Phone Screening
Questions: I was given a hard question from Leetcode based on queue and implementation. While I was not able to solve all the edge cases, I shared my thought process with the interviewer throughout the interview and tried writing as much clean code as possible and add comments also.
Candidate's Approach
I communicated my thought process during the interview and focused on writing clean code with comments.
Interviewer's Feedback
Positive
Round 1
Questions: A question related to caching and prime. I was able to solve this question and got a follow-up on the same question with different parameters, though I was not expected to code it.
Candidate's Approach
I discussed possible solutions with the interviewer and engaged in a conversation about the work at Google and the work his team does.
Interviewer's Feedback
Positive
Round 2
Questions: A very open-ended question related to string.
Candidate's Approach
I made a mistake by not asking enough clarifying questions and made a few assumptions.
Interviewer's Feedback
Leaning Negative
Round 3
Questions: A medium DP question from Leetcode with a minor change to it.
Candidate's Approach
I was able to solve it quickly as I had solved it previously and had done enough DP while preparing for Google.
Interviewer's Feedback
Positive
Googleyness
Questions: Prepared using ChatGPT and YouTube videos. Standard questions were asked.
Candidate's Approach
No approach provided.
Interviewer's Feedback
Positive
Team Matching
Questions: The manager explained the kind of work the team will be doing and patiently and enthusiastically answered all my questions.
Candidate's Approach
I received confirmation from my recruiter the next day that I matched with the team. They asked for my decision, and I said yes.
Interviewer's Feedback
No feedback provided.
Final Thoughts
- Prepare as many questions as possible and build your basics.
- It's okay to ask the interviewer if you are going in the right direction.
- It's okay to take a minute or two to think through your answer before speaking.
- Google Interviews are very long and time-consuming, so patience is key and never lose hope.