Google is widely considered one of the best places to work
in the whole world. A Google internship will set a young PM or engineer up for
success in the future - and the pay ain't bad. Per levels.fyi,
the average Google internship salary offered to software engineers in the 2023 cohort was $43.00/hr, plus a $9,000 housing stipend for Bay Area residents. The
company receives millions of applications every
year. Needless to say, becoming a Googler is no easy feat.
But, how do you get an internship at Google? There are many
internship programs to choose from, but what's the process like? This post aims
to walk you through the whole process. Read on to learn how you can get an
internship at Google.
Internship Programs at Google
Before we get into the nitty-gritty, we should first give
you an overview of the internship programs at the company. There are three main
internship programs found at Google that differ depending on the particular
roles. Let's take a closer look at each:
STEP Program
The STEP Program is one of the most popular internship
programs at Google. STEP stands for Student Training in Engineering. As you can
imagine, being one of the biggest tech companies, this engineering internship
program is a favorite for many students. This program is a developmental
opportunity designed for first and second-year undergraduate students with an
ambition for engineering careers. A big focus of the internship program is
giving opportunities to those students from historically underrepresented
groups in the field. This program allows students the chance to contribute to
software projects with other STEP interns and full-time Googlers. In doing so,
STEP interns can better merge their academic understanding and practical
engineering experience.
BOLD Program
Whereas engineering students have the STEP internship
program, those studying business, marketing, or sales have the BOLD program.
BOLD stands for Build Opportunities for Leadership & Development. When a
student joins the BOLD program at Google, they have the chance to join teams in
the Sales, Marketing, and People Operations departments, among several others.
There they can contribute to solving the business challenges facing the tech
giant with real Googlers.
The work that BOLD interns are involved with is critical for
the company. Not only that, their responsibility may vary in scope and
dimension. Some interns may find themselves in the thick of the day-to-day work
of a full-time Googler. Others may be tasked with a single long-term project
throughout the internship program.
Beyond the project work involved with their internships,
BOLD students can take advantage of the many educational and professional
development programs available at the company. Google promotes professional and
personal development for not only their interns but Googlers too. As such, BOLD
interns can access many mentorship opportunities, leadership talks, and
team-building exercises to build connections with colleagues throughout Google.
APM Program
The last internship program at Google is the Associate
Product Marketing Manager (APM) program. Here, students can help develop the
Google brand narrative alongside actual Product Marketing Managers at the
company. Usually, APMMs in this program are those students studying economists,
art history, English literature, among others. However, no matter their
educational background, APM interns will need a strong passion for technology
and taking "moonshots."
As an APMM at Google, students will join a diverse group of next-gen marketing whizzes. As a whole, the product marketing management team is chiefly responsible for the stewardship of the Google brand. APM interns, therefore, will help drive strategic projects and grow as marketers in the process. APM interns have two different roles during their internship programs. This could be anything from branding, product, or growth marketing. Ultimately, the primary responsibility of an APMM at Google, intern or otherwise, is to demonstrate how Google products genuinely provide meaningful solutions to today's problems.
The Different Roles at Google
As you can imagine, there are countless roles at Google
across dozens of different departments. However, all these roles will
ultimately fall into one of two categories. These are Engineering &
Technology or Business. There are several internships
available in each category to choose from. Let's take a closer look at each:
Engineering & Technology
It goes without saying that the bread and butter of Google
are in Engineering & Technology. As such, the company offers several
engineering-related internship programs. These programs seek those students
with the curiosity, vision, and collaborative spirit to tackle some of the most
challenging technical problems today. If you want to contribute to technology
products and tools used by billions, an engineering internship at Google is a
great start.
Here are the internship programs available for Engineering
& Technology roles:
- Student
Training in Engineering Program (STEP)
- Software
Engineering
- User
Experience
- Associate
Product Manager
- Mechanical
Engineering
- Hardware
Engineering
Depending on the role, your interview process may be graded
using the Google
Coding Interview Rubric.
Business
While Google will always be a technology company, first and
foremost, it is a publicly traded for-profit corporation. This means that
business operations at Google are just as critical as the tech. So, the company
has several different internships available to business students. Ultimately,
the Google Business internships want to find interns from many different
backgrounds to help grow the business and better serve their users.
Here are the internship programs available for Business
roles:
- Business
- MBA
- Build
Opportunities for Leadership & Development (BOLD)
- Legal
- gCareer
How to Become a Google Intern
Don't think that the above overview of the Internship
Programs themselves is superfluous by any means. Any proper Google intern will
need a thorough understanding of their potential program if they hope to get an
offer someday.
But don't just take our word for it. The company itself
suggests that the first thing aspiring Google interns should do is
self-reflection. In fact, it is the very first step listed in their hiring
process.
