Phone Screening [November 12, 2024]
Questions: The question was a relatively straightforward design problem involving a Priority Queue or TreeSet.
Candidate's Approach
No approach provided.
Interviewer's Feedback
The phone screen feedback was positive, and the candidate was informed they would be moving on to the on-site rounds.
Round 1 [January 6, 2025]
Questions: I was asked a question similar to "Evaluate Expression," solvable using a stack.
Candidate's Approach
- Addressed two follow-up questions and made necessary code adjustments.
- Completed everything within 40 minutes.
- Performed dry runs with several examples.
- Explained the time and space complexities.
Interviewer's Feedback
The feedback was extremely positive.
Round 2 [January 7, 2025]
Questions: This round focused on a graph problem, a variant of Dijkstra's algorithm.
Candidate's Approach
- Coded the solution in 15 minutes.
- Corrected a small bug pointed out by the interviewer.
- Coded the solution for a follow-up modification, performed a dry run, and explained the time and space complexities.
Interviewer's Feedback
The feedback was very good.
Round 3 [January 8, 2025]
Questions: This was a geometry question that I couldn't find a similar one on LeetCode.
Candidate's Approach
- Solved it using BFS and explained the time and space complexities.
- Proposed a DP solution, which was also suboptimal.
- With only 10 minutes remaining, the interviewer provided a hint, enabling me to devise and code the optimal solution.
Interviewer's Feedback
The feedback was mixed.
Googleyness & Leadership (G&L) Round [January 10, 2025]
Questions: The interviewer asked a few situational questions.
Candidate's Approach
No approach provided.
Interviewer's Feedback
The feedback was strong.
Team Match [January 16, 2025]
Questions: I had a team match with a Google Cloud team based in Hyderabad. The Hiring Manager described the team, their work, and their tech stack.
Candidate's Approach
No approach provided.
Interviewer's Feedback
The Hiring Manager wanted to proceed with the candidate for the position.
Final Offer Process
Questions: The recruiter called to inform me that the Hiring Committee had approved my packet, and we had a preliminary compensation discussion.
Candidate's Approach
No approach provided.
Interviewer's Feedback
The final compensation discussion led to a successful negotiation and offer letter release.