Getting into Google’s BOLD Immersion Program

I consider my participation in Google’s BOLD Immersion Program to be one of the key factors in my ability to get the Google BOLD internship. The BOLD Immersion Program is for rising juniors and involves a three-week summer program focused on professional skill development and exposure to the business side of the technology industry. You’re going to find everything you need to know about about the program on their website. In the past, this program has been held on Google’s Mountain View campus but due to the pandemic, the past few years have been conducted virtually (including mine).

The Application Process

Applications typically open in the fall the year before the program occurs (ex: I applied in November of 2020 and attended the 2021 summer program). Check their website around October to see the official date it releases and closes. The application is usually open until early February.

What’s in the application?

• Asks for your resume and unofficial transcript

• In-form questions

  • your academic major(s) or concentration(s)

  • asks you to select any technical languages you are familiar with (if applicable)

  • current cumulative GPA as of your last completed academic term

  • asks you to identify your top three skills from a list (i.e., accounting, brand management, finance, legal, marketing, sales, etc.)

  • asks what your last intern position was (optional)

• 500-word maximum essay

  • my prompt was to explain how the program could support both my short and long-term career goals

• No interviews!

I received an email in late March notifying me that I was invited to the program (so around ~4 months after I initially applied).

What does the Immersion Program entail?

• Mandatory meetings to outline the program / expectations

• Optional informational sessions on specific career paths at Google (i.e., People Ops, Legal, Finance)

• Cohort pairings

  • get paired to a small group of 3-4 other Immersioners with a full-time host

  • meet weekly to debrief sessions and get to know each other

• (Virtual) Social events

  • Trivia, lightning talks (Immersioners can present on a topic they’re passionate about)

• #IAmRemarkable session

• Up to two mock Google internship interviews (must do at least 1 to fulfill program qualifications)

  • partake in a mock interview that aims to mimic a real internship interview

    • how you do during these does not affect your internship application process — simply just for practice!

The BOLD Internship Application Process

The BOLD Immersion Program Personnel send follow-ups and announcements regarding when the official internship application opens up and are great resources for any questions post-program. The internship opened on September 14th but is subject to change depending on the year.

What’s in the official application?

• Asks for your resume and unofficial transcript through a Google Drive link

• In-form questions

  • your academic major(s) or concentration(s)

  • asks you to select any technical languages you are familiar with

  • asks you to identify your areas of existing skills/experience (i.e., accounting, brand management, finance, legal, marketing, sales, etc.)

  • your preferred internship locations (select up to 3) and an optional rationale for your preferences

  • your preferred area for an internship position (i.e., Communications, Engineering, Finance, Sales, etc.)

• NO essay question!

Finding out where you’re placed

After submitting my application in mid-September, I heard back almost exactly a month later from a recruiter notifying me that I had been invited to interview! The invitation email listed:

• the job I would be applying for and a description of the role

• the location of my internship

• an outline of the interview process

• resources to prep for the interview

What role you are in / where you are placed is in the hands of the recruiting team. Though you list preferences in the application, sometimes they are not granted. However, you can appeal if you are unsatisfied with your placement. Here’s how my preferences matched up with what I actually got:

Application location preferences: Los Angeles, Bay Area, Seattle

• What I actually got: Chicago, IL

Application team preferences (top 3): Sales/service/support, Finance, People Operations, Communications

• What I actually got: Sales/service/support —> more specifically the Large Customer Sales team

I emailed the recruiter back confirming I will be accepting the invitation to interview and she informed me that I would be getting another email to list my availability for an interview. I received the scheduling email on October 15th and was scheduled to interview on October 28th.

The Interview Process

I was scheduled for two interviews on October 28th.

• 9:30am - 10:15am

• 11am - 11:45am

In retrospect, I would be finding out that the two people that interviewed me would be two of the managers of the Large Customer Sales ASAP (America Sales Associate) program. Though these interviews were scheduled for 45 minutes each, I did not use up the entire time for either. Here’s what my rough breakdown was for the interviews:

• 0:00 - 5:00 | Introductions

• 5:00 - 25:00 | Answering interview questions

• 25:00 - 35:00 | Asking the interviewer questions about them

I curated a bank of questions that I used to prepare for the interviews that helped me tackle Google’s mix of general cognitive ability, leadership, role-related knowledge, and “Googleyness” questions.

Click here to see the interview questions I studied and used to prepare.

Best Practices for a Google Interview

• Look over the job description they send you and see if this role works specifically with any platforms. If needed, study up on that platform in case they ask you something about it for a role-related question.

  • Sales works a lot with Google Ads so I had to do some research! Lo and behold, I got asked a Google Ads question.

• Write or type out a list of all your relevant work and leadership experiences (typically what’s on your resume). From there, write 2-3 instances of success or failure that have resulted from these respective things. This will help you specifically reference and have certain things on deck when they ask you leadership-related questions.

• Use the “STAR” framework to answer questions. This applies mostly to behavioral and experience-based questions. Here’s a good breakdown of the framework.

• Two aspects to take seriously: the “tell me about yourself” question and when it’s your turn to ask the interviewer some questions

  • Click here to see the structure I used for the “tell me about yourself” question and general advice about answering this one.

  • Definitely have at least 3-4 questions to ask the interviewer. Best practice is to ask about their individual experiences at Google and ask for their insights regarding the role you’re interviewing for.

• During the interview, it is okay to take about 30 seconds to a minute to think about your answer. This is a norm around Google interviewing that you should take advantage of instead of trying to answer quickly and find yourself rambling. I had a pen and paper in front of me during my interview and wrote down a small note for each part of the “STAR” framework to serve as a guide.

After the interview & waiting on the offer

My recruiter emailed me after the interview to ask how it went and to answer any additional questions I had about the rest of the timeline.

What if you have a deadline for another internship offer?

Don’t worry! I was in the same boat and had to communicate to my recruiter that I had a deadline to accept/decline another internship offer and respectfully asked that they kept this in consideration as they got back to me with a decision. Recruiters will communicate this to the team and more often than not, be able to provide a final decision with enough time for you to weigh your options. In my case, I had asked to receive a decision on their end by November 10th (13 days after my interview) since that was the deadline for my other offer. Again, just communicate your situation!

The moment!!!

I got a phone call from my recruiter on November 4th (6 days before the deadline I had asked for and a week after I interviewed) in which she told me I had officially received an offer to intern with Google that coming summer! During the phone call, she went over:

• the team / role I will be interning for

• pay

• relocation + housing stipends

• general information regarding the internship and expectations

• deadline for accepting / declining the Google offer

Accepting & what comes after

After the phone call, I was emailed an official offer letter which had in writing everything my recruiter told me on the phone. I had about a week to accept/decline the offer.

I accepted the offer and would then receive a few emails to clarify information as time went on. Most of the onboarding-related information is sent closer to the start of the internship, so about 1-2 months before your official start date.