Rejected by Google - Learn to Fall Forward
The Bad News
I just received the disheartening news of being passed over by Google after making it through several layers of the interview process. This was for a technical writer role with Google AdMob, a major revenue gernerating part of their business. Spending a week or two excitedly daydreaming at the prospect of working for Google was fun. What a career achievement that would’ve been.
For now, it wasn’t meant to be, but what if I use it as motivation to close whatever gaps they identified that led to them moving forward with other candidates? How can someone use this experience to fall forward and become a better candidate?
Fall Forward
First, do not be discouraged. Just to get your resume past the screening software is in itself an achievement. That means your career is on track. The achievements listed on your resume are generating interest, and your resume formatting is doing its job to get your resume seen. This is a good moment to look at your resume with fresh eyes and examine how your information is presented, and proofread for typos or mistakes.
Second, to pass the behavioral assessment screening that you must complete after your resume is identified as a match is another small win. To get to actually speak with a Google recruiter, even better.
See where this is going? You can draw a lot of positives from the process.
So, how far did I make it? Ultimately, after a good discussion with the recruiter who was able to tell me about the position and verify that I was a suitable candidate, I was moved forward to the Writing Sample Submission (Portfolio) stage. This is where I was eliminated from consideration. I must admit, it’s inspired me to put a lot more effort into my portfolio. The competition for these high-level technical writing jobs is fierce, and you cannot rely on your resume alone to land you the job you want. Take a long, hard look at your portfolio and examine whether it’s properly illustrating the type of work you’ve done in your career. The more modern pieces (applications, remote monitoring, programming language) you can include, the better. Also, a big part of the portfolio is how you decide to host and present it. You cannot just have the portfolio piece itself. You need to present it on the web and include description sections explaining what the writing project was, what role you played, the outcome, and the published product/document.
The Plan
What’s next for me? Google Certifications! Specifically, Google AI Essentials and Google UX Design. Aside from my portfolio overhaul, it’s become apparent to me that if I want to get these higher level jobs that I’m after, I’m going to have to learn some new skills and be able to prove that I’ve obtained them.
The big realization? I’m going to have to learn to code. I’m not sure exactly what this means as of yet, but basic API documentation knowledge is a requirement for most of these jobs, and some require a deeper understanding of docs-as-a-code and how python is used in those environments. I’m targeting several certification courses to fill the API gap, and I’ve started to look into coding bootcamps and certification courses. Harvard CS50 seems to be the prescription for someone like myself, so I’ll see if I can get myself through that course, then start looking for formal instruction.
The Metrics
Once you have your vision, you need to have a way to measure your progress. For me, the certification courses are my measuring stick. I’ve already completed a few, I have my target dates for beginning my future certifications, and I’ll keep gathering certifications one-by-one until I have the skills needed to be in the discussion for these jobs.
Time Management and Funding
The way I’m looking at this for myself, if I were currently making 50K/year (I make more, this for the sake of an example), but I want to be in a job where I’m making 150K/year, then I need to have a clear path to get there. The path that I think will do this for me is basically tons of schooling. When paired with my previous success in the TW field, I should be in contention for these 150K jobs.
To me it’s worth it to suspend my job search and go all-in on leveling up my skill set. If I forgo a 50K/year job for a year while I get my skills good enough to land a 150K/year job, then I’ll more than make up for that 50K forfeiture by the time I finish my first year in the 150K job. Understand? This isn’t exactly how I plan to do it. It’s always good to have some income coming in and also to avoid any career gaps, but it’s also clear to me that even in a worst-case scenario where I don’t do any work and only focus on my skill set, I’ll still be on a path that will be building towards a brighter career and a brighter earning potential after I’ve gained the technical knowledge that I’m currently missing.
