My process started when I connected with a recruiter at my university campus. They had a url where you could submit your CV, so I did that. A few weeks later I was emailed by a recruiter that they would like to interview me. Then I was given a link where I could book the phone interview and pick between some time slots. I was also sent some resources on what to expects and some example questions - the ones that were sent to me were actually harder than what I was asked in the first round, and some harder than I was asked in any interview.
These interviews require intensive preparation. I spent well over 40 hours during the whole process. This does not mean you have to do the same though and I'm sure people get this job for less or more preparation. Get well acquainted with what competence based interview style means, use the STAR model in answering when you can and pass the Adwords certification to make sure you know how to use it. Read Google annual report, watch Youtube Videos, find material about how to sell Adwords to a client. It is crucial to have someone prep you for answering the questions, if not for the first round, at least for the rest of the interviews. I went online and wrote down every competency based question I could find as well as every Google question I could find here on Glassdoor. Have rehearsed answers for all of them.
The first interview was over the phone in English with the recruiter and lasted for about 30 minutes. Already by this point you should be somewhat familiar with Adwords. Make sure to have read quite a bit on Google, as well as watched some YouTube videos about the typical day of an account strategist. The recruiter said already on the phone that she was confident to let me proceed to the next stage.
The next interview was scheduled for a week later. I cannot disclose any details of the sales pitch case I was given, but make sure to prep for this one with another person. Google has good material online how to build a sales pitch for a client and what questions you need to ask during the pitch. The phone interview was in my native language with a future team member and lasted 45 minutes. It starts off with the fake pitch where you act out to be in a sales situation. As the interview is on the phone, you can have the fully scripted pitch right in front of you - make sure to have a good strong start, finish, and a closure to the conversation and stay within time limit. After the pitch I was asked some questions about my experiences, as well as some hypothetical "what would you do if..." questions. Overall this was a fun conversation to have and goes smoothly if you keep your energy up and are engaged.
A week later I was emailed and told they would fly me out to Dublin for the final three interviews onsite. You tell them your availability and the scheduling team lets you know when your interview is, mine was 1.5 weeks after I was told about proceeding. Then the travel team asks you to submit a form of your preferred travel dates. My interview was scheduled for a morning, so I requested to fly out the day before, and wanted to enjoy Dublin one extra night (at my own cost) so requested to stay an extra day. The whole process was really smooth.
On-site I had three back-to-back interviews. They all have a different theme in accordance with what Google is looking for, but to me the questions seemed quite similar to each other. You get a mix of behavioral (Tell me of a time when...) and case questions (What would you do if...). Each interview is about 45 minutes and there are no breaks. Everyone was extremely nice and we were able to joke around a bit, and there also was plenty of time to discuss about what my interviewers worked with. Make sure to know Google and ask good questions which you have prepared. Many questions have follow-up questions, such as if you first have explained about an experience you have had, they want you to explain how you could have improved your actions.
After the interviews I was escorted outside. 1.5 weeks later my recruiter called me and said I had passed the interviews and will proceed to the final hiring committee stage. For this you need to submit some papers (passport, transcripts etc). The paperwork is quite extensive. After this I was told the waiting time would be +2 weeks. I was supposed to hear back on a certain date, but was told they had to postpone the decision by a week. To my surprise, already two days later I received the offer letter via email. The whole process took about 2.5 months.
