Google Interview Questions & Reviews in Mountain View, CA
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Updated Feb 13, 2012 – Interview questions and reviews posted anonymously by interview candidates.
Ratings are reflective of location and job title.
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Difficulty Rating [?] Based on 340 ratings 
“Difficult” Interview
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Interview Experience [?] Based on 340 ratings
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Software Engineering at Google
Posted Jan 31, 2012 — 0 of 1 people found this helpful
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3.0
Average Interview
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Overall Negative Experience
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Interviewed and No Offer
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Interviewed Aug 2010 in Mountain View, CA (took a day)
For this Google phone interview, I got a 25 year old programmer who had limited experience, but who in his arrogance believed that because he worked for Google, he was a world-class computer scientist. As you might imagine, I couldn't convince him that I knew anything at all, despite my own success and experience. Would I interview with Google again? No, thanks!
Other Details
The interview consisted of a Phone Interview.
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Helpful Interview?
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No
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Software Engineer at Google
Posted Jan 21, 2012 — 2 of 3 people found this helpful
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4.0
Difficult Interview
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Overall Positive Experience
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Interviewed and No Offer
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Interviewed Jan 2012 in Mountain View, CA (took 6 weeks)
This is a more verbose review for those who want to know what the entire process is like. I won't list of exact questions due to NDA which I would like to respect, but will outline areas - see (*).
Some quick background on myself: new grad with masters in computer science.
Although I did not receive an offer in the end, it was a great experience and Google left me with a very positive impression about them. Albeit, the entire process was overall on the slow side, but my HR contact was very responsive to emails and kept me up-to-date.
I applied online on the company website. About a week later, I got an email to schedule two back-to-back phone interviews in < a week. Second one was rescheduled last minute to next week. Both phone interviewers went very smoothly and the interviewers were very polite and easy to speak with. Each were an hour in length, with maybe the first 10-15 minutes of resume questions, background, etc., then it quickly became technical. I coded in a shared Google Doc for both. The first interviewer asked for whatever language (I chose C++), but the second one insisted on Python (which I was happy to oblige, it's actually my favorite to hack in). I had those two on my resume, so I assume they were probing me to see if I was lying. They will not ask you anything not on your resume and conversely, don't lie/exaggerate as if one of the largest tech. companies doesn't encounter that on a daily basis!
***** I haven't seen any of the questions they asked here on Glassdoor, but were similar in complexity. 1st phone interview in C++: was asked to design and code a data structure with specific customization to a queue, big-O analysis, optimization, and short discussions on two other problems (no code due to time constraint). 2nd phone interview: manipulating lists in Python, write some SQL queries (simple selects with joins) for a DB schema he pasted into the doc, also answered some high-level conceptual questions on data structures. Made a small error in one of the SQL queries that I quickly corrected, but pretty much got the rest without help. With that said, couldn't answer the last sub-question in each interview, but they both said it was more of a bonus at that point.
Within an hour of the second phone interview, got an email saying they were impressed and decided to move on to onsite interview. This is the part that took a while, almost three weeks just to get it finalized, but it did go smoothly.
They put me in a nice hotel for two nights which provided breakfast and a shuttle limo (yes, limo) to/from the Googleplex. The office was very nice, the whole dot-com atmosphere still in full swing. Cubicles looked a bit cramped though compared with other places I've seen. Four people sharing one big cube. I've had larger, private cubicles in past internships at other places. Not a big deal though, I guess. Food was fantastic, better than the crap I regularly eat anyways.
My big day lasted four hours consisting of 4 one-on-ones each about 45 minutes and a one hour lunch meeting (not evaluated) with a senior who would answer whatever questions I had and gave me a tour of the campus. All interviewers were very nice and helpful and really do try to push you in the right direction - some more than others, naturally. Perhaps one came off as a bit arrogant at times, but still helpful. Another implicitly told me he wasn't into his duties, but ironically was the most fun to speak with.
***** I guess here's what most people want: Two interviewers asked resume questions for maybe 5 minutes, but other than that everything was purely technical: writing code on a whiteboard. The questions ranged from binary search trees (recursion), caching, string manipulation and some random recursion (I got an easy one). Usually asked to design test cases at end (no code). They were not very difficult, but it was clear that you really had to know them inside-out. Be sure to constantly talk and explain what you are thinking. Much better than long periods of silence which I had a few times. I couldn't solve a corner (admittedly important) case for the BST question, and my design for the specialized caching question was not too impressive but it did work; other than that, I pretty much solved the rest without hints. Any time left-over is given to you to ask them whatever you'd like.
Went to hiring committee, but alas, two weeks later got the disappointing email they were not going to extend me an offer. HR contact encouraged me to reapply after a year of industry experience, which, depending on my situation at that time, I will consider. Google has the advantage that if they are not absolutely certain you'd be a stellar engineer, they will pass even if this means false negatives.
Interview Questions
Other Details
I Applied Online and the interview consisted of a Phone Interview and a 1:1 Interview.
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Helpful Interview?
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Linked In at Google
Posted Jan 21, 2012
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4.0
Difficult Interview
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Overall Negative Experience
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Interviewed and No Offer
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Interviewed May 2011 in Mountain View, CA (took 1+ week)
They asked general questions, nothing related to what was on my resume, file merging question and I felt they were looking for large data set file merging, while I work with in-memory data structures.
Other Details
The interview consisted of a Phone Interview.
Helpful Interview?
