谷歌入職郵件

by Googley as Heck

由Googley飾演Heck

為什么我全職學習了8個月以接受Google采訪 (Why I studied full-time for 8 months for a Google interview)

It’s true. I’ve spent thousands of hours reading books, writing code, and watching computer science lectures, all to prepare for the Google software engineer interview.

這是真的。我已經花了數千個小時閱讀書籍，編寫代碼以及觀看計算機科學講座，所有這些都為Google軟件工程師的面試做準備。

If you’d like to prepare for a Google interview, here’s my study plan:

如果您想為Google面試做準備，這是我的學習計劃：

jwasham/google-interview-universitygoogle-interview-university - A complete daily plan for studying to become a Google software engineer.github.com

jwasham / google-interview-university google-interview-university-學習成為Google軟件工程師的完整每日計劃。 github.com

我怎么在這里 (How I Got Here)

I started programming in middle school, but when it came time for college I pursued a degree in Economics. My rationale was that there would be too many programmers looking for jobs by the time I graduated. Boy, I was wrong.

我從中學開始編程，但是上大學的時候，我攻讀了經濟學學位。我的理由是，到我畢業時，會有太多的程序員在尋找工作。男孩，我錯了。

Later, I joined the Army to become a programmer, but the recruiter talked me into a military intelligence position, and I spent the next two years studying the Korean language. I served in South Korea for 2 years afterward.

后來，我加入了陸軍，成為一名程序員，但招募人員使我進入了軍事情報部門，并且在接下來的兩年中，我學習了朝鮮語。之后我在韓國服務了兩年。

Before I left the Army, I attempted to get back into programming and was surprised at the difficulty. I had learned BASIC in middle school and kept programming it through high school. But I restarted my programming studies with C++, and the leap was too large. I just couldn’t grasp it.

在我離開軍隊之前，我試圖重新編程，并對這一困難感到驚訝。我在中學時就學習了BASIC，并一直在高中階段對其進行編程。但是我用C ++重新開始了編程研究，而飛躍太大了。我只是不明白。

I did enjoy making websites, however, but I used software with a Word-like interface that I used to publish my websites. I didn’t know how to make websites from scratch.

但是，我確實喜歡制作網站，但是我使用的軟件具有類似于Word的界面，該軟件曾用于發布網站。我不知道如何從頭開始制作網站。

After the Army, I decided to stay in Korea for a year and teach English. I used my nights and weekends to study web programming, using Perl, HTML, CSS (which was new at the time), JavaScript, and SQL.

參軍后，我決定在韓國呆了一年，教英語。我晚上和周末都使用Perl，HTML，CSS(當時是新的)，JavaScript和SQL學習Web編程。

After a year of intense study, I landed a job in the Seattle area, and I’ve been here ever since.

經過一年的深入學習，我在西雅圖地區找到了工作，此后就一直在這里。

I’ve been a web developer now for 15 years. I’ve started 3 companies, 2 of which are still running and generating revenue. I’ve worked at large and small companies, helped startups launch and grow, and recruited and managed teams. I’ve been a product manager, a CEO, a designer, and a marketer.

我從事Web開發已有15年了。 我已經建立了3家公司，其中2家仍在運營并產生收入。我曾在大型和小型公司工作過，曾幫助初創公司啟動和發展，并招募和管理了團隊。我曾經擔任過產品經理，首席執行官，設計師和營銷人員。

I’ve had a successful career and learned a lot along the way. But I’m not done yet.

我的事業很成功，并且在此過程中學到了很多東西。但是我還沒有完成。

尋求職業變化 (Seeking a Career Change)

Remember the part where I didn’t get a computer science degree? It has made a difference.

還記得我沒有獲得計算機科學學位的那部分嗎？它有所作為。

A few years ago, I thought I could get hired anywhere. I thought I was hot stuff: the elusive full-stack web developer. But during my job search in 2013, I realized my skills were lacking. I had spent so much time chasing dollars by running startups in my spare time, that I had let my skills atrophy. I hadn’t kept up with technology.

幾年前，我以為我可以在任何地方被錄用。我以為我很熱門：難以捉摸的全棧Web開發人員。但是在2013年的求職過程中，我意識到自己的技能不足。我在業余時間花了很多時間通過創辦初創公司來追逐資金，以至于我的技能萎縮了。我沒有跟上技術。

For years, I had learned just enough to get by. I had a wide skill set but wasn’t an expert in anything.

