How I got a full -time job at Google without a diploma at 19

This also filed test is based on a conversation with Zack Isaacs, the 23 -year -old founder of a remunerated media and creative agency and former Google employee in London. It was published for duration and clarity.

In England, we decide which materials to continue during the high school GCSE. I have always been an entrepreneurial and loved technology, so I studied IT but I hated that because I could not code.

I appreciated self -taught graphic design platforms like Photoshop and Adobe Illustrator, so I started to design logos for friends, family and local businesses during high school and built a portfolio.

Brands have started to ask for help from social media. I fell into marketing and a successful independent career at the age of 17.

I chose not to go to university

I was not the most academic person and I prospered more by actually making me sit in conferences. I decided to skip the university and join the Ort Jump mentoring program that I heard about during a school assembly. This unpaid program corresponds to students with professionals for an academic year of mentoring.

They paired me with Andrew Scrase, the chief of digital marketing at Meta. I met him about four times during the year. Spending time with Andrew gave me a real look at the functioning of social media from the point of view of companies and advertising.

I learned how media budgets are managed, how advertising creation has an impact on performance and what it takes to perform large -scale campaigns. This exhibition at a young age helped me understand what I wanted to do before I was 18 years old.

It was my dream of working at Google

After the end of the mentoring program, I applied for learning Google digital marketing and passed the first screening stage. Then I progressed towards the internal interview phase of Google.

I designed and submitted a custom CV with a QR code connecting to my online wallet to stand out. In December, I received a call from someone at Google. They jumped in an impromptu interview, asking: “What does SEO represent? On which campaign on social networks have you worked?” And more.

I had to answer well because I entered the program at 18, making me one of the youngest members and employees of Google in the United Kingdom as a whole.

I started in marketing of B2B announcements in a 15 month program. My job was to organize events and talk about the adoption of AI products. Later, I worked on the YouTube social team to help launch YouTube shorts with creators across the United Kingdom.

I wanted to stay in Google full time

After learning, I applied for the associated product marketing program. It is essentially the entry -level marketing program of Google, but it was a fairly senior role.

The process involved an interview process in five stages, including interviews based on cases and strategy and behavioral assessments focused on “Googleness”.

Even if I had no diploma, I entered. I was hired as a product marketing director associated with 19 years old.

In this role, I was the leader of influencer and talent partnerships for the British marketing team. This was a direct role to consumers, working on the content of the Google UK social handle. I was given a budget to find and work with the most culturally relevant creators in the countryside for Pixel, Chrome and Google Lens.

Finally, my role pivoted talents, managing relations and partnerships of influence and the community.

I left my job in Google in 2023

After almost four years at Google, I left in March 2024, mainly because I felt stuck. My role was fun, but the progression was difficult to see.

I wanted to do more on the social side, but there were budgetary restrictions and layoffs. It was complicated and the social was not as much a priority as when I started. If I couldn’t work on optimal budgets, I preferred to do my own thing.

I launched my own business

I founded Onsocial, a specialist paid to social media and the creation agency focused on driving measurable growth thanks to performance -oriented advertising in April 2024. I financed it by my savings. Now, a little over a year later, we had a team of four people.

We combine high-quality creative production and remunerated advanced media strategies led by ex-google and meta-specialists.

The most significant change to work at Google is to go from an office environment buzzing to a single room as a founder. I currently work at home and coworking spaces in London and I am moving to water. We have already built an excellent clientele there, and the on-social expansion in this region is a next natural step.

I do not regret any of my decisions

I have always dreamed of managing my own agency, and now I have total freedom. For some people, the university is the right way, but I knew very early that I learned better by doing.

Mentorship, learning and self-education gave me the skills and clarity I needed faster than any class. If anything, I saved more time and experience that helped me build something from me.