Google Hiring Coding Bootcamp Graduates

Yeah the interview bar is not lower and Google is one of the harder interview processes. That first round is medium level DS&A and algorithms problems (or harder), and passing isn't just about practicing LeetCode problems. It does take time prepare outside of bootcamps for people to hit the DS&A bar. That said, it's a great opportunity to interview at Google! Jump in the fire and give it a shot, if it doesn't work out you have some great experience for what a top tier interview is like! One of my first interviews was Google maybe 15 years ago now. I chose Facebook before I heard back, but it was exciting to get the chance to interview at Google!

I'm not a Google representative, but behind the scenes there are some great things happening: 1. Unlike many big companies, Google is shifting Early Career hiring (or at least some of it) to a more year round cycle. In the past these companies recruited entry level on the "college cycle", which is October (prime time) and February (backup). 2. The reason Mike and Anja have posted recently is that Google dropped a degree requirement for entry level, meaning anyone with a CS degree or bootcamp (from that list) can apply for entry level jobs. In the past a lot of big companies filtered out bootcamp grads in their traditional "early career" pipelines and most people there were CS grads with many top tier internships already (or at Google: people with 1-2 years industry experience as well) So if nothing changes with 1 and 2, you should have a shot any time! The only exception would be if this is an experiment Google is doing with it's early career pipeline and they stop the experiment because the pass rates are too low (i.e. wasting too much engineering interview time) or other metrics they are optimizing for (sourcing a diverse top of funnel). Anyways I DO NOT WORK AT GOOGLE, these are my ideas from being in the industry for a very long time and knowing how a lot of things work at Facebook, knowing a ton of people at Google, and helping several people get hired in early career at Google. u/miketechrecruit please let me know if anything here is misleading and I will edit and correct!

Also to clarify for Codemsith grads (Codesmith advertises that it prepares you for mid-level and senior jobs) you will not be considered for mid-level (L4) and senior (L5) jobs at Google out of Codesmith with no prior work experience regardless of your interview performance. You can take a shot at early career (L3). (Again, do not work at Google, making these statements from extensive industry experience and extensive experience supporting people whose dream company is Google)

The Google Apprenticeship program is a very different thing from "Early Career". The apprenticeship program involves a lot of training, is paid much lower (roughly half), and is for people very early on in their journey. The "Early Career" program is more for people who are formerly at the CS grad level and now at that level but including bootcamp grads at that level. You're interviewing for the L3 bar ([https://www.levels.fyi/?compare=Google&track=Software%20Engineer](https://www.levels.fyi/?compare=Google&track=Software%20Engineer)). It's a rebranding of "New Grad" or "University Recruiting" that has happened industry-wide over the past few years because of a law that passed in California. Again (someone correct me if I'm wrong PLEASE!)

Awesome! Good luck! Yeah strongly suggest early career at Google regardless of level.

I don't want to give specifics for privacy but several Formation Fellows have Google L3 offers with first year TC over $200K (most people have 1-3 years work experience already). You can see a good breakdown here of many other offers: [https://www.levels.fyi/?compare=Google&track=Software%20Engineer](https://www.levels.fyi/?compare=Google&track=Software%20Engineer) Straight from a bootcamp with no experience, you'll be on the lowest end of the spectrum, unless you have competing offers to negotiate with.

Google is a giant company. They have third party recruiters source candidates for different funnels and those recruiters get a set of criteria and requirements to look for. Google has accepted people without CS degrees in the past, but this is more of a larger shift (possibly an experiment... don't know and time will tell) to more openly market to bootcamp grads. It was very hard to get a full blown legit L3 offer without a CS degree and some experience. And it still will be.

Hi all, I've gotten a lot of DMs about my comments asking for more advice. I work with a lot of bootcamp grads a bit down the road in their journeys to achieve roles at the top companies including Google. I probably don't have as many messages as Mike has thought ;) but I'll share some thoughts on here. 1. Google is one of the top companies in the world and has one of the hardest hiring processes and highest bars for data structures and algorithms. This post isn't about a special program for bootcamp grads. This is an opportunity to connect with a recruiter who is supporting the "Early Career" (a.k.a. "New Grad") L3 pipeline. The bar hasn't changed and remains very high. 2. The interview process is the normal L3/Early Career process. You'll do 1 technical screen covering 1-2 medium to hard data structures and algorithms problems, not much talking. Sometimes you'll do a second one if they didn't get a clear signal. If you pass, you'll do 3-4 more interviews, again 1-2 medium to hard data structures and algorithms problems. After your feedback is submitted, if it's all positive and leaning towards hire, your packet will go to a hiring committee that meets once-ish a week. They will review all of your feedback and your background and make sure you are consistently at the bar for L3 set across the company. If you pass the hiring committee, then you will go into a big pool for team matching. If a hiring manager likes your packet (i.e. feedback + resume), you'll do a call with them to make sure you are a fit for their team. If the HM gives a thumbs up, you will promptly get an offer! Then you negotiate, sign, and start you job at Google! 3. It's very, very hard. At Formation.dev, we have a bunch of people that have gotten jobs at Google, and it's not the smartest and best LeetCoders that pass. You have to be really strong at data structures and algos AND be very well rounded and interesting to Google (i.e. Googly). You won't be able to fake your way or memorize your way through the process in a short time. You have to really be good at the fundamentals at a deep level. A few days or a few weeks of algorithms practice will not cut it. Most bootcamp grads we see at Formation need 3 to 6 months AFTER THEIR BOOTCAMP to have a strong chance at passing the Google process. 4. All of this said. If you are graduating a bootcamp (even a top bootcamp like Codesmith and Hack Reactor) and Google is not your #1 dream company, give it a shot. You have direct access to a recruiter that can make it happen and it will be a great learning experience. If you are well prepared, and catch a lucky break, you might be the 1 in a 1000 that passes right out of a bootcamp. If Google IS your dream company, be patient and practice for a while before jumping in.

I think both are strong. Neither will prepare you for a strong chance at passing Google though. Both have a handful of alumni ever that go to Google right out of the program in their first job. At Formation for example, we work with bootcamp grads, and the vast majority of our Fellows get top tier jobs. With many at Google alone, and many TURNING DOWN Google. So I've seen the transformation needed for most people post bootcamp to be at that level. I would like to clarify that most people we work with have work experience already post bootcamp, so the number that come directly from a bootcamp is smaller, but I'm including all of these people in one bucket, because presumably people who graduated and worked are farther ahead anyways than new grads. I might get some comments on here saying that all Codesmith alumni are Google-ready because people get jobs at Google, so I want to emphasize that I'm talking about new grads right out of Codesmith on their first job, who have no prior work experience. There are a very very small number compared to their total number of graduates. Formation.dev works with a decent number of Codesmith alumni to help them get to that top tier bar consistently, like from having a small percent chance to working with them indefinitely until they hit that top tier bar and having a strong chance.