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JESSICA: Hello everyone who's tuning in today.
We are going to talk a little bit about the Engineering
Trainee Summer Program, which is being offered this summer
for the first time in a couple of our European offices.
My name is Jessica for those of you who may have seen me on
a couple of these Hangouts before.
I run the Google Students Google+ page and a bunch of
our other social channels.
And I'm here today with Farrah and Carrie, who are going to
talk a bit about this new program that they're launching
in Europe for the summer.
So I'm going to kick it off to them, and they're going to
introduce themselves.
And then we'll dive right into some of the fun Q&A that we
have planned.
So Carrie, why don't you start us off.
CARRIE: OK, great.
Hi everyone.
My name's Carrie.
I work in the London office and I'm the intern program
manager for EMEA.
JESSICA: And Farrah.
FARRAH: Hi everyone.
I'm Farrah.
I also work in the London office and I look after
software engineering and intern hiring across Europe.
JESSICA: Great.
Well, we're glad to have both of you here today.
With the time zone, me in Mountain View and you in
Europe, this worked out well.
I didn't have to wake up too early.
Don't worry.
So why don't we start off with the
background about this program.
What is it all about?
How did it come to be?
What can students look forward to if they're
interested in applying?
So Carrie, do you want to give us some background?
CARRIE: Yep.
Absolutely.
So the Engineering Trainee Summer Program is a 10-week
internship which will run across the summer.
As Jess mentioned, this is the first time that we're running
this in Europe.
We've seen some good success from the Eng Practicum, which
Farrah will go on to, but we really wanted to launch this
over here and hopefully see those successes.
You'll be working in one of three offices, so either
London, Munich, or Krakow.
And they'll be, as well as real projects, they'll be
working on live production items.
There'll also be classroom activities, mentoring, and
hopefully a lot of fun for you.
JESSICA: Great.
And what about Farrah?
Why are we doing this in Europe?
I know we have the Engineering Practicum Internship Program
in North America.
How did it transition over to this new region?
FARRAH: Well, we at Google like to try new things.
This is new for us.
We've had some, obviously, past successes.
We've run the Eng Practicum for the last three years, I
believe, in the US and we have had some successes.
So we wanted to give younger students an opportunity to get
some practical experience, some classroom training, and
to have fun at Google.
It's not something we've tried before and yes, we wanted to
try something new and give that opportunity for our
younger students.
JESSICA: Great.
And what age is this for students who are
interested in applying?
[INTERPOSING VOICES]
CARRIE: Go ahead, Farrah.
FARRAH: From first and second years.
So anyone in a first or second year of a course, not
graduating before 2014.
JESSICA: OK.
Got it.
So for those who may be just tuned in to start watching,
we're talking about Engineering Trainee Summer
Program, which is a new internship program we're
launching in a couple of our offices in Europe.
So we have Carrie and Farrah from our London office talking
about the program right now.
So what is the difference?
Students were asking what's the difference between the
Engineering Trainee Summer Program and the
regular intern program.
CARRIE: Of course.
The main difference is really the length of the program.
The Engineering Trainee Program is 10 weeks long.
We're really trying to get all the students to start and
finish on the same day to help give more of a class feel so
you can work together and help each other with any technical
problems and projects that you'll be working on.
With the regular internship program in EMEA, we're really
flexible on start and end dates.
As long as you can work with us for a minimum of thirteen
weeks, you can pretty much start at any
point during the year.
And there's room to work for longer than thirteen weeks if
that fits in with your educational schedule.
As well as the start and end dates being aligned, there's
more classroom training.
So we understand that students that will be applying for this
program won't be as far on with their education as
perhaps the students on the regular intern program.
So we want to help build on your current skill base and
give you some more exposure to real life projects and
programming.
And we'll also have a structured mentoring program.
So we'll have experienced engineers giving up some of
their time to work with you outside of having
a manager or host.
So those are really the main differences.
JESSICA: And they're working sort of in teams if I
understand correctly, right?
