[Student Upskilling Launchpad] Google India: Launch!

Summary

In the 'Student Upskilling Launchpad' by Google India, speakers Aditi, Shivangi, Aayush, and Vibali share insights and experiences aimed at equipping students with essential skills for a Google career. The program is structured around career development, technical skills, and personalized interactions, featuring direct access to Googlers and learning opportunities through workshops and challenges. Highlights include advice on interview readiness, coding practices, and communication, with a focus on mastering data structures and algorithms. Participants are encouraged to engage fully with the program to maximize their potential, learn collaboratively, and enjoy the journey towards potential Google employment.

Highlights

• The launch event features introductions and fun facts from Googlers like Aditi and Shivangi, setting a personal and engaging tone. 🎤
• Insights from Aayush, a Googler, about tackling coding interviews and understanding the key aspects of coding preparation. 💡
• Vibali, another Googler, shares her personal journey and common misconceptions about Google interviews, providing reassurance and advice. 💼
• Key focus on mastering data structures and algorithms for coding interviews, with practical tips and strategies shared by experienced Googlers. 🧠
• Interactive workshops and mock interviews form the backbone of the program, aiming to strengthen participants' technical and communication skills. 📈

Key Takeaways

• Embrace the learning journey with Google India's Student Upskilling Launchpad – a gateway to unique opportunities and skill development! 🚀
• Direct access to Googlers provides invaluable mentorship and networking opportunities. 👥
• Learn critical skills in career development and technical areas, including data structures, algorithms, coding, and interview techniques. 💻
• Fun fact intros from the Googlers add a personal touch, making the learning experience relatable and engaging. 😊
• The program emphasizes practical experience through mock interviews, workshops, and interactive sessions, which are crucial for career advancement. 📚

Overview

Welcome to the Student Upskilling Launchpad, brought to you by Google India! This exciting event kicks off with energetic intros from the Google team, sharing personal anecdotes and welcoming new participants into a vibrant learning community. The idea is to nurture aspiring Googlers by preparing them rigorously for technical challenges ahead.

Throughout the event, attendees gain unique insights from seasoned Googlers like Aayush and Vibali. They delve into the nitty-gritty of coding interviews, sharing practical tips to improve code accuracy, efficiency, and interview readiness. These sessions demystify the intimidating Google interview process, encouraging participants to focus on improvement areas such as testing code, effective communication, and problem-solving strategies.

The program structure is robust, offering workshops, mock interviews, and direct access to Googlers, ensuring that every participant is well-prepared to face Google’s rigorous recruiting process. From learning to manage interview anxiety to mastering data structures and algorithms, the Launchpad is more than a program—it's a transformative journey, filled with opportunities to grow and have fun.

Chapters

• 00:00 - 05:00: Welcome and Introductions This chapter introduces 'Student Upskilling Launchpad' by Google India, greeting and thanking participants for their time attending the event.
• 05:00 - 10:00: Program Overview The chapter titled 'Program Overview' begins with a warm welcome and congratulations to participants embarking on a journey with Google India. It emphasizes the exciting opportunities for learning, exploration, and legacy-building. The chapter suggests an optimistic and encouraging start to the program, setting the stage for what's to come.
• 10:00 - 20:00: Aayush's Journey and Interview Tips The chapter introduces Aditi, a member of the APAC talent engagement team at Google, who shares a fun fact about herself. She is currently an avid reader of Japanese manga and has started reading the popular series 'One Piece.' The chapter sets the stage for discussions on various topics, including Aayush's journey and interview tips, with Shivangi from Aditi's team also introduced.
• 20:00 - 35:00: Vibali's Journey and Strategies The chapter introduces the launch of the Student Upskilling Launchpad program, featuring Shivangi, a member of the APAC talent engagement team at Google. Shivangi shares a personal tidbit about herself, mentioning her fondness for the TV show 'Modern Family'. The event is part of Google's efforts to engage and upskill students.
• 35:00 - 45:00: Misconceptions and Purpose of Interviews The chapter titled 'Misconceptions and Purpose of Interviews' includes an agenda outlining a walkthrough of the program, Googler spotlights with two employees sharing their journeys and interview tips, insights to inspire the audience, and a discussion on program expectations and next steps.
• 45:00 - 50:00: Next Steps and Closing Remarks The chapter titled 'Next Steps and Closing Remarks' focuses on the future direction and wrap-up of a program. Shivangi introduces the segment and passes the baton to Aditi, who provides a brief overview of what participants can expect moving forward. Acknowledging that attendees have likely reviewed emailed details, Aditi aims to delve deeper into the key aspects of the program that are vital for participant understanding. The chapter sets the stage for further exploration of the program elements essential for the audience.

