By Michael Knight | Reporter
Representatives from technology powerhouse Google came to the Foster Campus for Business and Innovation Monday night, talking to students about potential opportunities, as well as what it is like working at the company.
The event, “Life @ Google”, took place in McClinton Auditorium. A variety of students from different majors across the business school, as well as other programs, filled the room to hear what Google reps had to say.
The presentation made it clear that it’s all about the company culture at Google. They are often ranked near the top of lists on the best places to work for, including being No. 8 on Fortune’s list for 2019.
There were two representatives from Google that gave the presentation for the company. Antonella Higa Olivari and Meron Tamrat, a 2010 Baylor graduate, shared their experiences and about job opportunities.
The presentation started off with the representatives asking the crowd trivia questions about Google. They established from the beginning that they were trying to make the event less formal than most, wanting to make everyone comfortable. They said that Google as a company is fairly informal, and that is how they wanted the information session to be beginning with the interactive game.
“We can make this like practice for interviewing,” Tamrat said about the trivia. “When interviewing at Google and you don’t know the answer, it’s more about how you got to the answer than the answer itself.”
Culture was a big part of the discussion at the event, and Google prides itself on being a unique place to work. An example that was mentioned during the presentation was the perks that employees receive to make sure they feel happy, healthy and heard. Google also has Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) that allow for finding mentors and networking within groups of people that are similar.
“We work together, but we don’t work the same way,” Higa Olivari said. “Google is a place where we are really encouraged to work our best and learn from those others that we are trying to learn from.”
One of the perks at Google is free breakfast, lunch and dinner at their offices. Despite the wide variety of benefits with the job, the representatives assured the students that Google doesn’t just keep them at work, but that the benefits are purely for helping out employees.
The representatives also discusses how Google is very determined to have a diverse environment focused on inclusion, one that treats all employees fairly no matter what background he or she comes from.
The company was also at Baylor to talk about internship and full-time opportunities with Google. As Tamrat discussed, it is huge to start off and just apply.
“The easiest way to get a job at Google is to apply for one,” Tamrat said. “A lot of people don’t do that, so I have to say that out loud. It can be really intimidating or not seem like it’s worth your time, but what’s the worst that could happen?”
There are various internship opportunities for juniors, sophomores and freshmen at the company, and the main opportunity presented to business students was the BOLD (Business Opportunities for Leadership & Development) internship.
As for full-time spots, the representatives also presented broad opportunities, such as jobs as marketing managers, a spot in finance and a Google customer solutions and staffing service associate. They also discussed how the interview process goes for both internships and full-time positions.
For more information on events within Baylor’s Hankamer School of Business, visit the program website.