Perform Some Self-Reflection
As you can see, there are dozens of different roles
available at Google, with more being added as time goes on. This means that
there are many opportunities to find one that you can be truly passionate about.
This is what the company really wants its hiring process to accomplish -
acquiring new talent with a genuine passion for their work.
However, this all starts with some honest personal
reflection on your part. Ask yourself: is there something that you're good or
skilled at doing but doesn't stoke a passion for you? Chances are, there is.
You could, of course, make a career out of such skills or abilities, but they
are unlikely to be fulfilling ones. Google wants its employees to feel
fulfillment in their time as a Googler. As such, the company recommends in its
"How
We Hire" document to ask yourself some of the following questions
before going further:
- Is
there something you discovered or learned that made everything easier
after having learned it? If so, what is it?
- When
thinking about your past achievements, have most of them resulted from
working in a team or by yourself?
- Do you
personally value finding solutions to problems better than driving the
discussion or plan?
- What
was the most fulfilling or satisfying job or project you have worked on?
Why was it so rewarding?
- Think
about the most fruitful team experience you have been a part of. What made
the team chemistry align so well?
There are many other questions you can ask yourself and
contemplate. The more, the merrier in the end. Ultimately, reflect on the most
rewarding aspects of your previous projects or work. If you think through all
these details and ask yourself the hard questions about where you really want
your career to go, you'll be ready for the next step in the Google hiring
process.
Nevertheless, don't forget that you're applying for Google
internships. Don't feel like you need to know all the answers about your ideal
future to qualify for these opportunities. In the end, an internship at the
company is probably the most effective way to truly gauge if becoming a Googler
is right for you.
Study up on Google Core Vales
Like many top tech companies today, the company's core
values are a significant deciding factor in acquiring new talent. Google's core
values, which the company refers to as "ten
things we know to be true," remain the guiding philosophy of the
hiring managers and interview process. The ten things are as follows:
- Focus
on the user and all else will follow.
- It’s
best to do one thing really, really well.
- Fast
is better than slow.
- Democracy
on the web works.
- You don’t
need to be at your desk to need an answer.
- You
can make money without doing evil.
- There’s
always more information out there.
- The
need for information crosses all borders.
- You
can be serious without a suit.
- Great
just isn’t good enough.
If you'd like more information on this aspect of the Google
interview (and other tech companies, for that matter), be sure to check out our
article: Facebook,
Google, Amazon Core Values for Your Upcoming Interview.
Prepare Your Resume
Before students can apply to any Google internship, they'll
need to send the company their updated resume. You will also need to provide a
copy of your school transcripts (they do not need to be your official
transcripts).
There are several things you can do to prepare your resume
most effectively for Google internships. Here are the best ways to make your
resume stand out:
- Highlight
how your skills and previous experience match or relate to the specifics
of the internship job description,
- Don't
be vague when describing your past projects. Highlight the results and
ways you measured success,
- Be
sure to include any past leadership experiences, whether they were at
part-time jobs or volunteer positions,
- Be
sure that your GPA is listed on your resume. Also, include any
school-related projects or coursework that are pertinent to the
internship,
- Try to
keep your resume short and sweet. They should be no more than a single
page. If any other information about your previous experience is
necessary, a hiring manager will request it later.
Ace the Interview
If all goes well with reviewing your resume, you will be
offered an interview. The exact interview structure may vary in some ways depending
on the internship program or role. However, they all follow a similar format.
You may or may not need to go through each of these steps,
but many Google interviews consist of the following hiring processes:
Online assessments: If your resume generated
some attention, chances are you will be asked to complete an online assessment
before moving forward. These assessments will be specific to the internship
role.
Phone Interviews or Virtual Chats: The next step
in the hiring process is a series of phone interviews. Internship interviews,
especially, may involve several phone interviews. These conversations may
involve all sorts of interview questions, whether behavioral, technical, or
otherwise.
Project work: Sometimes, potential Googlers will
be asked to complete a small project pertinent to the role before their
interviews. When it comes to internship interviews, however, if project work
like this is requested, chances are it will consist of a series of questions to
answer before your interviews.
In-depth interviews: Some interns receive offers
having only complete phone interviews, but sometimes candidates are invited to
an in-person in-depth interview. Google interviews are known to be extensive
and comprehensive. They typically take a full day and even include lunch.
During these in-depth interviews, candidates will meet with 3-4 separate hiring
managers from different teams or departments.
When it comes to the Google internship interview, a student's in-person interview may consist only of a "Host Matching" round. This is where several different teams at the company look over the pool of relevant internship candidates. From there, they decide which candidates would fit well within their teams. If they think there's a match, they'll ask for a quick interview similar to the others you experienced. If you ace this final step, you'll be asked if you're interested in joining the team. If the answer is yes, then congratulations: you got yourself an internship at Google.