Drive and determination lead grad to Google
For many WVU students, juggling time between work and school can be hard. No one understands that better than alumnus Jarod King. His determination helped him succeed at both.
While working toward his computer engineering degree, Jarod held information technology (IT) positions to help pay the bills. Although his current position at Google isn’t exactly what he studied in school, his experience working in the IT field helped him to the next level.
Jarod has been employed by Google for four years, and is currently the corporate operations engineer in Mobile Operations, where he handles the device management and policy side of mobile devices inside the company.
Working while in school proved to be beneficial for Jarod. He believes that while interviewing for positions it gave him somewhat of an advantage because of his years of experience.
“Being able to have work experience before I graduated was beneficial in many ways. I wasn’t just a kid trying to find a job. I had already done a lot of work that I was trying to continue,” he says.
Jarod looks back at his WVU experience as very rewarding. His work in the classroom has been part of his success, but the community of the university is what has helped him adjust to Google the most.
“Having so many people from so many places around the country and internationally helped prepare me the most,” he explains. “Being in an environment where I was hanging out with people from different cultures helped prepare me for a place like this, where we have the same sort of thing. There are different cultures, views and backgrounds here at Google.”
Not only are the cultural differences similar to Morgantown’s campus, but the atmosphere is very much the same. Employees have the opportunity to take advantage of multiple services.
“The way that the campus is set up, and it really is a campus, makes it feel like a university at times. As employees we have laundry services and three meals a day. The environment is much like weekends at the Mountainlair, but on a larger scale.”
Like the Mountainlair, Google holds large events. Jarod has seen both John Legend and Tony Bennett in concert. He even had the opportunity to meet Vint Cerf, who contributed to the design of the Internet.
“Google is a really interesting place to work. I get to work with a lot of interesting technologies and people,” he notes. “There are people working here whose books I’m currently reading or read as a student.”
For college students about to embark into the world of job hunting, Jarod’s advice is to do your homework before interviewing. An applicant must understand the type of job he/she is applying for and if they want to work for the prospective employer. Be sure to apply for jobs that you really want and is the best fit for yourself.
“Presenting myself as eager and honest worked for me. If I don’t know something, I admit it and I just work through it,” says Jarod. “A lot of the time, I didn’t know the answer off the top of my head, but I knew how to figure it out. Having the attitude and approach that I may not know the answers, but I can find them, has been beneficial.”
His final suggestion to students is something his family has taught him over the years. He sums it up by quoting Winston Churchill, “Never give up, never give up, never give up.”
“The overall advice that I have received from my family and by just learning how to go through life is, just keep at it,” he explains. “Things will be hard. You’re going to fail, but keep at it.”
Jarod took that advice and ran with it. Whether it was an engineering exam or a technological glitch at work, he was persistent in finding the solution. Now he can enjoy the successes of his hard work, and continue to learn by using that same advice today.
This feature was written by WVU alumna Rachel Taylor (‘11), a former intern for the WVU Alumni Association.