[Student Upskilling Launchpad] Google India: Launch! Transcription

• 00:00 - 00:30 [Music] hi everyone welcome to student upskilling launchpad by Google India Thank you so much for taking out the time to be here today We're so very
• 00:30 - 01:00 excited to meet you all Firstly huge congratulations to all of you for embarking upon this adventurous and fun-filled journey with Google India We hope that throughout this journey you find great opportunities for yourself to learn and explore new things every day and in that process create a legacy for yourself as well as others And on that note let's kick off with the launch for the program with a quick round of introductions if that's all right And I'll kick it off with myself My name is
• 01:00 - 01:30 Aditi and I'm a part of the APAC talent engagement team here at Google Now at Google it is kind of customary for us to introduce ourselves with a fun fact And mine is that I'm currently reading a lot of Japanese manga which is Japanese graphic novels for those of you who don't know And I'm really into it And in fact I've just started reading One Piece So I do have a long long way to go um into the process but I'm really really excited and looking forward to it I also have with me Shivangi from my team um
• 01:30 - 02:00 and would love if Shivangi could come in and introduce herself as well Shivbangi over to you and thank you for joining us Thank you Thank you so much Aditi Hey everyone and welcome to the launch of the student upskilling launchpad program I'm Shivangi and I'm also a part of the AP pack talent engagement team at Google My fun fact is that I have seen the show Modern Family at least seven times and it still continues to be my go-to show Now moving on let's see what we have in
• 02:00 - 02:30 store for you today Coming to today's exciting agenda we're thrilled to kick things off with a walkthrough of the program followed by Googler spotlights wherein we have for you two Googlers who will be sharing their journeys with you and giving tips for interview readiness I'm sure that their insights and experiences will inspire you Next we'll talk about what you can expect for the duration of this program and what are the next steps
• 02:30 - 03:00 going forward Now over to you Aditi to give a quick overview of the program Thanks Shivangi for walking us through the agenda and like Shivangi said maybe it's time for us to look at what's in store for all of you I know that most of you have already received emails with a lot more details and would have probably gone through the same but today I'd love to deep dive into some of the elements that we think would be crucial for you to understand a little bit more about this program So moving on to the next
• 03:00 - 03:30 slide Now the student upskilling launchpad program is designed to equip all of you with critical skills for an ideal candidate that is applying for opportunities at Google Now this exclusive program is structured around three key pillars Career development technical skills and personalized connects A major highlight is actually direct access to Googlers and resources that are designed to accelerate your career trajectory with us Now good to
• 03:30 - 04:00 gain the most of this program and the sessions that we will bring forth we recommend that all of you attend all the sessions that we provide to you which would cover a range of topics from fundamentals and in-depth of top you know topics such as data structures and algorithm knowledge timed coding problem solving techniques and guidance on how to excel in Google interviews including mock interview demonstrations This program as a whole is aimed at providing you with the resources that you need to navigate your
• 04:00 - 04:30 journey to Google And I hope that this overview is helpful and gives you you know a highle picture of what this journey entails With that we'll move on to the next segment where you will get to hear directly from Googlers about their journeys learn about best practices and understand how this program can support your path to Google So with that I'm very happy and excited to invite Aayush software engineer with Google Aayush thank you so much for your
• 04:30 - 05:00 time and thank you for joining us today Um would love to hear a little bit about your journey to Google and of course advice that you would like to share for students who are watching this today Over to you and thank you again Thanks for the introduction Aditi Uh really glad to have this opportunity and get a chance to share uh my experiences with everyone Uh a little bit about myself Hello everyone My name is Aayushkadam and a fun fact about me is that I have attended eight different schools during my school years mainly because my family moved around a lot A little bit more
• 05:00 - 05:30 about my journey and how this program can help you ace the interviews We'll go through some of the key things that you should know when interviewing We'll also talk a bit about some of the shortfalls that we have seen when interviewing candidates and how to avoid avoid those Many of you have already experienced the Google interview process firsthand and you are here because you are determined to succeed That experience is valuable You've seen what the interviews are like and you know what areas you would like to improve upon I have been at Google