So for students who maybe, they're a little bit nervous
because it would be their first internship, it's
definitely set up in a very welcoming and cultivating
environment.
JESSICA: Yes.
Exactly that.
There will be two or three trainees working in the same
team or in the same larger team.
So you all ready have a great support network based in your
office and then, obviously, with the other trainees in
other locations.
So we'll bring you together probably by a VC to take part
in the classroom training so you're all experiencing the
same things.
Then you can share those experiences and really help
support each other and help each other grow.
JESSICA: Great.
And so we said the program is targeted at first and second
year students.
What sort of educational background or work experience
are you looking for from these students, especially since
they're so young in their academic careers?
CARRIE: Absolutely.
From a lack of work experience perspective, we understand
that most students at this stage of their education may
not have any work experience.
But really, any students that are studying a bachelor in
computer science or related degrees is really what we're
looking for.
Anyone that shows a real passion for the technology for
computer science, perhaps doing some programming or
creating apps in your spare time, taking part in
Olympiads, those are the type of students that
we're looking for.
Those that really want to develop their career and just
take 10 weeks over the summer to come and try something new.
JESSICA: Great.
And when are the dates?
So we're a little bit more strict with this program with
start and end dates versus the regular internship program.
So what dates are we looking at for this?
CARRIE: So we'll be looking from the 2nd of July through
to the 7th of September 2012.
JESSICA: OK.
And applications are due?
CARRIE: By the 27th of April.
JESSICA: OK.
Great.
So they have a little bit more time to get their
applications in.
And what is the overall aim of this program?
From Google's perspective, what are we hoping
to get out of this?
FARRAH: Well, we hope that the team will be able to help the
younger student develop at an earlier age so they can get
productive sooner.
If they go on to become successful software engineers
full time at Google, that would be fantastic as well.
JESSICA: Great.
So for those who maybe just clicked the broadcaster tune
in button, I'm here we Carrie and Farrah from our London
office, and we're talking about the Engineering Trainee
Summer Program, which is a new internship program we're
running in a couple of our offices in Europe targeted at
first and second year computer science students.
It's a 10-week internship program.
So don't worry.
We're recording this so if you missed any of it, we'll upload
it to our YouTube channel.
Don't worry.
Never fear.
OK, so let's go into some of these frequently asked
questions that we get from students about the program.
One of the questions that we get a lot is what about
students outside of Europe who are maybe
interested in the program?
Can they apply?
CARRIE: Yes.
We'll encourage everyone to apply who's eligible.
What we will say is that because there is the Eng
Practicum in North America, we probably will give priority to
students that are studying within Europe
for this pilot program.
Things may change going forward, but we do recommend
if you're studying outside of Europe, so if you're studying
in the US, to take a look at the programs that are offered
more locally.
JESSICA: Great.
And we're pretty strict with those program
qualifications, right?
So some students were asking if I'm a first year master's
student, can I apply?
But it's pretty set, first or second year undergraduate
students, correct?
CARRIE: Exactly.
So we have two different courses.
So there's a three-year bachelor course.
So if you're doing that then you need to be coming up to
the end of your first year.
But if you're doing a four-year course, then we'll
accept students that are coming up to
their second year.
So it's really the graduation year that's important.
It does need to be 2014, but unfortunately we can't take
master's students at this time.
JESSICA: OK.
And how do students apply for this program?
Let's say they have fit all of the qualifications, they're
excited, what's next?
How do they apply?
FARRAH: Well, they can search for Engineering Trainee Summer
Program, probably on Google, and be directed to the site or
have a look on the student page, on the page we are now
and click on the link.
And send a suitable CV, a nicely written, maybe
two-page, three-page CV, with a very short covering letter.
One or two paragraphs is absolutely fine.
We're more interested in what the students are doing now,
what you're doing now, than anything else.
So those two would be absolutely perfect.
JESSICA: And are there things you would expect in their
cover letter or, specifically, on their CV that you really
would like to see highlighted?