多年以來，我學到了足夠的知識。我擁有廣泛的技能，但是在任何方面都不是專家。

Don’t get me wrong, I could still get hired, but not in the technologies or areas I wanted to work in. I could get hired for areas where the tech stack was somewhat outdated, like me. There’s big money in there, but I didn’t see exciting prospects.

別誤會我的意思，我仍然可以被錄用，但是不在我想工作的技術或領域內。我可以像我一樣在技術體系有些過時的領域被錄用。那里有很多錢，但是我沒有看到令人興奮的前景。

The realization reached its peak last year at a career fair. I was interested in perhaps working for one of the local companies that were startup labs run by venture capital firms. However, the fact that I lacked a computer science degree, and the skills and knowledge that accompany such a degree, meant I didn’t have a chance.

去年在一次職業博覽會上，這一認識達到了頂峰。我對也許為一家由風險投資公司運營的初創實驗室的本地公司工作感興趣。但是，我缺乏計算機科學學位，以及與此學位相關的技能和知識，這意味著我沒有機會。

I was working full-time on my businesses at the time, and still am today.

我當時全職從事??我的業務，??今天仍然如此。

At the beginning of 2016, I decided it was time to make a career change from web developer to software engineer. I would need to study hard and practice in order to compress a computer science degree into a few months, but once I did, I could start a new career.

在2016年初，我認為是時候從Web開發人員轉向軟件工程師了。為了將計算機科學學位壓縮到幾個月內，我需要努力學習和練習，但是一旦完成，我就可以開始新的職業。

You may not see web development and software engineering as different positions. Both involve programming and craftsmanship, but software engineering adds to it knowledge of data structures and algorithms, compiled languages, memory considerations, and understanding the impact of coding and architecture decisions on the machines where they reside.

您可能不會將Web開發和軟件工程視為不同的職位。兩者都涉及編程和Craft.io，但是軟件工程為它增加了數據結構和算法，編譯語言，內存注意事項的知識，并了解編碼和體系結構決策對它們所駐留的機器的影響。

Large companies that hire for software engineering positions expect candidates to have this knowledge.

雇用軟件工程職位的大公司希望應聘者具備這些知識。

I reached out to an acquaintance who works at Google and asked him questions about his experience at the company. I had been reading How Google Works and was pretty familiar with Google already.

我聯系了一個在Google工作的熟人，問他有關他在公司工作的問題。我一直在閱讀Google的工作原理，并且對Google已經相當熟悉。

Through another contact, I received a copy of Google’s coaching notes that are provided to interview candidates. This became the basis of my study plan.

通過另一個聯系人，我收到了一份Google指導筆記的副本，該筆記提供給面試候選人。這成為我學習計劃的基礎。

Google is a pretty awesome place to work, but before I even knew that, Google was my goal.

Google是一個很棒的工作場所，但是在我什至不知道的情況下，Google是我的目標。

為什么選擇Google？ (Why Google?)

Google sets a very high bar for hiring. They want to hire only the best. So if I set my sights high (getting hired at Google), I’ll still be quite hireable elsewhere even if I’m not selected.

Google為招聘設置了很高的標準。他們只想雇用最好的人。因此，如果我把眼光放高(在Google招聘)，即使我沒有被選中，我在其他地方仍然很容易被錄用。

The more I learn about Google, the more I want to work there.

我對Google的了解越多，我希望在這里工作的越多。

In brief, Google is a company that hires smart, creative people, and treats them well. Google rewards merit, encourages big ideas, and gives employees the freedom to make good decisions for the user.

簡而言之，Google是一家聘請聰明，有創造力的人并善待他們的公司。 Google會獎勵功績，鼓勵大膽的想法，并賦予員工為用戶做出良好決策的自由。

The hiring process is calibrated to bring in smart, passionate people. Google has honed the recruitment and interview process over the years. The brain teaser questions are long gone. Nowadays candidates are chosen based on coding ability, technical knowledge, and Googleyness. There’s a lot going on in that one word.

