In early September a Google recruiter named Caroline reached out. Mock interview September 9th. First real technical interview September 12th. Second technical interview September 18th. Everything moved fast!
I'd been prepping for technical interviews for over a year at this point, but nothing actually prepares you for doing it live. The adrenaline is wild. There's this silence while your interviewer watches you think and you're trying not to panic. And then sometimes you see something click in their face when you get it right and it's the best feeling in the world.
After the second interview, Caroline said the feedback was positive! Next step: team matching. October 21st, the process officially started. I got connected with a hiring manager named Mike for a team match call.
Then on November 5th I got an email. "Mike has decided to pursue another candidate."
I sat there staring at my phone for a while. I'd passed the interviews. I'd PASSED! And now I was getting rejected at the team matching stage? It felt like getting so close and having it pulled away.
About a week later, Mike changed his mind. He wanted to bring me on after all! I don't know the full story of what happened behind the scenes, and honestly I don't need to. All I know is that one week I was rejected and the next week I wasn't.
November 14th, 2024. Calendar invite from Caroline: "Offer Call - Jorge."
My hands were shaking. I remember exactly where I was sitting. I remember the words: "We'd like to offer you a position as a Software Engineer at Google."
I about fell out of my chair.
November 15th, the official email: "Welcome to Google, Jorge!"
I called my mom first. She cried. I cried. Holly cried. Everyone cried. The kid from Queens who was scared of math and thought he'd be a band teacher forever is going to be a software engineer at Google!
Start date: December 9th, 2024.