Google Interview Experience

Most of the people are STUCK with past experiences which makes it impossible for them to realize their “True Potential”.

We hold our negative experiences, Which holds us from the real possibilities of the present that could completely transform our lives. So, let got your Bad Experiences Take a leap of faith and TRY AGAIN.

After facing rejections from Adobe and American Express, I remained determined to pursue opportunities at major tech companies. On August 20th, I was attending a family function and refrained from checking my emails. The following day, I finally checked my inbox and found an email from Google Careers.

The email stated, “Rahul has invited you to apply for a job at Google! Start the application process by viewing their invitation. By accepting their invitation, you’ll allow us to share high-level application status updates with this Googler…”

Being from a Tier 3 college where Google doesn’t typically recruit on campus, my only option was to apply through Google’s official career site. Initially, I had intended to apply for a winter internship, but applications closed before I could submit mine. Instead, I applied for the Software Engineer, University Graduate, 2022 Start Position. Just before applying, Rahul, a friend and mentor, sent me a referral link for Google. Securing this referral was crucial, as it significantly enhanced my chances of receiving an interview invitation.

On September 28th, I received an email notification from a Google recruiter. In the email, the recruiter introduced himself and requested my updated resume. It’s not guaranteed to receive a recruiter’s call after applying through a referral, but my strong resume caught their attention. The recruiter mentioned, “Considering your projects and achievements on your profile, we would like to invite you to apply and interview with us for the Software Engineer position.”

I was ecstatic and promptly sent my updated resume the following day. Subsequently, I received another email in which the recruiter introduced another team member involved in the process. After a brief exchange, I received an email to schedule a suitable time for the next steps and was provided with a Google Meet link.

Initially, I assumed it would be a one-on-one meeting, but to my surprise, there were around 20–30 other students in the virtual meeting. The recruiter explained the entire interview process, coding criteria, data structures, algorithms, and more.

Following the meeting, the recruiter shared notes, guidelines, and a plethora of study materials. They also asked about my availability for a telephonic interview in the week of October 11th. I opted for the week of October 18th to ensure ample time for preparation.

My preparation strategy during this time involved participating in as many mock interviews as possible, especially with individuals who had previously interviewed with Google. Additionally, I tackled the top 50 questions that Google had posed in past interviews using a friend’s LeetCode premium account. I also watched mock interviews and attended live classes, particularly focusing on topics like graph algorithms. All the questions I practiced were documented on Google Docs, as interviews were to be conducted using this platform. I emphasized writing bug-free, well-structured code with clear variable names, ensuring coverage of all edge cases and thoroughly reviewed with test cases or dry runs. To reinforce my knowledge, I revisited data structures, algorithms, time complexities, and object-oriented programming principles.

My Preparation Strategy

During that time, I tried to give as many mock interviews as I could to the who had interviewed with google before. Along with that, I did the top 50 questions that were asked by google before. I used my friend's Leetcode premium Account to solve those problems. I watched some mock interviews, Live classes especially strive’s live Graph classes. These live classes and leetcode questions helped me a lot. All the questions I practiced on Google Docs, as the interviews were meant to be done using those. Code should be Bug-free, readable code with good variable names covering all edge cases and reviewed with test cases or a dry run. I revised all the data structures and algorithms, time complexities, and OOPs.

1. Telephonic Round

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My telephonic interview was scheduled for November 18th at 11 am, a moment that filled me with both nervousness and excitement. The interview began promptly at the appointed time and lasted approximately 50 minutes. The interviewer initiated the conversation with introductions and then asked me to provide mine. After I introduced myself, the discussion turned to my previous internship and project, both of which were detailed on my resume.

The interviewer directed me to open a Google Docs document that had been shared by my recruiter and promptly pasted a coding question into it. I took a few minutes to carefully read the question, and during that time, I also sought clarification by asking the interviewer some questions. In response, he provided an example and explained it to me. While thinking aloud and simultaneously considering potential test cases, I realized that the question was graph-related. Initially, I had been thinking along the lines of trees, but the interviewer’s example steered me in the right direction. In the end, it took me approximately 20–25 minutes to devise a solution, which revolved around detecting cycles in a graph.

Following my solution, the interviewer inquired about how cycle detection aids in solving this problem. I provided mathematical explanations to substantiate my approach, which seemed to satisfy him. He then requested that I proceed to write the code, a task that took around 7–8 minutes to complete. Afterward, he asked me to perform a dry run of the code, and we discussed various edge cases. Concluding the interview, I took the opportunity to ask him a question related to his earlier mention of working on the Google Maps team. We had a brief conversation lasting about 3–4 minutes, separate from the interview.

Post-interview, at 11:55 am, I shut down my laptop and headed straight for my bed, pretending to be utterly exhausted. I was genuinely concerned about the outcome since I had managed to solve only one question during the interview.

However, to my delight, I received a positive response from my Google recruiter within two days after the interview. Passing this initial hurdle filled me with joy, and I was on cloud nine when I learned that I had cleared the interview and would proceed to the next round. Additionally, my recruiter shared some valuable tips and areas for improvement.

I planned to dedicate nearly a month to further prepare for the upcoming rounds, aiming to address my weaknesses. Stay tuned for more of my interview experiences, including those with American Express, Atlassian, and Google (subsequent rounds).

This journey is a testament to the fact that success in such endeavors requires consistent practice and effort. In the future, I will share some of the resources and strategies I found helpful during my preparation.

Thank you for taking the time to read my story 🤗.