A former Google employee who worked for the tech giant for three years recently shared how he transitioned from feeling "weird" about not working much while enjoying the job's perks to leading a team within two months. Just eight months after being hired, he received a promotion and a bonus of $95,000 (approximately Rs 80 lakh).
San Francisco-based Jerry Lee shared his experience of joining Google as a strategist, where he was the youngest member of his team and initially viewed as a liability by his colleagues.
"My first two months at Google? Honestly, they were weird," he wrote on Threads. "I was told to 'take it easy,' eat the free food, explore campus, you know, the works. Part of me felt like they thought I was just some kid who couldn't contribute much, especially since I was the youngest on a team with folks who were 6+ years out of school. I think they saw me as a potential 'negative' for the first few months."
However, after a few months of feeling idle, Lee grew bored and wanted to contribute. "I started asking around for projects, anything to contribute. Finally, one of my managers said, 'Hey, why don't you look into this market landscape analysis?' I dove in, and that's when I noticed it – one metric that was way off the charts. Turns out, it was a major product loophole that the team hadn't spotted,” he said.
Suddenly, Lee led a project that included two project managers, six engineers, five analysts, and employees from the operations and legal departments. He said it was a significant responsibility, and the project's success resulted in a promotion with a 30 per cent raise (about Rs 80 lakh) just eight months after joining Google.
"When I received the news, I broke down," he shared on LinkedIn. "This meant I could pay down my student loans faster & buy my parents a well-deserved vacation." Lee encouraged professionals not to wait for opportunities but to create their own.