On Getting into Google

PS: A lot of people told me to make this article a paid, short e-book. This didn’t feel like something I wanted to do with it. Be patient with me though, a book will eventually come. I (will) have many, many things to say.

Prologue

TL;DR You will most likely fail many times. When you do, don’t just try again, try again with wisdom.

For a long time, I wished this article was simply…written. I wished the words would dance their way out of my mind unto a server so that it could be read like this by you. Of course, that didn’t happen because I cannot wish anything into reality except, perhaps, procrastination. It took me four months to write this; I hope it’s interesting enough for you to read in one sitting.

My journey is a bit complicated, and like most people, I don’t remember every part of it. The goal of this article though is to talk about parts I remember because I realize the importance of documenting. I will talk about the hard challenges, lessons, and communities that I believe contributed to my getting into Google.

I hope my story inspires you; I hope it spurs you to believe in yourself and to take the right action.

First Big Break

The first time I ever imagined working abroad as a Software Engineer happened in my second year at University. I heard about some Covenant University alumni who had worked at Bank of America Merrill Lynch (BofAML) & Goldman Sachs (GS) in a conversation. I remember being…