How Hard is it to Get a Job at Google? (With Steps To Do It)

Landing any job at Google is tough because they hire the best of the best, and they receive a TON of applicants. (This is the main reason it's so hard to get a ... ShareTweetSharePinYouarehere:Home »Blog »MiscTips »HowHardisittoGetaJobatGoogle?(WithStepsToDoIt)HowHardisittoGetaJobatGoogle?(WithStepsToDoIt)MiscTips/ ByBironClark/4 COMMENTSIfyou’rewonderinghowhardisittogetajobatGoogle,I’mgoingtosharewhatIknowbasedonmyexperienceasatechrecruiter.LandinganyjobatGoogleistoughbecausetheyhirethebestofthebest,andtheyreceiveaTONofapplicants.(Thisisthemainreasonit’ssohardtogetajobatGoogle).Butitcanbedone.AndifyouwanttogethiredbyGoogle,makesureyoureaduntiltheendbecauseI’malsogoingtosharemytoptipsforhowyoucangetajobatGoogle.(It’snoteasy,butyoucanovercometheoddsbytakingafewspecificsteps).First,here’sexactlyhowhardisittogetajobatGoogle…HowHardisittoGetaJobatGoogle?ItisdifficulttogetajobatGooglebecauseoftheirqualitystandardsandthehighnumberofapplicationstheyreceiveperyear.Forexample,INCreportedthatGooglereceives2millionjobapplicationsperyear,whichmeansit’smorecompetitivetogetintothanHarvardUniversity.However,severalthousandpeopledogethiredbyGoogleeachyear,soitcanbedone!(InthesecondhalfofthisarticleI’llsharehowtogetajobatGoogle,sokeepreading).First,let’slookinmoredetailatwhyit’ssohardtogetajobatGoogle.Googlewantstohirebrilliant,motivated,accomplishedpeople.There’snosugar-coatingit. Whetheryou’reapplyingtobeasoftwareengineerorworkinadifferentareawithinGoogle,theyonlywanttohirethebestofthebest.They’regoingtolookatwhatcompaniesyou’veworkedforinthepast,andareunlikelytohireyouandinterviewyouifyou’recomingfromno-namecompaniesthataren’ttacklingbigchallengeslikeGoogleis. They’regoingtolookatyoureducationalbackground,especiallyifyou’relookingtogetajobasaSoftwareEngineerorProgrammeratGoogle. (Whiletherearemanydev“bootcamps”andquickwaystolearnprogramming,Googleisstillgoingtofavoratraditional4-yearComputerSciencedegree–ormore–formanyoftheirengineeringpositions,dataengineeringroles,etc. Googlecanbepickybecauseofhowmanyapplicationstheyreceive.BecauseGooglereceives2millionapplicationsayear,they’reabletobeveryselectiveacrossallteams,andforalltypesofroles–fromengineeringpositionstocustomersupport.NomatterwhattypeofjobyouapplyforatGoogle,you’regoingtobegoingupagainstpeoplecomingoutofothergreattechnologycompanies(Tesla,Microsoft,Facebook,etc.)You’llbegoingagainstpeoplewithveryimpressiveeducationalbackgrounds,too.GooglereceiveshundredsofapplicantsfromgraduatesofHarvard,MIT,andothertoptech/computerscienceprograms. However,youCANgetajobatGoogle,andit’sstillworthapplyingifyouthinkyou’dliketoworkthere. Inthenextpartofthisarticle,I’mgoingtosharehowYOUcanmaximizeyourchanceofgettingajobatGoogle. HowtoGetaJobatGoogleNowthatwe’velookedathowharditistogetajobatGoogle,Iwanttogiveyouthestepstofollowthatwillgiveyouthebestchanceatovercomingtheodds!NetworkingisyourbestchanceFirst,yourbestchanceisbeingintroducedbysomeoneinyournetwork.That’snotevenaguaranteeyou’llgetinterviewed,butnetworkingisalwaysthemostefficientwaytogetajobbecausecompaniestrustyoumorewhenyou’rerecommendedtothem. Sostartbylookingthroughyourcontacts(ideallyonLinkedInbecauseyoucanseetheircurrentandpastemployersthere),andseewhohasacurrentorpastconnectiontoGoogle.Thebestwaytoapproachsomeoneyouhaven’tspokenwithinawhileistoaskaquestion.Neveraskforabigfavorupfront;that’sgoingtogetyourmessagedeleted.You’dwanttoaskforsomethingverysmallatfirst,likethis:“HiJeff–IsawyoujoinedGoogle!That’samazing.Congratsongettingthejob.I’mthinkingofstartingajobsearchmyself.ArethereoneortwothingsyoudidthathelpedyougetGoogle’sattention?”Orhere’sanotherexample:“HiAmy–howhaveyoubeensinceleavingXYZcompany?Ihadaquickquestion:I’mstartingajobsearchsoonandamgoingtotrytogetonGoogle’sradar(alongwithanumberofothertoptechcompanies).IknowyouusedtoworkinHRforGoogle,though.ArethereoneortwothingsacandidatecandotostandouttoGooglebeforeapplying? Anythingyoucansharewouldbegreat.”Nowideally,you’dlikesomeonetooffertointroduceyoutoahiringmanageratGoogle,orrecommendyouforajob.Butyouneverwanttostarttheconversationbyaskingforsuchabigfavor.Andyes–that’saHUGEfavor.You’reaskingforsomeonetosticktheirneckoutandvouchforyou. Sostartsmallliketheexamplenetworkingscriptsabove.That’showtogetajobatGooglevianetworking.Ifyouwantmorehelpwiththis,Isharemoretipsandexamplesinthisarticleonhowtofindyourdreamjob.WritetheperfectresumeAgenericresumeisn’tgoingtogetyouaninterviewatGoogle.GivenhowharditistogetajobatGoogle,youneedaresumethat’sperfectlytailoredtothejobyou’reapplyingfor.Alsomakesureyou’retalkingaboutwhatyou’veaccomplishedinpastroles,notjustwhatyouwereresponsiblefor.ThisisahugedifferenceandisoneofthetopresumemistakesIseeasarecruiter.Ifyouwantmorehelpwritingastand-outresume,herearesomeresourcesyoushouldreadtogetstarted:HowtowritegreatresumebulletsHowtowriteyourresumeworkhistoryGuidetoeverysectiononyourresumeBepersistentBecauseofhowharditistogethiredbyGoogle,youmightnotsucceedonyourfirsttry.Sobepersistent.Applyagaininsixmonthsifyoudon’tgetthemtonoticeyourightnow.Andapplyevenwhenyou’recurrentlyemployedelsewhere.Companiesaremoreattractedtocandidatesthatarecurrentlyworking(notfair,buttrue!)Thisarticleexplainsthebenefitsoflookingforajobwhileemployed. SoifyoutrytogetajobatGoogle,don’tquitesucceed,andacceptanotherposition…youcanstillapplyformorejobsatGoogleinsixmonthsorayear.Justbecausetheydidn’tlikeyouforonepositionatonepointintimedoesn’tmeantheywon’tconsideryouinthefuture.Maybetheythoughtyourresumewasprettygood,buttheyjustgotafewotherapplicationsthatseemedlikeabetterfit.Ormaybetheyneededsomeonewithmoreexperience,buttheteamyouappliedtohasgrownandnowneedsmorejunior-levelpeople.Youneverknow,soyourbestcourseofactionforhowtogetajobatGoogleistokeepapplying,keepnetworking,andnotjustgiveupafteroneortwoapplications. AbouttheAuthorBironClarkBironClarkisaformerExecutiveRecruiterwhohasworkedwithhundredsofjobseekers,reviewedthousandsofresumesandLinkedInprofiles,andrecruitedfortopventure-backedstartupsandFortune500companies.Hehasbeenadvisingjobseekerssince2012tothinkdifferentlyintheirjobsearchandlandhigh-paying,competitivepositions.followmeon:HoldUp!Beforeyougoonaninterview...GetourfreePDFwiththe top30interviewquestionsandanswers.Join10,000+jobseekersinouremailnewsletterandwe'llsendyouthe30must-knowquestions,plusourbestinsidertipsforturninginterviewsintojoboffers.KeepReading04Oct,2022HowtoSayNotoaRecruiter(5Examples)09Aug,2022JobPerformanceGoalsExamples19Jul,202221BusinessEmailClosingExamples11Jan,2022IsCareerCoachingWorthIt?7BenefitsPreviousPostHowEarlyToApplyForJobs(OutofStateandInState)NextPostThe2BestTimesofYeartoApplyforJobs(AndWhentoAvoid)4commentsCommentsareclosed