Google is unlike all the other places I’ve interviewed with. My key takeaways for a successful interview: 1 - Each interviewer will jump around focus areas, so be able to pivot from PS, to Ex to Strategy very quickly and with a clear structure. 2 - Even though the comp sci area was removed, the interviews are still quite technical compared to other companies. Be ready to think deeply about technical problems. 3 - You have to be ON for every interview. If you feel yourself drifting from a great structured answer, pause and navigate your way back. I recovered a poorly answered question in the last five minutes. 4 - There’s an emphasis on L&D now, so have your examples ready in a STAR format. 5 - Estimation will be involved directly or indirectly. Brush up on napkin math. 6 - PS questions tend to crop up more than once, so nail down your framework for answering those repeatedly. 7 - Strategy questions are a big part of the interview, so have a clear framework for those. Some interviewers might spend the whole 45min on those, some might asked mixed questions that have a strategic component. You really do need to score at least 4/5 on every interview. Don’t get psyched out if they ask you to redo one. That’s common.
Very self-driven, first of multiple rounds, where I had to take the initiative to arrive at the problem, constraints, approach, solutions, tradeoffs and reasoning behind it in a matter of 30 minutes.
You would have to do a hiring assessment first, then a recruiter screening follows. First round interview with the hiring manager. Majorly product sense and product improvement. The questions were not direct though.
Overall a lot of steps to the interview process. Talked to different people and had opportunities to ask questions. Many different stages which made it a lengthy process overall. Wasn't too bad.