• 05:30 - 06:00 for almost 3 years now and I have been through this journey of the interview process then the internship and finally the conversion to a full-time role I interviewed with Google for an internship position as part of college internship drive like most you would have already done or will be appearing for soon I then got selected for the internship here at Google after uh going through the interview process It was a two-monthlong uh internship and got converted to a full-time offer at the end of it and then I joined as a full-time employee after graduation
• 06:00 - 06:30 Since joining I have also taken part in some of the interviews for university students So today I would like to share with you some of the insights I have gained as an interviewer and an interviewee I'll mainly focus on the coding side of things Hope you all are excited and let's get started Next site uh next slide please So we'll talk about what to focus on during the preparation for the interviews and then what all to keep in mind during the interview as well Of course you will have uh you will be practicing coding and data structures and algorithms All that is very very
• 06:30 - 07:00 important But let's look at things that we might miss during the preparation phase Starting off with coding like writing code without any help This is really important like during the interview you do not get to use any ID or compiler You don't have access to autocomplete etc the other tools that you might have gotten used to And I would suggest that practicing on docs trying to catch syntax errors on your own and then verifying by pasting it in ID and then uh repeating the process to
• 07:00 - 07:30 master this uh whole thing Next thing is uh try writing a completely functioning code A lot of times we tend to have a uh tend to do is write pseudo code like it would be plain English but it uh it would not work because the syntax is incorrect or the functions are wrong or you would miss a semicolon or things like that So try writing a completely functioning code as well You can try to write the main functions first through uh though as you will also need to manage time during the interview but we'll touch upon this a little bit later And write a readable
• 07:30 - 08:00 code Readable code Uh you can write this by having proper indentation aligning the code correctly so it's easier to read for the interviewer and use good descriptive variable names and function names Another good idea could be just to add comments in your code like the uh it's a section where you are doing something with a variable Maybe you can just add in that uh comment so it's easier for the interviewer to uh understand and maybe later while they're giving the feedback that time also it
• 08:00 - 08:30 helps them These are some of the things that I've seen missing from quite a few interview feedbacks because as students we don't we tend to overlook a lot of these We're in the habit of just working on course assignments and the outputs and we forget this critical part about the coding lang uh coding practices and how to catch bugs and all those things Coming to that testing your code is also very important like dry run on your code with a sample input It can be the sample input can be provided by the interviewer
• 08:30 - 09:00 to you or you can come up with them yourself Try to include as many examples and samples which cover uh edge cases for you because uh we also tend to just solve for the main problem but we forget that what if the variable goes out of bound or things like that Coming to DS and ELGO understanding the data structures in ELGO is really important But just knowing the name of a data structure and algorithm is not never enough And this is something that I have seen as an interviewer that uh tends to happen that when you share a
• 09:00 - 09:30 question with the interviewee they would they can uh understand the problem correctly They also know that this is the algorithm that they need to use But when we get to the part where we they need to implement it they tend to struggle a bit So you should understand the implementation of it and you should be able to code it as well and knowing the space and time complexities In most of the interviews uh the interviewer does ask you for the time complexity and the space complexity of your solution This helps them
• 09:30 - 10:00 understand that you have uh actually understood the problem correctly and you are giving the most optimized solution So this is a really important part but again this is something that uh some of the candidates fail at and this uh could be very easily addressed as well Now moving on to things that you should pay attention to during the interview like maintaining pace throughout the interview This is really important You should maintain pace during the interview like try to maintain pace right from the start Sometimes we tend to like we don't we
• 10:00 - 10:30 think that there's a lot of time for us to uh go through the whole question but it turns out that you don't have enough time left for coding or you don't get enough time to testing the code and other things So maintaining pace is important and it is also possible that the interviewer has planned for two or more questions for you for the duration of the interview and you spend most of your time on the first one So uh be aware of that It is okay to confirm this from the interview as well at the very start that uh how many questions are we going to do and they usually do tell uh
