Why Google? how to answer it

Google's mission is "to organize the world's information and make it universally accessible and useful." It also publishes "Ten things we know to be true," which it says it first wrote when Google was a few years old and revisits from time to time. These five give you the most to react to.

1. 1

   Focus on the user and all else will follow

   Google says it takes care that what it builds serves the user rather than its own internal goal or bottom line.

2. 2

   It's best to do one thing really, really well

   Google says it does search, and that what it learned from search went into new products like Gmail and Google Maps.

3. 3

   Fast is better than slow

   Google says it may be the only company whose goal is to have people leave its website as quickly as possible.

4. 9

   You can be serious without a suit

   Google says its founders believed work should be challenging and the challenge should be fun, with an emphasis on team achievements.

5. 10

   Great just isn't good enough

   Google says it sets goals it knows it can't reach yet, because stretching to meet them gets it further than expected.

Google's interview tips page lists what it wants to hear about. Each one is a place your why Google answer can point to.

1. Data

   Impact you can measure

   Google says it "loves data" and suggests the formula: accomplished X, as measured by Y, by doing Z.

2. Thinking

   Your thought process

   Google says the interviewer looks at the thought process more than the answer itself, and to expect follow-up questions.

3. Ambiguity

   Decisions without the full picture

   Google asks how you deal with ambiguous problems and push yourself outside your comfort zone, with specific examples.

4. Teams

   A collaborative culture

   Google says it has a collaborative culture and asks how you work with peers and global cross-functional teams.

5. Leading

   Your leadership style

   How you mobilized others, including helping a team succeed when you weren't officially the leader.

6. Questions

   Questions of your own

   Google calls interviewing a two-way street and says prepared questions show the research you have done on the company.

Google's Associate Product Manager pages, written for new and recent graduates, say the most we found about product roles. Experienced PM candidates can still use them to see what Google values in a PM.

1. Who

   What Google says APMs are

   Entrepreneurial people with strong technical understanding, product sense, analytical ability and clear communication skills.

2. Skills

   Six skills it looks for

   Technical, design thinking, problem solving, leadership, communication and teamwork.

3. Scale

   Products used by billions

   Google says APMs work on features seen by billions of users, in products like Search, Maps and YouTube.

4. Users

   The user's advocate

   Its APM interview tips say a product manager is the main ambassador and advocate for users inside the company.

Google's teams page sums up each team in one line. Start from the line for your team, then make it specific to the role you applied for.

1. Engineering

   Engineering and Technology

   Develop the products and tools of the future for billions of users.

2. Sales

   Sales, Service and Support

   Equip businesses with the right tools to help them grow.

3. Marketing

   Marketing and Communications

   Connect users to the product magic.

4. Design

   Design

   Create beautiful and intuitive experiences.

5. Strategy

   Business Strategy

   Deliver the analysis and insights we use to innovate.

6. Finance

   Finance

   Design and manage solutions to support our global business.

1. Part 1

   Open with what you want

   One sentence on what you want from this job, drawn from your own story. For a PM, a kind of product problem. For a seller, a kind of customer.

2. Part 2

   Name one thing Google says about itself

   Pick from its own pages: the mission, one of the ten things, its collaborative culture, or your team's line on the teams page. One, explained well, beats four in a list.

   From Google: company info, Google: ten things and Google: teams.

3. Part 3

   Prove it with one story and one number

   A short story from your past that shows why that matters to you, told the way Google suggests: accomplished X, as measured by Y, by doing Z.

   Free STAR method template

   From Google: interview tips.

4. Part 4

   Add what a Googler told you

   Name the conversation and what it changed in your view. This is the part no other candidate can copy. If you haven't met one, use something specific from the team's own page or a talk by someone on the team.

   Coffee chat questions

5. Part 5

   Close on the team or product

   One line on the product or team you applied for and what you would bring to it. For APM candidates, the program itself.

   From Google: APM program.

6. Example

   Our worked example, about a minute

   Ours, for an APM applicant, with made-up facts. "I want my first product job to be on something people use without thinking about it, and Google's first principle, focus on the user and all else will follow, is how I already try to work. Last year I led a four-person student team that rebuilt our campus shuttle tracker. We watched ten riders use it and saw they only wanted the next arrival time, so we cut the app to one screen, and weekly riders went from 300 to 900. Maps does that for billions of people. A PM on a transit team told me how much of her job is deciding what to leave off the screen, and that is the problem I want to learn. The APM rotations would let me learn it on two products before I choose one."

7. Example

   The same parts for a software engineer

   Ours, with made-up facts. "I want to work on systems where a small speedup reaches a lot of people. Google says fast is better than slow, and I felt that at my internship, where I cut our search page's load time from two seconds to under one by caching the top queries, and daily searches went up 12%. An engineer on Maps told me her team argues about milliseconds, and that is the argument I want to be in. That is why I applied to this infrastructure team."

The same question asked four ways.

1. 1

   Why Google?