對招聘過程進行了校準，以吸引聰明，熱情的人。多年來，Google一直在完善招聘和面試流程。腦筋急轉彎的問題早已消失。如今，基于編碼能力，技術知識和Googleyness選擇候選人。這個詞有很多事情要做。

Management is different. Managers don’t micro-manage. They trust engineers to make the right decisions. Trusting employees changes the role of managers at Google from what most folks envision when they think of management. In addition, managers can’t unilaterally, hire, fire, or promote. Many of the important management decisions that could be perceived as office politics are handled by a committee to remove that danger.

管理是不同的。經理們沒有微觀管理。他們信任工程師做出正確的決定。信任員工會改變Google經理在大多數人對管理的看法中所扮演的角色。此外，管理人員不能單方面雇用，解雇或晉升。可以視為辦公室政治的許多重要管理決策均由委員會處理，以消除這種危險。

Google’s people operations (HR) has learned what works over time, and they use data and employee feedback to improve evaluation systems, the hiring process, promotions, compensation, benefits, and more. Read Work Rules! by Laszlo Bock (SVP, People Operations) for more.

Google的人員運營(HR)學會了隨著時間的推移有效的方法，他們使用數據和員工反饋來改進評估系統，招聘流程，晉升，薪酬，福利等。閱讀工作規則！ Laszlo Bock(人員運營高級副總裁)了解更多。

Yes, the benefits are amazing. I went on a tour of the Google office in Kirkland, WA, and it surpassed my expectations. And my expectations were already high.

是的，好處是驚人的。我參觀了位于華盛頓州柯克蘭(Kirkland)的Google辦公室，它超出了我的期望。我的期望已經很高。

Google面試大學 (Google Interview University)

Remember the coaching notes I received telling me what to study? The list of topics seemed manageable, even though I didn’t know anything on the list.

還記得我收到的告訴我要學習什么的教練筆記嗎？主題列表似乎很容易管理，即使我對列表一無所知。

I turned the topics on the notes into an outline and started filling in the topics with YouTube videos of lectures from MIT and UC Berkeley. A video on linked lists in one place, a video about queues in another. The list started to grow.

我將筆記上的主題變成了大綱，并開始使用MIT和UC Berkeley的YouTube演講視頻來填充主題。在一個位置上的鏈接列表上的視頻，在另一個位置上的有關隊列的視頻。名單開始增長。

I published the list on Github because my Github account was pretty empty. Since all the code I wrote for my businesses and work was private, my Github account made it look like I didn’t code at all. I needed to build up a portfolio. I originally called the project “Project 9894”. Google launched on Sept 4, 1998. Hence the name. I later renamed it to “Google Interview University”.

我在Github上發布了該列表，因為我的Github帳戶非常空白。由于我為自己的企業和工作編寫的所有代碼都是私人的，因此我在Github上的帳戶使我看起來好像根本沒有編寫任何代碼。我需要建立一個投資組合。我最初將項目稱為“ Project 9894”。 Google于1998年9月4日推出。因此得名。后來我將其重命名為“ Google Interview University ”。

Over time I added some optional topics that I discovered along the way.

隨著時間的流逝，我添加了一些在此過程中發現的可選主題。

I was pretty amazed I had gotten so far in my career without even knowing how a CPU processed a program, how memory worked, or any of it. I had known “just enough” to be a success.

令我感到驚訝的是，我迄今仍不知道CPU如何處理程序，內存如何工作或其中的任何一個。我知道“足夠”就可以成功。

My little Github project started getting a few stars, and I published a blog post celebrating 20 stars.

我的Github小型項目開始獲得一些好評，我發表了一篇博客文章慶祝20個好評。

One morning, I awoke to find it had grown to 120 stars. Someone famous had tweeted about it during the night, and that led to it ending up on the Github daily trending report. I was #1 trending on Github for a few days.

一天早晨，我醒來發現它已經長到120星。某人在夜間發布了有關此內容的推文，并導致該結果最終出現在Github每日趨勢報告中。幾天來，我在Github上排名第一。

Many kind people reached out to thank and encourage me. It turns out there are thousands of people who want to not only work at Google but want to work as a software engineer, and this list was just the to-do list they needed.

許多善良的人們伸出援手并鼓勵我。事實證明，有成千上萬的人不僅要在Google工作，還想以軟件工程師的身份工作，而這個清單只是他們需要的工作清單。

It’s now at over 21,000 stars.

