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 Engineer at Google
Posted Aug 27, 2011 — 8 of 11 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 Aug 2011 in Mountain View, CA (took 2 months)
I had always wanted to work at Google, but I never thought I would get in. I'm 45 years old and I have a 2.2 GPA.
My friend at Google submitted my resume and I waited quite a while before I got a rejection letter. In retrospect, with them receiving 3000 resumes a day, it must be very easy to get lost in the shuffle unless your resume really stands out, and mine certainly did not. I waited a while and then contacted Google again and asked them to reconsider my resume, and they did. From that point on, it was an amazing process.
Right away I got an email asking when would be a good time for a recruiter to talk with me (HR screen). I said, "If not now, when?" and 60 seconds later I got a call from the recruiter. We talked for 45 minutes and mostly it seemed like just fun chitchat. She asked about my experience and what I liked to work on and what languages I preferred. Then she said she would find an engineer suitable for me and would call me back soon. She called the next day and we scheduled a phone interview (tech screen) for the following week. She also send me an email about what to expect and things to brush up on.
The next week I got the call from an engineer. We worked together in a Google Doc, and on the phone. He asked me about my resume, particularly my machine language experience. Then we did a bit manipulation problem, and I missed an obvious optimization. Then he asked me the main problem which was very clever. I came upon the solution very quickly, using recursion, but I screwed up on the complexity analysis. Afterwards, we chatted about Google life. It was a fun experience, but I figured I had blown it.
I got a call from the recruiter an hour later telling me that the feedback was positive and that we would move on to the on-site interview. I spent a month in front of my white board practicing problems, especially from Gayle Laakmann's book, Cracking the Coding Interview. I read through Introduction to Algorithms , but there was just too much information in there to cram into my brain.
At one point I was worried about my low 2.2 GPA and asked if I would be given a chance to explain the situation. I sent them an email and 30 seconds later one of the recruiters called me and said, basically, no one cares about your GPA. I get the impression that it's just a metric they use if there's nothing else on your resume to judge you by.
I am not going to describe the interviews here. Sorry. Not only did I sign an NDA, but I also don't want to spoil it for anyone. I will just say this much: Those people who said, "They asked me a simple CS101 question and I answered it and they still didn't hire me, those arrogant pricks!", well, dude you completely missed the point of the exercise. It's really not about getting the "right" answer.
The interviewers were all very cool. Some were reserved, and some were friendly and outgoing. I had a very fun time, but I missed a lot of simple things, didn't complete all of the problems, made simple syntax errors, and completely fumbled the interview that focused on Java. I left depressed, but feeling like I had been given a very fair chance.
I got a call from a recruiter two days later saying that the interview feedback was "pretty positive" and that he decided to forward it to the Hiring Committee. The following Monday the Hiring Committee gave me a "unanimous thumbs up". Another recruiter emailed me to say she would be contacting my references and my application would go through the Compensation Committee and the Executive Committee. I was given a questionnaire to fill out, asking about past employment details and such. It also asked about any past achievements I may want the Executive Committee to know about. They said I would probably hear something in the next few weeks.
Getting close to the end of the two week period, at 10:30pm, I got the email to "extend me an offer". When I replied to the email, she saw I was still awake so she called me on my cell phone at 11pm to give me the details as soon as possible. And the details were VERY generous, so I did not negotiate.
Overall, it was an awesome experience. Everyone was super nice and polite. The whole thing took two months, but a month of that was me asking for time to prepare. I've heard of cases where they can push it through in two weeks if you re really in a hurry. They kept asking me if I had any time constraint that they needed to work with. Also, yes, I asked, and Larry Page did review and sign off on my final approval. From his own words, he's gotten so good at it that it takes him less than a minute for each one.
I will only give this advice about the actual interview process: If you thought you aced it, you probably missed something. It's not about getting the "right" answer. It is about soooo much more. But, like I said, I don't want to spoil the fun.
Interview Questions
Other Details
I got the interview through an Employee Referral and the interview consisted of a Phone Interview, a 1:1 Interview and a Background Check.
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Executive Communications Manager, Editorial at Google
Posted Sep 7, 2011
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3.0
Average Interview
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Overall Positive Experience
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Interviewed and No Offer
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Interviewed Aug 2011 in Mountain View, CA (took 3 weeks)
A Google recruiter reached out to a professional colleague who wasn't interested in the position, but referenced me as a possibility. I sent the recruiter a cover letter and resume, which in turn earned me a phone interview (with the recruiter). That led to a writing assignment in which I was to anticipate the "Google voice" and write content that would be appropriate for internal communication. The recruiter told me the hiring manager read my submission, and wanted to move forward with an in-person interview. I was asked to come in for a peer interview in which someone else in the internal communications department would query me for 30 minutes.
The peer was intelligent and likeable, and I found the questions interesting and relatively easy (he didn't throw me any infamous Google brain teasers). Immediately afterward, I emailed the recruiter and expressed a desire to know ASAP if I would be moving forward in the hiring process, and was given a very specific answer on how all of that would unfold: If they decided not to move forward, I would know within days. If they decided to move forward, I would be asked to do another four or five interviews (presumably on the same day), and if I passed that hurdle, my application would to go to the executive hiring committee.
I received a phone call very quickly. A recruiter informed me that they were moving forward with other candidates, and that I would not be called back. All in all, I found the recruitment team to be efficient, likeable, and communicative.
