Notes for Technical Interviews at Google

I attended a technical interview “lunch & learn” with Google engineers and gained a lot of insight into the technical interview process, which I wanted to share.

Google’s Criteria for Interview

• Data structures and algorithm knowledge
• Advanced software development experience
• Communication within team and learning ability

These three criteria are each evaluated and you will generally need to pass all three evaluations to advance

Structure of Google Interview Process

1. Technical Phone Interview
2. Onsite Interview
3. Team Matching + Committee Review
4. Offer

Onsite Interviews have generally been replaced with virtual ones in the time of COVID-19.

Technical Interview Structure

5 minute short introduction

35 minute technical assessment

5 minute closing questions

This structure is dependent on interviewer. One Google interviewer noted that he liked to start with the technical assessment to maximize the time for the interviewee.

What Technical Interview Assesses

• Data Structures & Algorithm Knowledge
• Code Understanding
• Problem Solving and Analytic Skills
• Communication

There are no more trick/puzzle/brain teaser questions like in the past because those generally do not reflect engineering ability