10 Years at Google, 10 Insights

I reflected over the weekend about my 10th year with Google & Alphabet, and thought back to the time when I first started in Google Singapore, it was just three floors of a building. Now that office has grown to an entire campus of buildings - goodness what a journey it's been. But with all the experiences I've had both in APAC and the US, I wanted to share a few insights and learnings from my decade so far with the big G - some learnings which I wish I knew earlier on in my career, and some learnings which came at the perfect time.

1. Having a strong manager matters, especially early in your career.? I believe that managers are one of the biggest determinants of how early careers are shaped. I’ve seen peers at Google put in all the hard work but not have their managers as an advocate and it led to frustration, late promotions, or less opportunities for them.? Yes, you still need to do your own part as an IC and ensure you’re delivering, but having a great manager will accelerate your growth. ?I was very fortunate throughout my 10 years to have managers who I could trust, who opened up challenging opportunities for me, and who were invested in growing my career.
2. Don’t let your value or identity get tied to promotions.? I’ve seen peers get crushed and really deflated in this area.? I remember when I didn’t get my first promotion early in my career and how crushed I was too, but since then, I quickly learned more about the promotion system at Google, what I needed to do differently, who I needed to influence, and how to communicate my impact and value clearer.?
3. Get involved in projects and teams outside of your core role - not only can it expand your network, but it can help build your personal brand. Although my core role was in People Operations, taking part of 20% projects outside of HR led me to program manager roles in Google teams like YouTube Kids, Developer Relations, and University Outreach, etc.? These opportunities gave me skillsets beyond HR, expanded my network, and sometimes led to new job offers. If your company doesn't have 20% projects or a structure that supports cross-functional assignments, take part in office-wide culture activities, sports groups, ERGs, etc, and you may be able to experience similar benefits.
4. Being humble won't get you anywhere, learn to play the game. When I first started my career, I used to think if I worked hard, leaders would notice me and recognize my hard work. The earlier you realize you can't solely rely on that, the earlier you can start to build your skills of 'self-promotion' and navigate the corporate game. Promoting yourself or talking about your strengths and accomplishments can feel awkward, but it's a necessary skill in the corporate space. You can be humble without holding back the facts of what you achieved. Building that skill while still holding the respect of others around you is an art to keep practicing.
5. Working harder and longer hours aren't always what takes you to the next level in your career. I never used enough of my vacation days and would pride myself in carrying them over, and it was never really an issue because I really enjoyed what I did at work.? I didn't mind working late hours and weekends, but it started leading to a perception of myself that if I'm not "busy", then I must not be bringing value. I started being more intentional with the way I worked midway in my career, and when I caught myself in those behaviors or mindsets, I'd ask myself: "Am I putting my time in areas that are valued, or just "needed"? Am I doing this work to feel productive or is it actually making an impact?" There are times when working long hours is necessary and important, but not being able to distinguish whether what you're doing is high impact versus "busywork" is when you may want to do a quick check-in.
6. Move away from letting work become your "identity" - find purpose and meaning outside of your job.? It was so easy to make everything around me Google - friends are Googlers, meals are eaten at Google, fun activities and social happenings can all end up being Google, and all the conversations I was having outside of work started to be about work. A few years of that was fun, but then I moved away from my job becoming 100% of who I was as a person. Now my personal belief is that leaving the work sphere can be healthy, and whenever I was intentional about it, I always got back my perspective again that the world isn't going to end if I don't respond to that last email, and that at the end of the day, I'm just employee number 243803.
7. Making an effort to stay in touch with your colleagues is worth it.? I would see close colleagues eventually move into other companies and grow into influential roles.? Staying in touch with them has allowed me to leverage that connection for sharing industry best practices and referrals, and someone they also could also reach out to.
8. If you haven't yet, consider working in an environment, culture, location that you're unfamiliar with. Why? It opens perspective, challenges you, and equips you with skills to navigate ambiguity and unfamiliarity. Not only do you gain global connections, but I personally think once your network becomes more diverse and expanded, your capability of creating relationships, trust, and empathy are practiced on a higher level, especially in a foreign environment.
9. The rest of the Alphabet family are doing some pretty special stuff for the world. When most people think of working at Alphabet, it's mainly Google they remember. Don’t forget to?get curious about the other "Bets" like DeepMind, Intrinsic, Wing, or X, the moonshot factory. I moved from Google to a renewable energy project called Tapestry at X, and it's mind-blowing the kinds of problems every project here is trying to solve. The catch here is they have different career websites, so don't forget to search each one individually (linked them there for your ease!).
10. Don't self-select yourself out of opportunities you actually could be qualified for. I was an online applicant, one of those who applied to the mysterious black hole of thousands of applications, way back in 2013.? Nowadays, especially living in the Bay Area, it seems like everyone needs to get a referral to get in the door, or know someone.? I agree it's important to build and leverage your network, especially in such a competitive tech environment.? But, believe me, it’s always worth putting your hat in the ring for a role or an opportunity, you never know. As a former recruiter, I'm not encouraging you to apply to 20+ roles in the same company (it shows you have no idea what kind of job you're looking for), but as shared in my THRIVE post a week prior, don't let a set of beliefs you have about yourself be the voice that says you're not good enough for something. Let the system be the judge of that and put your hat in the ring.

If you made it through, would love to hear your thoughts! Did anything resonate with you? What other pieces of advice would you share from your career journey? Hopefully there were one or two things that sparked a thought, a curiosity, or a reminder.