Interview Questions
Other Details
The interview consisted of a Phone Interview and a 1:1 Interview.
Helpful Interview?
Yes |
No
Inappropriate?
Business Analyst at Google
Posted Sep 6, 2011
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4.0
Difficult Interview
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Overall Neutral Experience
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Interviewed and No Offer
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Interviewed Jul 2011 in Mountain View, CA (took 1 week)
Had an initial call with two different recruiters to discuss which groups were interested. Very unorganized as neither knew I had spoken to the other. Then a phone interview with members of the group. Asked some brainteasers and some strategy/consulting-type questions, but pretty brief. Heard back from a recruiter the next day about continued interest and was scheduled to fly to Mountain View the next week.
Interview Questions
Other Details
I Applied Online and the interview consisted of a Phone Interview and a 1:1 Interview.
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Executive Assistant at Google
Posted Sep 3, 2011
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4.0
Difficult Interview
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Overall Neutral Experience
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Interviewed and No Offer
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Interviewed Aug 2011 in Mountain View, CA (took 1 week)
The test question was about scheduling a team building event for 100 Googlers, but there's a forecast of rain for this outdoor event, so you’re tasked with coming up with a contingency plan, then composing an email to the attendees about the tentative changes while keeping their enthusiasm about the event. The other part was 4 LSAT questions about who can sit next to each other and other order arranging questions.
Interview Questions
Other Details
The interview consisted of a Phone Interview and a Skills Test.
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Software Engineer at Google
Posted Aug 21, 2011 — 1 of 1 people found this helpful
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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 a day)
phone interview
Interview Questions
Other Details
I Applied Online and the interview consisted of a Phone Interview.
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Program Manager at Google
Posted Aug 21, 2011
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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 2011 in Mountain View, CA (took 5 weeks)
The first two phone interviews went well, took 4 weeks. I was later called for an onsite interview. This was a program manager position, something I have done was years. Two people interviewed, one was some engineeing project manager, the other was an architect of some sort. The engineering project manager was very arrogant from the start, he was asking questions in the name of testing the edge of my knowledge, however except a few questions, many were irrelevant to the job for which I was being interviewed. He wouldn't let me think or finish my answers and asked questions that can be easily answered by looking up a manual or help available in software packages. The second technical interview was much better and I thought I did well. I got a mail saying I di n't make it. The inside of the offices didn't look very exciting or anything. I didn't see dogs or snakes or other pets. My current company which is bigger than Google and Microsoft and competes with Google in the cellphone space seemed like a much more practical and friendlier place to work for. I would rather go fulltime with my current company. I do not think I will ever interview with Google again. I recommend interviewees don't get discouraged if you are not selected.
Interview Questions
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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Technical Program Manager at Google
Posted Aug 17, 2011
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3.0
Average Interview
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Overall Positive Experience
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Interviewed and No Offer
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Interviewed Jun 2011 in Mountain View, CA (took 4 weeks)
Complex hiring process consisting of two phone screenings by lead members of the group resulting in an onsite interview. Onsite interview consisted of presentation and additional 1:1 interviews by skillset experts *not* in the group that I was interviewing for. Skillset experts asked a mixture of behavioral and general technical questions. HR was prompt in communicating with me as to process and results, however, was not rushed to complete the process making sure that multiple candidates where interviewed.
Company does look like it would be very good to work for. Dogs were in the office, cafeteria is everything that it's rumored to be, and employess seem to very bright and well spirited - and busy.
Interview Questions
Other Details
The interview consisted of a Phone Interview, a 1:1 Interview, a Group/Panel Interview and a Presentation.
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Helpful Interview?
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Software Engineer at Google
Posted Aug 12, 2011 — 1 of 1 people found this helpful
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4.0
Difficult Interview
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Overall Neutral Experience
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Interviewed and No Offer
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Interviewed Jul 2011 in Mountain View, CA (took a day)
Two interviewers called me at the same day and questions are moderate except that the first interviewer asked me something outside my scope of knowledge.
Interview Questions
Other Details
I got the interview through an Employee Referral and the interview consisted of a Phone Interview.
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Helpful Interview?
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No
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Sales Engineer at Google
Posted Aug 7, 2011 — 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 Apr 2011 in Mountain View, CA (took 2 months)
The interviews consisted of a HR phone screening, phone interviews with other engineers, and finally an on-site panel interview.
Interview Questions
Negotiation Details
I was not able to negotiate anything, including starting salary or bonus. This was incredibly frustrating, and I had several other job offers come through soon after I accepted, all of which had far better compensation. Ultimately I still stuck with Google due to my belief that it held the greatest prospects for career development. Time will tell if this was the right choice.
Other Details
The interview consisted of a Phone Interview, a Group/Panel Interview, a Presentation, a Skills Test and a Background Check.
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Director at Google
Posted Aug 6, 2011
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3.0
Average Interview
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Overall Positive Experience
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Interviewed and No Offer
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Interviewed Mar 2011 in Mountain View, CA (took 2+ weeks)
Liked the fact that they emphasize hiring great candidates and have the processes in place. Recruiter contacted. Initial Recruiter phone interview. Then Hiring manager phone interview. Visited campus and talked to 5 other people. Interviews went well... Job role changed due to an internal re-org post interview....So no go...
Interview Questions
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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