Either I will manage to get an internal job or I will have to leave this place. What are your experiences with getting internal roles?
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In about 10 years, I held four different roles at Google, sometimes transferring offices. I was lucky mostly, I chose good managers, got promoted every 2ish years and never missed quota. I also had the fortune of having consistency in leadership ie not going through multiple managers in a year through re-orgs. Some of my peers were not as lucky.
The basics… make sure the role is at your level, that you have good performance ratings over the past year, and don’t waste your time applying blindly through magnet or whatever it’s called today.
Your best bet is to navigate teams, and set informational coffee’s or Meets with as many people as possible within your target org or product area. Get to know them, their challenges, the history, and get first in line when a position opens up. If you get an interview, ask others in the org who aren’t on the panel how best to prepare.
If you don’t connect in your meeting with the hiring manager, look elsewhere. No matter how good the product or org is you must connect with your manager. I was lucky, others were not. Trust your gut, ask other managers for their opinion (this saved me from transferring to a bad manager once).
I understand that Google is looking more at external candidates particularly around DEI. I think this is great, and that they’re finally putting diversity into action, not just talking about it. However if you’re a straight white male it may mean the odds are not in your favor, particularly if you’re backfilling a position that was held by someone who doesn’t look like you. Either way I think if you show extracurricular activity in a ERG, volunteer org or g2g program, it’ll really support your presentation as an inclusive candidate, I’m additional to how you respond to these behavioral questions.
What is your ladder, level, and location?
How long do you have to look?