現在已超過21,000星。

I still can’t believe it.

我仍然不敢相信。

如果我找不到工作怎么辦？ (What If I Don’t Get the Job?)

It won’t be the end of the world.

這不會是世界的盡頭。

I’ve put the time and dedication into my studies for the goal of getting hired as a Google software engineer, but even if I fail, I’ll still be armed with the skills and knowledge required to work as a software engineer at any company.

我已經花了時間和精力投入了成為Google軟件工程師的工作目標，但是即使我失敗了，我仍然擁有在任何公司中擔任軟件工程師所需的技能和知識。。

Wherever I end up, I’m going in as an entry-level software engineer. I’m not going in with 15 years of software engineering experience because I simply don’t have it. When it comes to this stuff, I’m the equivalent of a fresh CS grad.

無論我到哪里去，我都將以入門級軟件工程師的身份進入。我沒有15年的軟件工程經驗，因為我根本就沒有。說到這些東西，我相當于一個新的CS畢業生。

But I have the enthusiasm of a new grad, too. This is a new world for me. I’m just getting started. I’m not afraid to make mistakes. I know I will. I also want to learn everything I can and be an excellent addition to any team.

但我也有新畢業生的熱情。對我來說這是一個新世界。我才剛剛開始。我不怕犯錯。我知道我會的。我也想學習一切，并成為任何團隊的優秀成員。

不要像我那樣學習 (Don’t Study As Much As I Did)

Yes, I took 8 months. But I could have abbreviated the process. Like any startup with a big goal, you make mistakes and do things that waste time. There are many things I wish I go back and do differently.

是的，我花了8個月的時間。但是我可以簡化這個過程。像任何一個有遠大目標的初創企業一樣，您會犯錯誤并做一些浪費時間的事情。 我希望有很多事情可以回去做不同的事情。

I studied topics I didn’t need to, some because I thought I would need them for the interview, and some because I wanted to have the knowledge on hand for when I started working. I didn’t want to be a burden on the team I’m assigned to. It turns out I simply over-prepared.

我研究了不需要的主題，有的是因為我認為面試需要這些主題，有的是因為我想在開始工作時掌握手頭的知識。我不想成為分配給我的團隊的負擔。事實證明，我只是準備過度。

I spent 3 weeks reading a 1,000-page book on C++. I don’t remember 1,000 pages worth, but I know a good bit about C++ now. As it turns out, I’m using Python for the interview, not C++. I had assumed I needed C++, C, or Java, but I was wrong. It’s good to ask, not assume.

我花了三周的時間閱讀一本1000頁的C ++書。我不記得有1000頁值得，但是我現在對C ++知道很多。事實證明，我使用的是Python，而不是C ++。我以為我需要C ++，C或Java，但是我錯了。 問而不是假設是件好事。

I read way more books than I needed to. There are only 3 or 4 books I should have read.

我讀書的方式比我需要的多。 我應該只閱讀3或4本書。

I have a code catalog of dozens of algorithms that I review, most of which I wouldn’t expect in an interview. You don’t need to do that.

我有一個代碼目錄，其中包含數十種我要審查的算法，其中大多數我在面試中都不會想到。 您不需要這樣做。

I watched many hours of YouTube videos but could have watched far less, and spread out topics over time.

我觀看了許多小時的YouTube視頻，但觀看的時間卻少得多，而且會隨著時間的流逝散布話題。

I should have stopped reading books and watching videos earlier and started on coding problems sooner. I would have been able to spend more time applying the topics I learned.

我應該早點停止閱讀書籍和觀看視頻，并早點解決編碼問題。 我本可以花更多的時間來應用所學的主題。

Spaced repetition is the key to memorization. Once you learn something, review it again later, and again even later. At each repetition, you reinforce your learning. Spending hours and hours at one time on priority queues won’t make you an expert. You become an expert by revisiting and reviewing over time. If you do so, you’ll get to the point where can’t forget details.

