In October 2010, I sent in my resume online for the new grad program. Within a couple days, I was contacted for a 45 minute technical interview. I spoke with a corporate engineer from Boston--it went really well, he was a very cool guy. About 4 hours later, the recruiter called with an invitation to interview in Mountain View. I was pumped, but nervous.
I studied a lot for the next 4 weeks. Glassdoor.com, 20+ blogs about Google's hiring process, and any technical interview questions I could find. It's very intimidating. Most of the bloggers had negative things to say. Probably because they were all rejected.
But when I got off the plane in San Jose and stepped down into a stretch limousine, I left my nerves behind. All I could do was grin ear to ear and think about the opportunity in my lap. Besides Facebook, Apple, or NASA, is there any place more exciting? The coolest company in the world paid for me to fly across the country and stay in a swanky hotel for 2 nights just so they could interview me.
A $50 Google VISA card was waiting for me at the hotel. I ate some food, read a couple articles in the news about Google. I was exhausted from the travel, so I went to bed early. I woke up the next morning around 6:30, munched on a small breakfast and waited to depart.
7 other candidates joined me in that same stretch limo. I was excited, that's how I was the whole day. The other guys were nervous, and I think they made me even more relaxed.
We arrive at the famed Googleplex. Dozens of young professionals were getting off luxury buses (Google has a free transit system for their employees in the SF Bay area). They were all wearing flip flops, t-shirts, jeans and book bags. Just like a college campus, except you know they are all the best of the best.
I had 4 interviews, mostly technical. The first 2 went perfectly. We walked through some pretty challenging hypotheticals. I nailed them. 100%.
The 3rd interview was pretty good. I give myself an 85. There was an awkward moment when I simply did not understand the interviewer's question. I must have said "ummm" a hundred times, but eventually he rephrased his question and I answered it.
The final interview was simply uncomfortable. The guy was full of himself, and if working @ Google meant working for him, I wouldn't enjoy it. I stumbled on one completely unexpected behavioral question, but breezed through the rest of his situationals. I may have failed at the first impression, but overall it was okay. Maybe a 75? Probably a 50.
My initial reaction was positive. I digested it for a couple days, and apart from the behavioral flutter, I couldn't have done any better. I put a lot of effort into the preparation. I left everything on the table.
But alas, I did not get an offer.
Tips? Know your stuff. Use the whiteboard. If you're not into Star Wars, you need not apply.
