I applied directly to Google's Strategic Partner Manager position through a colleague. Initially I was very impressed with the speed of the response, as I heard back from a recruiter the same day that I submitted my CV. The email instructed me to respond to a number of questions, including what group I wanted to work in, what my GPA was, and how I was qualified. In addition, it laid out exactly when I would conduct my interview. This email was very curious however, as I had included most of the requested information in the cover letter that I submitted for my position, making it clear that the recruiter had not even read my cover letter. I responded shortly thereafter and waited for about a week. After receiving no response, I emailed to ask the status of my interview. The recruiter eventually got back to me after two more days and let me know that my interview had been cancelled because I failed to meet Google's academic standards. However, I am graduating from business school with high distinction - I literally could not do any better academically. Thus, my experience was negative for a number of reasons: the first is that if they were not going to interview me in the first place, they should never have scheduled the interview. Just let me know that up front. Second, I did not appreciate having to ask the recruiter about my status. She should have emailed me directly. Third, being told that I did not qualify academically when I have the best grades in my class is a slap in the face. I would have appreciated more of a candid response.

This was for the phone screening and it was pretty straight forward. I thought I did well in the screening, but didn't make it past the initial screening. It also took the recruiter a while before she even got back to me on whether I'd be moving onto the next phase or not. But the screening was very scripted and the recruiter didn't seem to know a lot about the role itself besides what was scripted.