• 10:30 - 11:00 this part to you as well But at the same time no need to rush through things or get anxious The interviewer would have planned the questions accordingly and they would have allotted enough time for you to solve these as well and there is no extra credit for wrapping up the interview early So do take your time wherever needed Another thing would be to pay attention to what the interviewer is saying Listen carefully and ask for clarifications even for the slightest of doubts Such clarifications would help you get critical information for
• 11:00 - 11:30 formulating a solution It could be that uh you think that a solution might not work but the constraints are that it only goes to uh the constraint is not enough like you don't have a large enough input to uh actually worry about the implementation and good communication This is really really important The interview happens over video call So the interviewer can only see your code and what you are communicating with them Thinking out loud would enable the interviewer to better understand the solution and the progress that you have
• 11:30 - 12:00 made so far And like we talked about in the previous point they might be able to guide you too Try to explain your code as you are writing This would help you save time as well Otherwise you would write your code first and then you go back and try to explain it again So this might uh need some extra time as well One thing that I have noticed at times is if a candidate gets stuck they go completely silent instead of better way in such cases would be to say out loud what you are stuck on Personally many times just saying out a problem gives me
• 12:00 - 12:30 some ideas on how can uh how I can solve it and also if you say it out loud even the uh interviewer can help you out with some of the hints if you're really stuck there These things are equally important because you are not only being evaluated for your problem solving skills but also for your communication and comprehension about the problem and uh things in general How well you take and incorporate feedback and other things Coming to the student launchpad program the program will provide you
• 12:30 - 13:00 with opportunities to upskill yourself in most in almost all the things that we have just talked about Google India is growing and I hope you are able to make the most of this There will be problem solving and comm communication workshops where you'll get a chance to gain insights into how to better communicate and solve more complicated problems You can also brush up on your DSA and coding skills like uh Aditi mentioned with the fundamentals of DSA and coding sessions You'll also get a chance to practice time coding debugging and testing during workshops in smaller groups There will
• 13:00 - 13:30 also be mock interview demonstrations where you can implement all the things from time management to communication during the interview You will be able to get feedback on the overall interview process With this I would like to welcome you all to the student upskll upskilling launchpad program specifically designed to help you bridge the gaps and give you the final push you need to ace these interviews Throughout the program we'll be focusing on practical skills and strategies that will help make a real difference With this I would like to hand it over to Shivangi
• 13:30 - 14:00 Thank you so much Aayush for taking us through such insightful tips for interview readiness I am sure that the audience will find it super useful Moving on we will have with us Vibali Jooshi who is a software engineer at Google and has been a part of Google programs previously Hi thanks for joining Can you share a little bit about yourself and your journey to Google how did you feel when
• 14:00 - 14:30 you got the opportunity to interview at Google and what was your experience like hi everyone I'm Vibali I've been working as a software engineer at Google Cloud for about 1.5 years now But just a while ago I was exactly where many of you are preparing for interviews feeling nervous and wondering if I could actually crack it When I got the email from a Google recruiter in 2022 for a new grad role I
• 14:30 - 15:00 was excited but also really nervous I had heard so much about how tough Google interviewers are and it felt like there was no room for mistakes The pressure was real When the interview day finally came I was extremely anxious Once it started things got a little better My interviewer was really nice and as we
• 15:00 - 15:30 went through the problems I slowly started feeling more confident I managed to solve most of the questions and even reached follow-ups for a few But not everything went smoothly In one of my interviews I got completely stuck on a problem I just couldn't think of the logic Maybe it was the nerves Maybe I just wasn't seeing it Thankfully the
• 15:30 - 16:00 interviewer gave me a small hint and that was enough to help me get back on track and finish strong Then came the big moment the results When the email finally arrived I couldn't believe it I think I definitely screamed Um I still have that email in my inbox because it just wasn't an offer letter It was the culmination of months
• 16:00 - 16:30 of effort self-doubt late night practice My parents were overjoyed and after months of hard work I could finally relax and celebrate What I want to tell all of you is this Google interviews are tough but they are not impossible It's okay to feel nervous It's okay to make mistakes What matters is that you keep going on and do not give up If I could do it you
• 16:30 - 17:00 can do too Thank you Thank you so much for sharing that Viveali I for one I'm feeling inspired and I'm sure the audience is also feeling the same Next up uh I would love for you to deep dive into some of the things that you mentioned Say for example how should one approach a coding interview question right so how do you approach an interview question um here's the flow