FARRAH: Anything further to what Carrie was saying, so if
there's been any participation in open source communities or
something super fun that you've created or maybe a
technology that you've always wanted to explore further but
have some dabblings in that we'd like to hear about.
So anything related to computer science that's not
necessarily in the textbook that you want to tell us
about, that's cool.
JESSICA: Carrie, do you want to add anything to that or did
she pretty much cover it?
CARRIE: Yeah.
No, I think that's pretty much it.
I think it's really important to highlight you're passion in
your CV as far as that, just draw attention to anything
you've done that really shows your skills and your interest.
We're really looking for innovative people to come in
and have great fun but also contribute something to Google
at the same time.
JESSICA: And they should probably include their
intended graduation year somewhere on the CV?
CARRIE: Yes.
That would be very helpful.
JESSICA: Just knowing from some of the program
applications we review, it's always helpful to see that
sort of front and center since that makes a difference in
your qualification for the program.
So after they apply, what does the recruitment process look
like for these students?
What's next?
CARRIE: Yep.
So Farrah and I will obviously go through and review the
applications and successful students will be invited to
take part in two phone screens.
So the phone screens will generally be 45 minutes each,
and they will be with our engineers.
So you'll be given access to a write Writely document, so a
Google Doc, which you can code in in real time.
So it's always handy to have a quick practice at typing while
talking just so that you feel confident and ready for that.
And so it will be one to two phone screens that you will
do, and then you'll receive the outcome of your
interviews.
JESSICA: So these are technical
phone screens, correct?
It's not just about what's on their resume.
CARRIE: Absolutely.
So they'll be technical phone screens.
We will ask you up front where your interests lie, what you
like doing, what your main programming language is so we
can target our interviews a bit more
to what you do yourself.
But you should be prepared for some problem-solving questions
and some more generic questions.
And of course, the engineers will be interested to learn a
bit more about you and what you've got on your CV.
So refresh yourself on your CV before your interview.
JESSICA: Good advice.
And how long does this recruitment process take?
When can students expect to know where they
stand in the process?
FARRAH: I guess it depends on when you can start the
interview process, but we would like to have final
decisions by the end of May.
JESSICA: Good.
OK, we already said applications
are due April 27th.
That's an important date for them to know.
And it sounds like if they just submit resume and cover
letter, that's what they need to apply, correct?
CARRIE: Yeah.
There is a short question that we've asked you to answer just
about a project that you've worked on outside of your
university studies, just to give us a bit more insight
into you and what you enjoy.
JESSICA: And what about--
sorry, did I cut you off?
CARRIE: No.
That's OK.
Just add that in to the cover letter.
That would be fantastic.
JESSICA: Perfect.
It's important to directions.
I think that's like step one of, if you're qualified, can
you read the directions and follow what we're asking.
That's good.
What about how students should prepare for the recruiting or
hiring process?
FARRAH: OK.
So once we've reviewed all the CVs, we'll get in touch with
suitable students and we will then advice on how to prepare.
But for now, the top tip will be to practice coding, review
the modules that are pertinent to this.
So I would say, some of the programming, algorithmic, data
structure type of modules that the
student's currently studying.
Revise those.
Make sure they're all cleared up.
We're big on notation, but do a lot of coding and try and do
stuff outside of university as well.
That would be the first initial preparation.
JESSICA: Yeah.
And I know on our YouTube channel,
youtube.com/googlestudents, we have a playlist of all of the
Hangouts on there that we've done.
And we actually did one about technical interview
preparation.
So for anyone who's watching who, in general, just wants
some help with how they can prepare for technical
interviews, it's on our playlist.
And it was hosted by one of our engineering recruiters who
sat down with a few engineers to talk about preparing for
technical interviews.
So that might be a good use of your time to help prepare.
Is there anything else you'd recommend for students
preparing for the recruiting or hiring process?
FARRAH: Talk to their friends and just try to do a little
bit of role play, maybe, Getting paper out, talking
through some questions, and just discussing in like a
classroom style.
