I applied through a recruiter. The process took 2 weeks. I interviewed at Google (Mountain View, CA) in Mar 2011
Interview
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...
Recruiter screen focused on scope, org size, and why this role. Hiring manager deep dive on strategy, execution, and people leadership. Then 4–6 panel interviews: product/technical judgment, cross-functional influence, stakeholder management, and leadership behaviors with detailed examples. Emphasis on impact at scale, decision quality, handling ambiguity, and raising the bar. Final step was team matching and compensation/level review.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
Tell me about a time you led a large, ambiguous initiative across multiple orgs with conflicting stakeholders. How did you set direction, align leaders, manage trade-offs, and measure impact—and what would you do differently?
Phone call with recruiter
Phone call with hiring manager
Phone call with peer
Onsite panel with partners
Call with hiring manager
Offer prep with recruiter
Offer call with hiring manager
Hard but good. Interview loop is tough, but really great people with experience and clear set of goals. The loop was with various people from the company. Each played a role and were very friendly.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
Biggest strengths and how that can help build movement