Yes |
No
Inappropriate?
Recruiting Coordinator at Google
Posted Jan 13, 2012
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2.0
Easy Interview
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Overall Positive Experience
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Received and Accepted Offer
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Interviewed Jan 2011 in Mountain View, CA (took 2 days)
I was first contacted by a sourcer who conducted an initial prescreen. Very basic info - what Google products do you use, what's your background, education, etc. Then, he set up an interview for me in the NYC office (I was home in New York), but via video conference with team members in Mountain View. The interview was supposed to consist of 3 back-to-back 20 minute interviews. However, during the first interview, it became clear that I wasn't a good fit for the RC (Recruiting Coordinator) role and I would be a better fit for a Sourcer role. After the first person finished with me, she found two Sourcers to come in and complete the interviews.
I was very impressed by Google's ability to turn on a dime and re-route me mid-interview for a role that was a better fit. About one week later, I received a call with an offer.
Interview Questions
Negotiation Details
I didn't do any negotiation because I was satisfied with their initial offer. I was fresh out of college and happy to take anything I was offered.
Other Details
I got the interview through a Recruiter and the interview consisted of a Phone Interview and a 1:1 Interview.
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Helpful Interview?
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Inappropriate?
AdWords Associate at Google
Posted Jan 11, 2012
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3.0
Average Interview
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Overall Neutral Experience
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Interviewed and No Offer
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Interviewed Jun 2011 in Mountain View, CA (took 6 weeks)
I had one phone interview asking about my interest in the position, and they went over my resume in great detail. The next phone interview was scheduled with the manager of the position I was applying for, and we talked more about the position and he asked me some logic questions (how many houses are painted red in Canada?, etc). The talk went well, and he said that it looked like I had a good resume to match the position. An on site interview was scheduled for three weeks away, and I asked for the day off work ahead of time, and read up on AdWords and AdSense extensively, but then on the day before the interview, they called to say that it had to be cancelled because of a recent staff meeting with senior management, and that they no longer wanted to fill the open position. It was very unexpected, and I was bummed out after all the planning ahead for this interview, but that's life! They were very apologetic about it, and everyone I talked to throughout the process was professional and sounded like a good person, so I'm planning on trying again if the opening ever comes up again, or something similar to it.
Interview Questions
Other Details
The interview consisted of a Phone Interview.
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Helpful Interview?
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No
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Training Specialist at Google
Posted Jan 2, 2012 — 1 of 1 people found this helpful
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4.0
Difficult Interview
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Overall Positive Experience
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Received and Accepted Offer
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Interviewed Jul 2010 in Mountain View, CA (took 2 days)
A totally amazing and very different interview process. The interview questions were based on four components: cognitive, technical, culture fit, and (sorry can't remember the last category), I think it was team player. The hiring manager was wearing pajamas because it was pajama day at Google. Awesome culture and it is the people who are allowed so much creative freedom that make it wonderful.
Interview Questions
Negotiation Details
Know what you are willing to settle for before the negotiation phase. Some benefits are negotiable and some are not. They will not say "no" to every request you may make that is reasonable and researched.
Other Details
I got the interview through a Staffing Agency and the interview consisted of a Phone Interview, a 1:1 Interview and a Background Check.
Helpful Interview?
Yes |
No
Inappropriate?
Intern at Google
Posted Dec 30, 2011
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3.0
Average Interview
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Overall Neutral Experience
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Received and Accepted Offer
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Interviewed Apr 2011 in Mountain View, CA (took 4+ weeks)
Very responsive. HR is very helpful through the process, especially matching me to a good fit position.
Interview Questions
Negotiation Details
None
Other Details
I got the interview through an Employee Referral and the interview consisted of a Phone Interview.
Helpful Interview?
Yes |
No
Inappropriate?
SQL Business Analyst at Google
Posted Dec 14, 2011
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4.0
Difficult Interview
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Overall Positive Experience
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Interviewed and No Offer
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Interviewed Jun 2010 in Mountain View, CA (took 4 weeks)
Multiple phone interviews with engineers from team. I have a consulting and forensics background so terminology and concepts didn't necessarily translate well even though in hindsight we were talking about the same processes. I would interview with them again should the opportunity present itself.
Interview Questions
Other Details
The interview consisted of a Phone Interview.
Helpful Interview?
Yes |
No
Inappropriate?
Associate Product Manager at Google
Posted Dec 12, 2011
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3.0
Average Interview
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Overall Neutral Experience
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Interviewed and No Offer
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Interviewed Apr 2011 in Mountain View, CA (took 2 weeks)
Had two phone interviews with two APMS at the time. Asked pretty standard questions about Google products, and then was asked some probability / theoretical questions. Around two of these technical questions, some even involving product design. The first APM seemed much more enthused to interview me than the second.
Interview Questions
Other Details
I got the interview through a College or University and the interview consisted of a Phone Interview.
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Helpful Interview?
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No
Inappropriate?
Software Engineer at Google
Posted Dec 16, 2011 — 0 of 2 people found this helpful
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3.0
Average Interview
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Overall Negative Experience
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Interviewed and No Offer
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Interviewed Sep 2011 in Mountain View, CA (took a day)
Intermediate (some tough) questions about algorithms, memory usage and system scalability.
Interview Questions
Other Details
I Applied Online and the interview consisted of a 1:1 Interview.
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Helpful Interview?
Yes |
No
Inappropriate?
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