• 17:00 - 17:30 that really helped me First thing is to understand the question properly Listen carefully and make sure you know exactly what's being asked Then like Aayush mentioned ask clarifying questions things like can n be negative can it be zero what are the constraints so this helps avoid misunderstandings and shows the interviewer that you are thinking
• 17:30 - 18:00 critically once that's clear discuss your approach with the interviewer If brute force is the first thing that comes to your mind that's like totally fine Start there and try to optimize it Even if you don't immediately find a best solution walking through improvements step by step is completely okay If the interviewer is happy with the approach start coding But keep a few
• 18:00 - 18:30 things in mind Just what Aayush had mentioned earlier Those were really solid points like using proper function names writing clean modular code speaking while you code explain what you're doing as you write so the interviewer understands your thought process So once the code is done you need to analyze the time and the space complexity and explain it clearly One
• 18:30 - 19:00 bonus tip here is to make sure to use the editor efficiently like writing down your thoughts in bullet points before jumping into coding And finally if you reach follow-up questions that is a great great sign Usually follow-ups are more about discussion rather than coding So focus on explaining your thought process and you if you still have time left just code it out
• 19:00 - 19:30 Thank you Thank you so much That was quite interesting Uh so what strategies helped you the most in your interview preparation uh Vibali Right So uh now looking back at my preparation um I realized there were a few things that made the difference The biggest one was identifying what I needed to improve and actually working on it So um I think we all can agree that interviews can be intimidating and
• 19:30 - 20:00 the only way to make them less scary is to get used to the environment For me that meant doing a lot and lot of mock interviews Uh I used to do it on online platforms with friends even with seniors And the most important point here is I used to do them when I didn't even feel fully prepared So if you are in the preparation phase you can maybe start with topic wise mock interviews
• 20:00 - 20:30 but eventually you should practice random questions just like in a real interview where you don't know what will come next One of the best things about mock interview is the feedback and I made sure to use it For example I realized that while I could code a solution I struggled to explain my thought process clearly So I started speaking out loud while coding in my practice sessions I also noticed that I
• 20:30 - 21:00 wasn't analyzing the time complexity properly when using built-in functions So I made a habit of breaking it down every time Another big one was that I wasn't asking clarifying questions So I started imagining an invisible person in front of me and explaining my approach before jumping into the code So this all really helped me become more structured in my thinking Another major thing I worked on was reducing silly mistakes Uh
• 21:00 - 21:30 so at first I would make errors as basic as writing a reverse for loop incorrectly or making like a small logic condition wrong And I noticed I was making the same mistakes again and again and again So I started tracking them I started maintaining a notebook of mistakes like I used to call it Uh every time I made an error I wrote it down and reviewed it before my next practice
• 21:30 - 22:00 session So over time I noticed a huge improvement and those mistakes started disappearing So by the time of my interview I had practiced enough that I wasn't making those kind of simple mistakes or syntax errors The last thing that helped me was focusing on problem patterns instead of just solving like hundreds of random question So each DSA topic has so many variations So instead
• 22:00 - 22:30 of chasing numbers I focused on recognizing different patterns This approach helped me cover a wide range of problems and in interviews I could quickly relate new questions to something I had just seen before making it easier for me to come up with a solution So these strategies made a big big difference for me and I hope they help you too Thank you Those were some fantastic
• 22:30 - 23:00 points Uh moving on what are some common misconceptions about Google interviews and what's the real purpose behind them yeah this is an interesting question Um a lot of people have misconceptions about coding interviews especially Google interviews So let's clear a few things up So first thing is the interviewer wants you to succeed It's easy to think of them as strict
• 23:00 - 23:30 examiners waiting to reject you but that is not true Think of it as a peer coding session where you're both working towards a solution The best interviews feel like discussion rather than tests So uh the interview isn't just looking at whether you get the right answer They want to see how you think how you communicate and how you approach solving problems Now what if you made a mistake
• 23:30 - 24:00 which is very natural right so a lot of people assume that one small error will cost them the job which is why they are so nervous during the interview But that is not the case What really matters is how you recover from mistakes If you realize you've made an error don't freeze or panic Instead acknowledge it correct it and move on Sometimes how you handle mistakes is just as important as getting the right solution I chose
