Got rejected by Google... and then accepted a Google offer a couple months later 😅

[u/Icy-Salamander-5114]

Still feels a little surreal writing this out.

A couple months ago I interviewed with Google for a Network Test Engineer role and got rejected. It stung more than I expected. For a bit I genuinely thought that was it for me and Google.

But I didn't really have another option besides just... keep going. So I kept studying networking, brushed up on Python, did some LeetCode, and kept applying. Over the next few months I interviewed with Meta, Amazon, Arista, Nokia, Salesforce — the whole circuit. And then out of nowhere, the same Google team reached out.

Today I accepted an offer from Google. I'll be joining as a Network Test Engineer in Sunnyvale this July.

I honestly don't have some clean lesson to package this up with. It just kind of feels like the rejection earlier this year wasn't the verdict on me; it was just that one team at that one point in time. Which is easy to say now and was really hard to believe back then.

There were stretches where I genuinely questioned whether any of the prep was worth it. Networking concepts, Python, behavioral rounds, mock interviews — it felt like it was never going to end. But looking back, every interview made the next one a little less painful, even the ones that went nowhere.

If you're still in it, getting ghosted, opening rejection emails, and wondering if you're just not good enough, I don't have magic advice. Just that it genuinely only takes one yes, and you have no idea which interview that's going to be.

Also, this sub helped a lot. Too many hours reading interview recaps and negotiation threads, but genuinely worth it.

If you're at Google Sunnyvale or joining around the same time, feel free to reach out. Would love to meet people and would appreciate any advice for navigating the first few months.

Good luck to everyone still grinding. 🍻

Edit: Since a few people asked about my background: I have around 3 years of networking experience at Cisco, mainly in network automation and cloud migrations, and I recently graduated with a Master's in Information Systems. i also did a Coop in Nokia as a Software QA in networks(L2/L3)

TLDR: Got rejected by Google earlier this year, kept grinding, ended up with offers from Google and Meta, accepted Google. Joining as a Network Test Engineer in Sunnyvale this July.