I think often helps as well.
JESSICA: Great.
Good advice.
And then what makes a good application?
So when you guys are reviewing all of these applications,
hopefully, tons of students are now excited to apply.
What really stands out in an application or a CV or a cover
letter for you?
CARRIE: I think we've talked about this a little bit
already, but I really do think it's kind of passion and
innovation in your CV.
This is the first thing that we see about you.
It's really helpful that you really highlight your skills
and what you've learned and what you've done.
So at university, university is not easy, but you've
probably done some really great team
projects or group projects.
Pull out what you've done in those group projects and what
role you played.
And outside of university, any interest you may have even
related to computer science or not
related to computer science.
If you like fire juggling or, I don't know, just meeting up
with your friends and reading books, or anything like that,
that's really interesting for us.
We really want to be able to get a feel for who you are
from your CV and what you like doing.
So obviously, your education and studying a lot, of course,
is really important, but we really want
to see who you are.
And be excited about your application.
It's a really good opportunity and that then is easier to
come across.
JESSICA: And you're not necessarily looking for
students to have known that they wanted to study computer
science since they were five, right?
So even if you just sort of stumbled across an intro to CS
course and it's your first year, you're definitely
encouraged to apply, right?
CARRIE: Exactly.
And it's exactly those students that we
want to see as well.
You shouldn't feel that you don't have enough experience
or that you haven't done enough coding or programming.
This program is designed for students that have started,
have got some really good interest all ready, but want
to develop that.
Don't feel that you can't apply yet because you're not
quite ready.
I'd recommend that you apply, and you know what, if it's not
successful, it's a really good experience just the
application and getting to speak to our engineers.
And we'll give you something to think about for the future.
So don't be put off by thinking
that you're not ready.
I definitely would apply now, and then, you know, we never
say no at Google.
If it's not right this time, we can look next year.
JESSICA: Exactly.
And speaking of next year and of students who maybe or older
students who are watching this now, are you still hiring for
normal internships and full-time roles?
CARRIE: So we pretty much wrapped up our internships for
2012 now within EMEA.
So we aren't accepting any more applications.
But we will start recruiting again in September, which
feels a long way away, but we're already in April.
So my recommendation is that anybody who's looking for an
internship next year to visit our website in September.
Then, we'll open application, and just apply, really, as
early as possible because we try and review things on a
rolling basis.
So, yeah, come September, come back to the website and keep
visiting until it's opened.
JESSICA: And all of those opportunities are posted at
google.com/students, and it's broken down either by region
or by what role you're looking for.
So post all of our program announcements on the student
blog in the Google+ page.
So as long as everyone keeps a tab on those sites, they'll
probably know before a lot of students even know when all of
these opportunities are available.
All right, is there anything else you guys want to add
before we close this off?
Maybe let's do a quick wrap-up.
So we just talked about the engineering
trainee summer program.
Carrie, do you want to give just a quick high-level
overview of what the program is?
Maybe someone just clicked that they want to join the
broadcast and they want to know what we've
been talking about.
CARRIE: Absolutely.
So it's a brand new program within Europe, 10 weeks across
the summer in either London, Munich, or Krakow.
It's designed for first years of a three-year bachelor or up
to the second year of a four-year bachelor.
We're taking applications right now.
Apply via our student site.
It comes under programs and scholarships.
Application deadline is the 275h of April and to apply, we
just need a CV and a cover letter, which also describes
the projects you've got done outside of
the university setting.
JESSICA: That was perfect.
That was a great elevator pitch for the program.
OK, so I think that just about wraps it up.
Thanks for joining us, Farrah and Carrie.
For those who are interested, again, if you go on
google.com/students, and under programs and scholarships,
under the Europe category, you'll find that Engineering
Trainee Summer Program application.
And we'll have this video uploaded to our YouTube
channel sometime in the next couple of days so you can
re-watch it if you missed it.
If you have any questions, hopefully we were able to
answer them on here.