration.

The Google application process allows candidates to upload their resume in multiple formats, including HTML. Those who want to pursue a Google job that uses this language might consider showing their skills right from the start and uploading a HTML version of their resume.

Candidates who want to pursue Google jobs based on design should consider uploading a beautifully designed resume for the same reason as above. Almost all types of Google jobs allow candidates to get creative with their resumes, including the Legal ones. Aside from these resume tips, there are other things that should be done and that can greatly increase the chances of being selected for a Google interview:

Candidates need to use the “find a connection” button. Maybe some of their acquaintances already work at Google and they can refer them. Referrals are very important, no matter the company the candidate wants to work at. This button is the easiest way to find out who can help.
Candidates need to write a very good cover letter. In this specific case, the candidates need to make sure that the cover letter matches the resume, and not for aspect reasons. The tone should be similar. Otherwise, it could create a dissonance in the mind of the recruiter and this is not a good thing. Candidates need to show they can follow an idea and adapt it to various outlets.
Candidates could also use the jobs@goolge.com email address if they want their application to be reviewed a little bit faster.
Candidates need to fine tune their skills before and during the Google job application, in order to prepare for the possible Google job interviews.

Another way of catching the recruiters’ eyes is to solve an existing problem. If the candidate has a solution to one of the company’s problems, he or she should find a way to present it in the Google job application. Recruiters like doers.

Benefits at Google

One of the things everyone knows about working at Google is that every job comes with an extensive benefit pack. Most of these benefits have become a common thing among Silicon Valley companies, especially the bigger ones. Even so, Google employee benefits are one of the reasons so many people want to work for the company. They include the classical retirement plans, health insurance, and paid time off, but they go way beyond them.

Some of Google’s employee benefits are:

Free gourmet meals all Google employees have access to – the company has 11 cafeterias at its Mountain View and New York campuses, and all the other Google offices throughout the world abide by the Google rule which says that food should be no further than 100 feet from Googlers. Various snacks, fresh fruit, and many drinks are always in close vicinity.
Parents are offered onsite childcare facilities in Google’s Mountain View campus. California parents also have back-up child care when their scheduled child care isn’t available.
Google offers full health care coverage not just for its employees but also for their families. More than that, the Mountain View and Seattle offices have on-site physicians and dentists.
Google employees who live in San Francisco, East Bay, and South Bay have access to the free, Wi-Fi-enabled Google shuttle services to help them with their commute.
Google employees can even wash their clothes for free in the company washers and dryers. The Mountain View campus also offers dry cleaning services.
Google employees can also do sports while at work. The Google Mountain View campus offers a swimming pool, a climbing wall, beach volleyball court, and running trails. Employees can also use the gym and attend free workout classes. They can even get a professional massage.
Google allows employees to bring their pets to work. There are two conditions for those who want to benefit from this perk: the pets need to be well behaved and house trained; at the first complaint, the pet needs to be taken home.
A Google benefit everyone has heard of is the 20% Creative Time Program. All Google engineers can spend 20% of their work time on the projects they want. This program was a success so far and it accounted for the creation of Gmail, Google News, and AdSense.
Google employees who want to lower their carbon imprint are subsidized by the company if they buy hybrid or electric cars and even if they install solar panels in their homes.
Paid Time Off is at another level at Google. Employees have 12 holiday days and 25 days off a year. New parents also have a generous amount of time off. New mothers are offered 18 weeks of paid maternity leave. Google also offers paid paternity leave to new fathers for 7 weeks.
At the Google Mountain View headquarters employees can do their hair, wash their cars, and even change its oil.
Google is all about development, so personal development is very important. Google employees have many programs to help them in this journey, including foreign languages classes.

Google Interview Tips & Hiring Process Information

Google job interviews are complex, no matter what type of job the candidate is pursuing. Google’s hiring process is considered the hardest in the world. The first step is the Google job application review which will be done by a Google hiring manager. With such a high number of Google job applications each year, this step might take a few weeks. If the candidate is considered interesting enough, the Google candidate will be contacted to schedule the first of 3 to 5 Google interviews.

The first two interviews will be conducted either on the phone or over the internet. Each of them will last at least one hour. The first interview will be a conversation with the Google hiring manager. The second one will be more specific and it is possible it will last more than an hour. The in-person Google interviews are the most challenging ones. The candidate will be interviewed by four or five Google employees who will be looking for four important traits. These are:

Leadership. The candidate needs to be willing to take full responsibility for their position and step into a leader role whenever the situation demands it.
Specific knowledge. Candidates need to have excellent knowledge of their field, and those who apply for technical Google jobs will be tested.
How the candidates think. Google doesn’t care about grades; it cares about how a candidate thinks of solving problems.
This term is used to describe whether the candidate will fit within the team and the company, if the candidate has the personal qualities they are looking for.

In-person Google job interviews last at least two hours. Google hires only 0.2% of the total candidates each year. From 3 million job applications, only 7,000 are successful. Naturally, candidates wonder whether there are some Google interview tips they can use to increase their chances of being among the chosen ones. There are and they are all about the traits Google is looking in a Noodler (a new Google employee) and about the job skills:

Candidates should constantly improve their skills before applying at Google. This means constant learning and going the extra mile.
Google prefers really smart people to experts. The company believes that those who are experts in one field tend to replicate what they have already done, and think in ways they always did, while they are looking for people smart enough to come with new ways of thinking and solving problems.
Google is looking for exceptionally bright people, able to reinvent the way something can be done. This also means that Google is looking for exceptionally creative people.
Google hires people who have grit, people who keep pushing forward in difficult times.
Google wants people who are able to solve difficult problems.
Candidates who have already accomplished something are what Google is looking for.
Candidates also need to have very strong analytical skills.

During the Google interviews, it is crucial for candidates to display these traits in order to be considered as a good choice for the company.

Frequently Asked Google Interview Questions

Google is famous for its difficult and challenging interview questions. Some Google interview questions are about the accomplishments of the candidate, other interview questions are about the way the candidate has solved a difficult problem. But the most challenging questions are unusual. Some of the most famous Google interview questions are:

How many golf balls can fit in a school bus?
How much should you charge to wash all the windows in Seattle?
How many piano tuners are there in the entire world?
A man pushed his car to a hotel and lost his fortune. What happened?
Explain a database in three sentences to your eight-year-old nephew.

These are some of the lighter Google interview questions. Some of them have a right answer. Some of them don’t, but the way a candidate answers them shows how the candidate thinks, and this is what matters the most.

Official site: www.google.com

Official career site: Google Careers

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