Attention gap-year students: A slew of ex-Google employees are giving free classes on 'how to land your dream job'

• A group of ex-Google employees have started "Xoogler School," an eight-week course that will provide professional development classes for gap-year students.
• Students can attend sessions, like "Planning your career journey" and "What to expect from your first software engineering job," for free.
• As the COVID-19 pandemic continues and classes go online, college students are increasingly turning to gap years to avoid expensive tuition and the health risks associated with dormitory and classroom life.

Attention gap year students: A group of ex-Google employees created an online school that aims to help you land your dream job.

"Xoogler School" is an eight-week program that promises to help students prepare for interviews, expand their network, and "take on the job market with a 'Google Mindset.'"

The program's speaker series and workshops, which include sessions like "Planning your career journey" and "What to expect from your first software engineering job," will be free thanks to volunteers from the ex-Google employee community, according to Christopher Fong, who worked at Google for 8 years before founding the program.

Additional Xoogler School services, like resume review, mock interviews, and job-hunting feedback sessions, are available for a fee, but Fong says that the school will offer need-based financial aid to some students.

The initiative comes at a time when students across the nation are reckoning with the realities of mid-pandemic university life. Harvard announced that 20% of their freshman have deferred enrollment earlier this month, and a national survey found that only 25% of students strongly agreed that their schools would take the necessary steps to keep students safe. 40% of incoming freshman are taking a gap year, according to the same survey.

With over 150 volunteer mentors, the program can support about 500 students this fall, according to Fong. But with enough interest, he says the initiative could scale up by tapping into the Google alumni network that's about 9,000 strong.

"We hope to be able to help hundreds of students this fall and thousands of students in the future," said Fong in an email to Business Insider.

Prospective pupils can learn more at the Xoogler School website and can submit an application here. Classes begin September 14.