9 things I learned in my first 10 days at Google

On finding a hiding spot, owning your meetings, and trying not to burn your energy stash.

Saint Jerome in His Study (after van Eyck, 1442, public domain)

My oh my, was I naive when I was almost done writing this article — completely unaware of how many “my first day at FAANG” stories are there.

These “first-day” stories usually fall into 2 categories:

1. some are big-picture reflections from people who’ve been at the company for 5 years or more (how do they even remember their first days?);
2. others read more like “I’ve just received my Hogwarts letter” — wide-eyed, and maybe a bit too detailed; with descriptions of the office, the Noogler hat, the meals, the massage chairs, and all the other goodness.

For my story to be worth sharing, I knew it had to offer real value — and I believe it does.

I’ve focused on the practical side of things. Less on the magic (though it truly is a magical experience — meeting so many brilliant and kind people), and more on the small, real challenges I faced in my first days.

They’re universal enough to resonate beyond Google, but not so typical as to fall into the “everyone’s one coffee away” kind of clichés.