I applied online. I interviewed at Google (Seattle, WA) in Feb 2021
Interview
I applied online and a recruiter reached out the very next day to set up the initial call. I chatted with a couple of recruiters and they set up the virtual onsite interview based on my availability. They did share a lot of information about what to expect and it was perfectly accurate. The onsite consisted of 5 back-back interviews, 3 coding + 1 system design + Googleyness. I managed to solve all the questions in the coding rounds, but came up with an optimal answer at the very end for one of the interviews and didn't have time to code it. The system design was the most fun and it was more of two engineers discussing a design much like day to day work. Googleyness was the regular behavioral questions. All the interviewers were extremely nice and every one of them asked me if I needed a break before we began the interview.
Recruiter contacted me within a week to tell me that my packet was going to the Hiring Committee. However got rejected at the HC stage, very likely to the one coding question I did not nail.
Despite an unfavorable outcome, I still loved the experience and will definitely apply again in the future.
As far as preparation goes, I'd recommend focusing on the basics and really understanding the standard data structures and algorithms. The questions asked were not difficult as such and it was more of a twist on the leetcode style questions presented as a real scenario rather than the vanilla coding questions. It was pretty collaborative and they do give you hints if you start straying in the wrong direction.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
Signed an NDA so will not reveal any question. They weren't difficult as long as you know your basics and can identify corner cases.
After clearing all the interviews in 2 months, here comes the team match. Where no one ever knows when they gonna get a team match call. Even if you get the TM call next comes the HC again no one knows why they reject.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
Coding questions from Leetcode google tagged but deep dived into it based on the level.
The interview lasted about a day, with 5 different interviewers. For each section, the technical questions took most of the part. They also showed me their office in Toronto, which was nice
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
What was the most difficult problem you solved during your last job?
it was difficult. lengthy dsa questions. design was ok. needs nice preperation. googlyness also needs preperation. it was difficult. lengthy dsa questions. design was ok. needs nice preperation. googlyness also needs preperation.