間隔重復是記憶的關鍵。 一旦您了解了一些內容，請稍后再檢查一次，甚至以后再檢查一次。在每次重復中，您都會加強學習。在優先級隊列上一次又一次地花幾個小時不會使您成為專家。通過不斷回顧和審查，您將成為專家。如果這樣做，您將到達無法忘記細節的地步。

To help review, I made 1,792 flashcards (digital flashcards). This is way too many. I review them on my phone or tablet whenever I get a spare moment (such as during Christmas shopping). Flash cards and spaced repetition go hand-in-hand. Once I get an answer on a flashcard right, I don’t mark it as known. I keep it in the deck and once I’ve seen it and answered it correctly many times, then I mark it as known.

為了幫助審查，我制作了1,792個抽認卡(數字抽認卡)。 這太多了。 每當我有空的時候(例如在圣誕節購物期間)，我都會在手機或平板電腦上查看它們。閃存卡和間隔重復是相輔相成的。一旦我獲得了關于抽認卡的答案，就不會將其標記為已知。我將其保存在甲板上，一旦看到并正確回答了多次，然后將其標記為已知。

My sense of fear (“What if they ask me a question about red-black trees?”) led me to study far more topics than I needed to.

我的恐懼感(“如果他們問我一個關于紅黑樹的問題？”)使我學習的話題超出了我的需要。

But I didn’t want to just prepare for the interview, I wanted to prepare for a career at Google, solving large-scale problems. That means knowing algorithms that will save computing resources of time, space, and I/O.

但是我不想只是為面試做準備，我想為在Google解決一個大問題的職業做準備。這意味著了解可以節省時間，空間和I / O計算資源的算法。

I may never need to know a maximum flow algorithm (Ford-Fulkerson), but it’s nice to know I have that tool available if the situation arises (without memorizing the implementation), and can recognize its application to a problem space.

我可能永遠都不需要知道最大流量算法(Ford-Fulkerson)，但是很高興知道在情況出現時我可以使用該工具(無需記住實現)，并且可以識別其在問題空間中的應用。

結論 (Conclusion)

Early on, I wished I could skip all this learning, and just hurry up and get hired so I could instead spend my time learning the languages and tools for the team I join. But along the way, I realized how important this knowledge is, and even though most of it may not be applicable on a daily basis, I’m glad I put in the effort. I have a new appreciation of the history of computing, the greats in the field, data structures and algorithms (and how they complement each other), and how computer systems work at low-level.

早些時候，我希望我可以跳過所有這些學習，而只是匆匆忙忙地被錄用，這樣我就可以花時間為加入的團隊學習語言和工具。但是，在此過程中，我意識到了這一知識的重要性，盡管大部分知識可能并非每天都適用，但我很高興自己付出了很多努力。我對計算的歷史，本領域的佼佼者，數據結構和算法(以及它們如何相互補充)以及計算機系統如何在低層工作產生了新的認識。

I’ll be putting in my application soon. It’s been a long journey getting to this point — almost an entire year. It began back in January, but I wasn’t able to commit to full-time study until April.

我將盡快提交我的申請。到現在為止，整整一年都是漫長的旅程。它開始于一月，但直到四月我才能夠致力于全日制學習。

I’m about as prepared as I can be. I can’t keep studying and putting off the application forever. At some point, I have to take the leap.

我將盡我所能。我不能永遠學習并推遲申請。在某個時候，我必須飛躍。

I see a bright future ahead.

我看到美好的未來。

Thanks for taking the time to read my story.

感謝您抽出寶貴的時間閱讀我的故事。

Article also available in Arabic, Vietnamese, and Korean.

該文章還提供阿拉伯語，越南語和韓語版本。

更新：2017年1月10日 (Update: January 10, 2017)

I didn’t get hired. Read on. Thanks to everyone for your amazing, overwhelming support.

我沒有被錄用。 繼續閱讀 。感謝大家的大力支持。

更新：2017年3月6日 (Update: March 6, 2017)

The story has a happy ending! I’ve been hired by Amazon to work as a Software Development Engineer on Amazon Web Services!

故事的結局很美！我已經被Amazon聘請為Amazon Web Services的軟件開發工程師！

在哪里找到我 (Where to Find Me)

I blog over at Startup Next Door.

我在隔壁的Startup博客。

Google Interview University on Github:

GitHub上的Google Interview University：

jwasham/google-interview-universitygoogle-interview-university - A complete daily plan for studying to become a Google software engineer.github.com

jwasham / google-interview-university google-interview-university-學習成為Google軟件工程師的完整每日計劃。 github.com