Following direction without a plan: lessons from a job at Google

Twenty years ago this week, I started working at Google.

People still ask me how I got there, as if it were something extraordinary.

At the time, it was already the company everyone talked about, the one other companies were trying to copy. Yet the European office was still small, just a few hundred people, with almost empty floors. It didn’t feel like a giant at all.

It felt like a bet.

How I got there is far less glamorous than people imagine.

I applied for an unspecified role at an "online company." When they told me it was Google, I had to look up on Yahoo what they actually did. (If you're young, you might need to google "what is Yahoo")

They were hiring fast. After a few rounds of in-person interviews, I got the job in less than two weeks. From the outside, it looks like pure luck.

And maybe it was. A bit.

But here's what people miss when they look at moments like that:

Luck shows up when you're already walking in the right direction.

Before that application, before that job, I already knew something: I wanted to work abroad.

Not "someday." Not "if the perfect opportunity comes along." I wanted it. And I was already moving toward it.

I'd done a short stint working in another country. It confirmed what I suspected: I came alive in new places. I liked the energy, the possibility, the discomfort of figuring things out as I went.

Ireland was high on my list. I had visited. I liked how buzzy yet still small Dublin felt. I knew a couple of people who'd already made the move.

So when the Google opportunity came up, it wasn't random. It was aligned.

I had already been tuning myself to that frequency. I had been saying yes to small moves in that direction. I'd been noticing what energised me and what didn't. And when the opportunity appeared, I was ready to see it and grab it.

(Side note: Before even applying, I already booked a trip to Dublin for the weekend before Google asked me to start. So I kept the outbound ticket and never used the return one.)

Opportunities show up when you’re paying attention

You don't need to know exactly where you'll be in 5, 10, or 20 years.

You just need a direction that feels right. And once you have that, something changes.

You start noticing opportunities you would've missed before. Not because more opportunities appear, but because you're finally tuned in to them.

It's like when you're thinking about buying a certain car. Suddenly, you see that exact model everywhere. It’s not that suddenly everyone bought one. You're just paying attention now.

That's what direction does. It focuses your attention. It helps you recognise what's relevant and what's noise.

And it gives you permission to say yes when something shows up that fits.

The questions that actually help

When I work with people who are stuck or facing a big decision, I don’t ask “where do you see yourself in 5 years” (the dreaded classic interview question). That question is too big and too abstract.

Instead, these are the questions that actually help you find direction right now:

• What direction feels right for me at this moment?

• What am I drawn to, even if I can't fully explain why?

• What small move can I make this week that keeps this direction alive?

• What opportunities have I been noticing more often lately?

• What would I say yes to if it showed up tomorrow?

That move to Google changed the next twenty years of my life. Not because of a master plan, but because I followed what felt right, and I kept moving.

The career I built, the experiences I had, the skills I developed, the person I became, none of it would have happened if I had waited for perfect clarity before taking the first step.

You can't plan it all, and that’s the beauty of it.

If you're facing a decision right now - a career crossroads, a pivot, a choice between "safe" and "right"- I help people navigate the same kinds of decisions I once faced myself.

Not by giving you the answer (I don’t have it), but by helping you find your direction, map what’s at stake, and take the next step with clarity.

I’m launching a 30-day intensive program to help people navigate pivotal career decisions with clarity and action you can get a sneak peek here.

I also offer a single conversation to gain clarity and direction on your next move.

With intention, 

Serena