Thought 'Abey Saale' Was Friendly Greeting, Says Google CEO Sundar Pichai At IIT

At his alma mater IIT-Kharagpur, Sundar Pichai recounted his interview experience at Google, the company whose CEO he now is. Sundar Pichai interviewed at Google on April 1, 2004, the same day that the company launched Gmail. Thinking of Gmail as an April Fool's prank, he was stumped when the interviewer asked him about his thoughts on the new email service. It wasn't until halfway through the process that Sundar Pichai realised that Gmail was a real thing - and the rest of the interview saw him talking about how Gmail could be improved upon.

 

In a discussion with IIT-Kharagpur students, moderated by InfoEdge Managing Director and CEO Hitesh Oberoi, Sundar Pichai said, "I interviewed in Google in April 1, 2004, which is April Fool's Day, and Google had just announced Gmail, and it was invite only, but people still weren't sure if it was an April Fool's joke."

 

Sundar Pichai also quipped that he was one of the first employees at Google not to be interviewed by (Google co-founder) Larry Page, and said he always tells people that's why he got the job.

 

Another student asked Sundar Pichai how he [the student] could get a job a Google - clearly it's a question that Pichai hears a lot, because while all the other students laughed, Pichai just had a very wry look on his face. When the IIT Kharagpur students were asked in turn to raise their hands if they wanted to work with Google, most of the hands in the audience went up. Sundar Pichai quipped that he should open a campus in Kharagpur.