What's your job about?

As an IT Resident in Corporate Engineering at Google, I work in the Techstop team which provides frontline technical support to Googlers (Google’s employees) around the world in our office locations.

A typical day involves solving a wide range of challenging support cases and issues Googlers face that impact their day to day work. I do this across various support channels including live chat, email, phone and in-person. 

Googlers work across all major desktop and mobile operating systems including Windows, MacOS, Linux, Chrome OS, Android and iOS. In addition to this, we support Google’s corporate infrastructure, software, internal tools and resources.

My team acts as a liaison between technical and non-technical groups to enhance Google's infrastructure and internal services.

Beyond my support work, I have dedicated time to engage with various project work to help improve processes, internal tools and systems. We are also encouraged to invest time in our learning and development. For example, I recently completed my RHCSA (Red Hat Certified System Administrator) Linux Certification. 

I have also really enjoyed participating in campus outreach and connecting with future Googlers to grow Google.

What's your background?

I grew up in Sydney, Australia. I have always had a passion for Information Technology since school. I love helping people, learning about new technology and training others in the use of technology. My parents say my passion for IT started when I was sitting with my grandma learning how to play Freecell, Solitaire and Pinball on her computer.

My first job in high school was tennis coaching, which helped me grow my communication skills that have been invaluable today! I attended Macquarie University where I completed a Bachelor of Information Technology majoring in Information Systems and Business Analysis. While studying, I worked part time as an ICT Helpdesk Technician at a school. It was a fantastic opportunity to gain practical experience while studying and working with a great team.

My journey to Google began in early 2017 in my second year of university. I was browsing Google’s careers site and happened to come across the Information Technology Intern role advertised. After reading the description, the role appealed to me. I decided to put in an application! Fast forward to summer that year, I received an offer to intern at Google!

I thoroughly enjoyed my internship - 3 months of engaging and meaningful work, while working and having fun with fantastic people. I decided to apply and interview for the IT Residency Program, the full-time graduate role I am in now. I received an offer to return to Google and commenced in my current role in February 2019.

Could someone with a different background do your job?

While having experience and education in information technology is definitely important for my role, Google considers applicants from a wide range of backgrounds and disciplines.

The ability to navigate ambiguity is a skill that is important for my role. Not all problems are straightforward, and we often need to make meaningful progress with limited information. 

Another skill important to the work is the ability to deep dive and problem solve to determine the root cause of an issue - why it happened in the first place. This is important and helps us work towards preventing it happening in the future not just for one but for many.

Most importantly, a willingness to grow professionally through self directed learning and working with others.

What's the coolest thing about your job?

The moments I enjoy most in my role are when I get Googlers back up and running when they need it most. It is a great privilege to help solve problems for Googlers who are building great experiences for everyone!

Each day I have the opportunity to gain a unique insight into how Google works and what it takes to support a company growing at scale.

Finally, I love being able to immerse myself in many opportunities outside of my core work, such as university campus outreach and other volunteering.

What are the limitations of your job?

By nature of being a team that works across multiple time zones to staff a global support service, Googlers rely on us to be there in the moments they need it most. We’re available 24 hours a day, five days a week, and we try to help anyone, anywhere. During busy times, we may start the day with a large number of Googlers awaiting our support across all our channels, in particular, our live chat channel. As a team, we focus our efforts towards attending to this, but we also need to balance the needs of our other channels. This can be a challenge, but as a team, we continue to explore ways to approach this, while continuing to provide outstanding support to Googlers.

3 pieces of advice for yourself when you were a student...

1. Start seeking out opportunities early. I originally came across the internship during my second year of university when I was looking into what roles would potentially interest me. Even if you aren’t ready to apply, it will help give you an idea of requirements and what to expect before applying.
2. Find something that you are passionate about and make it a hobby. For me, I enjoyed helping people create websites and configure forum software. Having hobbies and personal projects can be really great to highlight when applying for jobs.
3. Finally, if you see an opportunity that appeals to you, take a chance and give it a try! You’ve got nothing to lose by applying and even if you are unsuccessful you will gain invaluable experience!