   What a strong answer does

   One thing Google says about itself, tied to something you have done, plus one thing you learned from a Googler and the team you applied for. Practice it, see a model answer

   • “Isn't that true at every big tech company?”
   • “Who did you speak to here, and what surprised you?”
   • “Which Google product do you use most?”
2. 2

   Why do you want to work at Google?

   What a strong answer does

   The same answer, so keep it about the work you would do, not perks or prestige. Google's own pages give you the mission and principles to start from. Practice it, see a model answer

   • “What would you miss most if you didn't get this job?”
   • “What do you think a first week here looks like?”
3. 3

   Walk me through your resume, and why Google now.

   What a strong answer does

   Two minutes, in order, each choice leading to the next, ending on why this role is the right next step at this moment. Practice it, see a model answer

   • “Why did you leave that job?”
   • “What would you do differently if you started again?”
4. 4

   What do you know about Google?

   What a strong answer does

   How the company works and what it says it stands for, not its stock price: the mission, a principle, the team you applied to. Then why that matters to you.

   • “Which of the ten things matters most to you?”
   • “What do you know about the team you applied to?”

Tests whether your reasons survive a direct comparison.

1. 5

   Why Google and not another big tech company?

   What a strong answer does

   Say what drew you to Google in particular, without criticizing anyone else. A product you know well and a principle you share make the difference concrete.

   • “Are you interviewing with them too?”
   • “What would make you choose them over us?”
2. 6

   Why not a startup?

   What a strong answer does

   Show you weighed it. Name what you would get at Google first, such as products at a scale of billions of users, and what you might do later.

   • “Have you ever worked at a small company?”
3. 7

   Where else are you interviewing?

   What a strong answer does

   An honest, short answer with a common thread across the list that fits your story. Then why Google stands out within it.

   • “Where are you furthest along?”

Tests how far your research goes.

1. 8

   What is your favorite Google product, and how would you improve it?

   What a strong answer does

   Pick one you really use. Name who it is for, one problem those users have, and one change you would test, with how you would measure it.

   • “Who would your change hurt?”
   • “How would you know it worked?”
2. 9

   Why this team?

   What a strong answer does

   A reason about the work the team does that you learned from its pages or its people, tied to your background. Show you would be open to other teams too.

   • “What if you were placed on another team?”
   • “Who have you met from this team?”
3. 10

   Which of Google's ten things matters most to you?

   What a strong answer does

   Pick one from Google's own list and give a short example of living it. One you have acted on beats one you admire.

   • “When did you find it hard to live up to?”
4. 11

   Tell me about a time you had to make a decision without all the information.

   What a strong answer does

   Google's interview tips name ambiguity directly. Say what you knew, what you assumed, what you decided and how you checked it afterward. Practice it, see a model answer

   • “What would you have done with one more week?”
   • “What did you get wrong?”
5. 12

   Tell me about a time you worked with someone who saw a problem very differently.

   What a strong answer does

   Google says it has a collaborative culture. A story where their view improved the result is stronger than one where you won. Practice it, see a model answer

   • “What did you take from their view?”
   • “How do you work with them now?”

Often the last few minutes.

1. 13

   Where do you see yourself in five years?

   What a strong answer does

   Skills you want to build and responsibility you want, such as owning a product area. Keep it tied to the role you applied for. Practice it, see a model answer

   • “Would you want to manage people?”
2. 14

   Why should we hire you?

   What a strong answer does

   Two strengths the job description asks for, each with proof in X, Y, Z form, and one sentence on how they fit the team. Practice it, see a model answer

3. 15

   What questions do you have for us?

   What a strong answer does

   One or two about the interviewer's own work or team, never one Google's website answers. Google calls interviewing a two-way street. Practice it, see a model answer

   • “What would you want to know before accepting an offer?”

• The perks answer

  Free food and famous offices tell the interviewer nothing about you. Talk about the work, the users and the team.

• The prestige answer

  "It's the best tech company" would fit any big name. Replace it with one principle and why it matters to you.

• Reciting the mission

  Quoting the mission alone sounds memorized. Use it as the start of a sentence about something you did.

• A product you don't use

  If you name a product, expect to be asked how you would improve it. Pick one you know well.

• No number in your proof

  Google suggests X, as measured by Y. A story with no measure of impact is weaker than one with a single clear number.

• Running down other companies

  Criticizing another employer reads as poor judgment. Talk about what draws you to Google instead.

Read these before your first conversation with a Googler, so you spend the conversation on what the pages can't tell you.

1. Read 1

   The mission and the ten things

   Pick the one principle you can back with an example.

   From Google: company info and Google: ten things we know to be true.

2. Read 2

   How we hire and interview tips

   The steps, structured interviews, the X, Y, Z formula, what Google asks you to show and its rule on AI.

   From Google: how we hire and Google: interview tips.

3. Read 3

   Your team or program page

   The teams page for most roles. For product roles, the APM program, its skills page and its interview types.

   From Google: teams, Google: APM program, Google: common APM skills and Google: APM application process.

4. Talk

   Then people

   Talk to two or three Googlers on or near the team and ask what the pages can't say.

5. Practice

   Say it out loud

   Answer why Google and its follow-ups out loud, with a friend or an AI interviewer that pushes back.