Google is a DREAM company for many and getting a job at Google is a challenge in itself. However, being a part of the various programs offered by Google isn’t that hard. All you need is some basic Technical skillset and the willingness to help the community. A program of Google that is very popular among college students is the GDSC Lead program. As the applications for GDSC Lead are open in India right now, I will share my tips and experience on how you can apply for this role and how to make your profile stand out. All the things that I am sharing are based on my personal experience as a GDSC Lead.  

Now before I get into the details, some of you might be wondering what is GDSC, so here you go. Google Developer Students Club (GDSC) is Google’s University or College specific club under which students fond of learning about new technologies are provided with Google’s technologies to help them in improving their skill set.

The Leader is GDSC Lead

A GDSC Lead is a student leader who is responsible for managing and leading a group of students in their university who are interested in technology and want to learn more about Google’s tools and technologies. They organize events, workshops, and projects to help students learn new skills and connect with other like-minded students. Essentially, a GDSC Lead is a student who is enthusiastic about technology and wants to share their knowledge with others while building their own skills and community.

This is a community-building role, so very obviously there is no monetary benefit but through this, you can get a lot of benefits, rewards, perks, and opportunities from Google as well as a lot of exposure in the community along with tons of learning opportunities. To give you an idea about the perks, in India if you were a GDSC Lead last year, then you would have got a chance to go to Leh for the GDSC Leads summit through Google. Moreover, if you are a student at a University in North America(like me), you would have gotten a chance to go to Google’s main office in California and many more such events. As learning is a core part of this program for the students of this club, you will get free access to certain google products. 

But let me clear one thing for you, if you just want to apply for rewards then I would suggest you DON’T because there are definitely rewards but you also get a lot of responsibility.

Here Is a list of a few of them

  1. Organize and lead events: GDSC Leads are responsible for organizing and leading events, such as workshops, coding challenges, and hackathons, for their club members. They may work with other GDSC Leads or Google representatives to plan these events.
  2. Manage the GDSC team: GDSC Leads may have a team of other students who help them organize events and run the club. They are responsible for managing and delegating tasks to their team members.
  3. Liaise with Google: GDSC Leads are the main point of contact between their club and Google. They may need to communicate with Google representatives to get resources, information, or support for their events.
  4. Promote the club: GDSC Leads are responsible for promoting the club and its events to other students on campus. This may involve creating social media posts, making posters, or giving presentations at other student organizations.
  5. Mentor other students: GDSC Leads are often seen as mentors to other students in the club. They may be responsible for helping other students learn new technologies or develop their coding skills.
  6. Manage the club’s budget: GDSC Leads may be responsible for managing the club’s budget and making sure that events are financially feasible.

So remember this thing, this is a high-effort and time role, so just don’t apply only by seeing the rewards. You should apply for it if you want to work for the community on your campus.

How to apply for GDSC?

Applying to this role is a very straightforward process, all the details needed can be found on the GDSC website as well as Social media handles, I will link those websites here.

A quick tip for you: If there is a GDSC club active in your university or college you can ask for a referral from the current GDSC Lead!

Now let’s talk about the applications a bit, generally, the applications open around March and go on till June depending upon which country you study in, that is where your university or college is located. For India registrations start on the 23rd of FEB and end on 31st of March, so you should hurry up if you are interested in applying because there are a lot of applications.

When you will be submitting your applications you’ll have to answer some questions there like what is your motivation to become a GDSC leader, do you have any experience in leading a team, the technology that you have worked in, and the level of experience in it. The answers to these questions are very important for your application.

In my case, the answers were based on my past experience. I had prior experience in similar programs of Google like the Explore ML facilitator in the year 2019-2020 and the Mentor for TensorFlow in Google Code’in. Also, I explained how I have always been interested in helping the community and explained what I will bring to the table for the students that others might not be able to provide, such as my experience in Industry for the past couple of years and how it would be helpful to other students. After answering all these questions, you also have to record a video explaining about yourself, what is your background, why you are interested, and everything that you might need to help with your application. 

If you want to know what I shttps://youtu.be/gzHdy0iSK6Aaid in my application, you can watch here .

After the application

if your application gets selected, then get ready for the next step of the application which is the interview. This round is a very interesting round and I personally enjoyed this round as it was one of the most interesting interviews I have given till now. The interview was conducted by a third party not google, the entire process in entrusted by google to another third party, they will provide you multiple slots across various dates from which you can choose the one that suits you best. The interview will be taken by a person who is a very intelligent person in their stream.

Surprisingly, this interview doesn’t involve DSA questions at all instead focuses on your resume and skill set. The interview will test your technical skills, basic understanding, and details about your project. Basically, the interviewer will ask you everything that you write in your resume. So, my suggestion is to go through your resume once before the interview to have the most important points at your fingertips.

Results and Further Scenario 

A few weeks after the interview, you will get the result of your interview and if you are selected, you will be sent a contract from Google. From there, you just need to sign it and send it back within the given span of time. After this, you are all set to begin your journey as a GDSC Lead.

But before you apply for it, just remember what I said earlier, GDSC lead is a community-building role and you should not apply for it only thinking about benefits and rewards from Google. Apply only if you want to contribute to the welfare of the community on your campus. 

If you’ve come this far, I’m sure you know every useful and important information about GDSC and GDSC Leads now. So, do share this article with those you think will find it useful. Hope you liked the contents. You can also leave your suggestions for the betterment of our future articles.