Phone Screen
Questions:
- Find the average of the last
nelements in a stream, providing an interface for users. - Follow-up: Ignore a few of the highest values.
Candidate's Approach
I came up with a solution pretty fast, explained it to the interviewer, and implemented it, same with the follow-up.
Interviewer's Feedback
Positive feedback, move to onsite.
Onsite 1 (DSA)
Questions:
- Follow-up was Longest Increasing Subsequence II. In the original question, there was no
kas a variable; it was always1.
Candidate's Approach
I devised an O(n) solution for the original question and an O(n*logn) solution for the follow-up. The interviewer was okay with this complexity.
Interviewer's Feedback
The interviewer seemed satisfied with my performance.
Onsite 2 (DSA)
Questions:
- Find the shortest path in a graph. The task required not only writing the algorithm but also reading a graph, processing it, and returning a result.
Candidate's Approach
I solved the problem using BFS and was required to run a few BFSs as a follow-up.
Interviewer's Feedback
The recruiter was friendly and appeared happy with my solutions.
Onsite 3 (DSA)
Questions:
- The question was on the topic of topological sort.
Candidate's Approach
This round was the hardest for me. I suggested multiple different approaches, but they didn't work well. I spent about 20 minutes thinking out loud and eventually came up with a solution, spending the rest of the time coding and fixing bugs. I was informed that this problem is actually a graph problem, which I should have recognized.
Interviewer's Feedback
I felt like I completely screwed this interview, but later found that not all questions required follow-up, which made me more comfortable.
Onsite 4 (Behavioral)
Questions:
- Standard behavioral questions.
Candidate's Approach
I felt like the interviewer was happy with my answers.
Interviewer's Feedback
No specific feedback provided.
Final Outcome
About a week later, I received a call from the recruiter stating that I did well and that all feedback was positive. The recruiter mentioned that Google wanted to move forward with my application. However, there were no open positions at that time, and I had to wait.
About a month later, the recruiter called again with news of an opening. After a quick chat with the hiring manager, I was informed that they would continue with my application and move it to HC. The recruiter expressed confidence that there would be no issues with HC due to my positive feedback.
UPD: I accepted the offer :)