• 24:00 - 24:30 problem solving skills resilience and a growth mindset All things that are valuable in a real work environment Another misconception is deliberately giving a brute force solution first even when you already know a better one So I've seen people do this because they think it's part of the process but you if you already have the optimized approach in mind just say it up front Of course uh if you can't think of an
• 24:30 - 25:00 optimized solution immediately totally fine starting with the brute force but um refining it's totally fine but don't hold back if you already know the better approach in this way you can solve more questions more follow-up questions and this brings me to the big question that I hear all the time which is why do companies especially Google still have DSA interviews when we don't solve these kind of problems at work um I get it You know uh most of us don't write binary
• 25:00 - 25:30 search trees or dynamic programming solutions daily but that's not the point of these interviews I think Google isn't testing whether you remember the exact algorithm of for a problem They're testing how you handle vague unfamiliar problems So in real world software development you'll often get a problem that no one has solved before Uh there won't be like a stepby-step guide which
• 25:30 - 26:00 you can follow to solve it Instead you'll have to break it down think through possible solutions and figure it out So that's exactly what DSA interviews simulate You're given a problem statement and you have to understand it you have to analyze it and you have to find an efficient way to solve it which is actually very very similar to what you do in your job So no Google interviews aren't impossible or
• 26:00 - 26:30 unsolvable They are designed to they're not designed to trick you They're designed to see how you think and how you solve problems under pressure And once you understand that they become much less intimidating So this program actually is designed to be your practical guide having the key elements such as DSA focus Google interview strategies and good coding habits What you do with it now is the difference
• 26:30 - 27:00 Consistent effort dedicated practice and a clear focus will turn these resources into great great results So all the best everyone Thank you so much Vibali for sharing such useful and comprehensive tips I am sure this will energize and motivate the students who are watching this to prep for their coding interviews Now I'll hand it over to Aditi to take us through the next steps in this program Thanks Shivangi and of course
• 27:00 - 27:30 our incredible speakers Vibbali and Aayush Thank you so much for your time today Now to all of you watching us live before you go know that we're all here to help you succeed continue to learn from each other and with each other And of course do not forget to have a lot of fun As for what is next for you you will all be invited or in some cases would have already been invited for a Google online challenge Now this challenge in itself is a 60-minute assessment that
• 27:30 - 28:00 you can take anytime between a specified window The mode of this challenge is virtual which means that you can take it from anywhere of convenience to you Now you must complete and submit this challenge within a specified deadline You will receive a detailed email shortly with the you know dates the timelines for the challenge So do keep an eye out for emails in your inbox Now post the online challenge all the participants with confirmed
• 28:00 - 28:30 registrations will be invited to our learning cohorts which are comprising of different workshops that I also touched upon earlier and so did of course Vali and Aush you know including DSA problem solving and so on Now this immersive experience offers a collaborative learning environment with mentorship from Googlers and beyond Post the learning cohorts or the workshops that you will be attending with us We will then move on to another Google online challenge Now similar to the first assignment or assessment the
• 28:30 - 29:00 mode of this online challenge would also be virtual So that means you can take it from anywhere in India Similar to the first one you will have to complete and submit this challenge within a specified deadline And of course all of these details and more will be shared with you shortly over email So don't be worried if you don't you know if you're not able to take a note of what we're sharing right now Now I hope that this gives you a better overview understanding of the program what's next for all of you and you're all as excited as we are to share
• 29:00 - 29:30 this knowledge and these resources with you In case you do have any questions after this session please do reach out to us on the email ID that you can see up on the slide This is Google studentupskilling launchpad at the rategoogle.com With that we bring today's session to an end Once again I'd like to thank each one of you who's joining us today and watching this um for taking out the time to be here with us and hope that the sessions ahead will be valuable and will
• 29:30 - 30:00 facilitate your journey to Google more effectively Thank you again for your time and wish you all the very best in your journey to Google Thank you and have a wonderful rest of the day [Music]
• 30:00 - 30:30 Heat Heat [Music]