Stage 1. Excitement
Two years ago, on a scorching August day, I was working on a piece of documentation for my company’s partners. After completing the article, I decided to distract myself and grab a coffee to start the revision with a clear mind. Coffee was peacefully boiling in a cezve while I was perfunctorily checking my phone.
My coffee was almost ready when a sudden notification popped up — I’ve got an email with the subject Technical Writer, Google. ‘Spam?’ — was the first thing I thought. My curiosity won over me, and I opened the email. It was written by a real human, a recruiter from Google, and he asked if I was available to have a call about the position.
Weeeeell, if I was available… Let me think… Of course, I was! I had all the time in the world to have a call about the position. Midnight? 2 am? Works for me! I started fussily typing a response on my phone, trying to avoid spelling mistakes. By the time I finished, my coffee was all over the stove, but I didn’t care much. I had my dose of dopamine, adrenaline, and awakeness.
We arranged a call for the next day, and I started counting down the hours before the meeting. I was thrilled and excited about the opportunity life gave me amid the Pandemic. 2020 no longer seemed so shabby.
Stage 2. Hard Work
He greeted me with just two words but I instantly recognized the British accent.
‘It won’t be easy’, I thought to myself, ‘focus and don’t panic!’
We passed through the introduction: he described the position, I gave a brief overview of my previous experience, he asked some questions, and I made some jokes. So far so good.
Now, to the point! The interview process included 3 steps:
📝An offline writing assignment
🧐4 online interviews with Technical Writers and Developers from Google
🏁A final interview with the future Linear Manager
Sounds scary yet compelling, massive yet doable.
We clarified the requirements and finalized the deadlines for the offline writing assignment, and I put my head into it.
Due to a non-disclosure agreement I agreed to comply with, I can’t reveal the exact tasks, but I can say that the assignment was to check the following skills:
- technical writing for different audiences (an explanatory task, an API reference, a how-to guide)
- ability to write programming code
- communication
I dedicated five days to complete the first assignment: I found Subject Matter Experts and interviewed them for the explanatory task, I developed a particular design for the whole document, I revised the final text several times.
I submitted the PDF version of the document and after a few days, good news got into my mailbox:
Hey Kateryna!
I hope you’re well. I have some good news. The hiring team was impressed with your writing submission and would like to progress you to the next stage which is our live writing interview.
🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉
The first win but it’s not the right time to breathe out. Four super-demanding interviews with Googlers ahead.
1. An online writing assignment
A Senior Technical Writer explains what kind of documentation I have to produce in 45 minutes. He shares a Google Doc where I have to do all the writing, and he observes the progress. After the time is up, he reviews the document, gives some comments and says ‘your Recruiter will contact you to arrange the next interview’.
2. A general interview
Another Senior Technical Writer asks me about my previous experience and particular challenges I have had as a Technical Writer. We talked about some pride-worthy accomplishments as well as remarkable failures. Some unexpected questions were supposed to demonstrate how I would react in a difficult situation.
I like such interviews, so there were no concerns about this one.
3. An interview where I was an interviewer
Technical Writers communicate with Subject Matter Experts all the time. And this task was to check what is my approach to interviewing developers. What questions do I ask? How do I elicit extra information? How do I record answers? They give me some input information about the functionality we will write documentation for, and my job is to figure out all the details.
It’s a common activity, except usually I prepare for an interview with a developer for several hours, and here I had only 30 minutes. For me, it was the most stressful task.
4. A code reading session
Google wants Technical Writers not just to write but also read a lot. A lot of code. The more experienced you are in programming, the better, but without basic knowledge of loops and conditions, there is no way to get through.
After the four interviews, my recruiter reached out to me to congratulate me on passing all the hardships of the process and arrange the final call with the future manager and Team Leader.
He was so sure about my success that he asked me to prepare scans of my diplomas and personal documents to proceed with the hiring process. So naive, so naive😅
The final interview went pretty well, I would say. I was calm and relaxed, probably too calm and relaxed. The interviewer was a smiley and welcoming woman who didn’t look like she wanted to interrogate me. It was more like a friendly talk during a coffee break at a conference. ‘What instruments do you use?’, ‘What programming languages do you know/learn?’, ‘What are your expectations from the new role?’
I answered confidently as if I was already hired and successfully worked for Google for 5 years. After the interview, I had a feeling of great accomplishment. Sweet relief sprinkled with a bit of doubt that caused some sour aftertaste.
Stage 3. The rejection
The following three days were tiringly stretched in time. I checked my mailbox every 10 minutes. I read about people who had been interviewed by Google. They said that in case of success, recruiters write emails within 2 days. If one fails, they call in 3–5 days and deliver bad news verbally.
On the third day, my phone rang. An unknown number, not Ukrainian. I failed, they didn’t want me.
Mt Recruiter was extremely supportive. It seemed like he was more upset than me. Anyway, the Team Leader decided that my experience was too humble to deal with Technical Writing at Google. Maybe, after a while, in a year or so, when I am more mature…
Of course, I was sad. I was depleted after such a long and demanding interviewing process and broke after getting the final verdict. The gloomy October of 2020 suddenly became even more somber.
Lessons learned
After grieving about the experience for a week, I decided to reflect on it and find some silver lining in this cloud. And here is what I came up with:
⌛ Everything has its time
Retrospectively, I do realize that I was not ready for the job back then. I don’t know if I am ready now. What I know for sure is that life is kind and it prevents me from biting more than I can chew.
👌 Everybody can try to reach top-notch companies
(And sometimes, they reach you!)
Yes, their requirements are way higher than others. But they are attainable with diligence, commitment, and hard work.
🐤 Don’t count your chickens before they’re hatched
It’s dangerous to be too confident or too certain about the final result. One has to put 101% of effort all the time, regardless of how great they have been doing so far. One small misstep can cause a sound fall, and the bigger the ego, the more sound the fall.
📚 Never stop learning
You never know where you find yourself in the future and what skills you need. Widening professional horizons is beneficial even if new knowledge doesn’t relate to one’s current occupation directly. It gives valuable insights, develops creativity, and just makes one an interesting interlocutor on a Google interview.
