Working at Google, you will experience changes on a regular basis. When have you had to handle major workplace changes in the past?
Time and time again, Google has proven that they think big and take risks in all that they do. In their mission to make information as organized and accessible as possible, Google needs to always remain fluent in how they come to the market. For just about every employee at Google, this need for fluidity is also true. What comes with this mentality is continual change and new approaches. Being able to swivel the focus of your work is a necessary skill for you to have if you were to join the Google team. Talk to your interviewer about a time when a significant change occurred in your work in the past. Carefully describe how you adjusted to this change in a healthy, positive and effective manner.
"I was leading a large project last year that was mapped out entirely when the client called to say that their budget was slashed in half. Because of this, our team had to re-do the entire proposal in a short amount of time as this was a very high-profile client. It took the entire project team an additional four days of work but, in the end, the client was delighted with our work and it resulted in new opportunities with them. While I was certainly disappointed upon receiving the initial call from the client, my positive attitude and ability to re-plan the project was key for our success in the end."
"I would say that being in the software and technology industry means changing major components on projects on a very regular basis. I have grown in this area throughout my career and really appreciate the variety and quick thinking that it requires. I am very well accustomed to changing gears at a moment's notice and would bring the ability to adapt very well to your team here at Google."
Community answers are written by other candidates practicing this set. Reading how others frame the same question is one of the fastest ways to sharpen your own.
Anonymous Answer
"While working at a major investment firm, I had designed and developed a configuration management framework which could (among other things) query all computers and/or push new config to all computers. It took anywhere from 10-20 minutes to do this. Our operations team decided they would need it to take a few seconds. This led me to redesign the networking component and move from a queue and forward model over TCP/IP to a broadcast model which utilized UDP. Once we had completed development and deployment, they had their wish."
Rachelle's Feedback
It sounds like you made some dreams come true! How long did it take for you to develop this? Were you provided with any other data on how this development impacted workflows/productivity etc.?
