Writing this review to help other people who, just like me, came to Glassdoor for some tips!
Let me start by saying this was the most enjoyable recruitment process I ever had - and I had been in several ones from other companies before. I was first contacted by a recruiter through email, some days after submitting my CV, asking some question such as if I would be able to relocate to Dublin and what was my professional experience. After some emails exchanged, I was invited for a phone interview.
PHONE INTERVIEW
This phone interview lasted around 30 minutes and included different types of questions: motivational (why Google?), analytical and product-related (best features of AdWords?). The recruiter was super nice and was truly enthusiastic about getting to know my answers, which is something that puts you at ease and in the end it was more a kind of conversation than an interview. In the end, she told me she was very pleased to inform me that she would move me to the on-site interviews, in Dublin.
Tips:
- Know your CV very well and find specific examples to show your personality and commitment
- For the analytical questions, check some videos on YouTube. Google has specific one which will give everything you need to know to ace them!
ON-SITE INTERVIEWS
For the on-site interviews, I had 3 interviews in a row, non-stop, with 3 different people - each lasted 1h. Basically these ones have the same structure as the phone interview you had before, but they focus on a specific set of questions: analytical, product or googleyness.
INTERVIEW 1
This one was with the manager of the position I was applying to and focused on analytical questions.
Tips:
- Get ready for this one the same kind of videos I suggested for he first interview
- Watch the resolution of consultancy interview cases
- Be prepared to structure your thinking. Use a step-by-step explanation.
INTERVIEW 2
This one was about product. The interviewer asked me first what I knew about AdWords and it's important that you are honest. I said I knew the basics and then she asked me some questions regarding an hypothetical customer. You don't need to master the product or any specifics, but be ready to understand the value proposition and compare it with the competition (I had to compare it with Facebook for instance).
Tips:
- To prepare for this one, I suggest you do the AdWords Fundaments Certification here (it's free)
INTERVIEW 3
This one was about Googleyness. Having a clear structure of thought is important throughout all the interviews, but for every question in this interview, I suggest you use the STAR method. It will help you structure a specific episode in your CV into Situation, Task, Action and Results. The results are a very important aspect here. If you can show KPIs and some numbers regarding something you did, that will be great.
Tips:
- STAR method
- Pick good examples in your CV to showcase leadership, capacity to receive feedback, work in team, etc.
I got a call after some days from my recruiter saying that I passed in the last two of the interviews, but the analytical one was not perfect. I was told I would be given a second chance to interview in some months, just for this specific interview. I took that opportunity and spoke with as many people I could to get advice (something I advise you to do as well. Use linkedin, these days it could not be easier!). In the end I managed to pass that interview as well.
The last stage of the whole process is a background check where you need to send several documents to get reviewed at Google's HQ, in Mountain View. If everything goes right, you received an offer in the end!
Good luck, you got this! ;)