Google is a giant in the technology world, significantly impacting the everyday lives of over 4.3 billion internet users across the globe. As of July 2023, in the global desktop search market Google had a share of around 83.49%. It also regularly makes the list of “most valuable brands in the world†and “the best companies to work for,†mainly due to its excellent work culture and environment. Every software engineer who wishes to scale the heights of their career dreams of landing a job at Google.
Expert’s Quote
“You might not think that programmers are artists, but programming is an extremely creative profession. It’s logic-based creativity.â€
– John Romero
American designer and software developer
However, getting into Google isn’t easy. Known to hire only the world’s top talent, Google accepts less than 1% of applicants for software engineering positions. Getting hired by Google takes a great deal of effort, typically involving several hours of practice and preparation, powered by the right strategy.
This article will cover:
Google’s interview process comprises three main rounds of interviews:
It may be wise to remember that no tech giant has the exact same interview process. So, you should make sure to reach out to your interviewer beforehand to understand Google’s coding interview structure better.
You’re given an offer based on your performance as assessed in each individual round of the interview process.
Learn about the Google interview process in detail here.
Following is a list of things Google expects from you throughout the coding interview process. You’ll notice that these factors are very basic and human, yet manage to set a high standard:
Remember: You’re not expected to write perfect code on your first attempt. Even your interviewer is unlikely to have written perfect code at first shot in every interview.
To ace Google’s coding interview rounds, your knowledge of algorithms and data structures needs to be above par. Pace your prep judiciously, giving yourself enough time to solve as many problems as possible around core DS and algorithms. Here’s what you should essentially be covering over the course of your prep:
As an aspiring Googler, here are some common Google coding interview questions you can expect:
You know the expectations, the topics to prepare, and a bunch of coding question examples. But how exactly should you prepare for and nail the Google coding interview?
You have to create and stick to your practice schedule. Diligently. It’s surprisingly difficult to stick to simple habits, but that’s often the difference between success and failure. For example., 2-4 hours a day to solve one or two problems is a great habit — necessary and often sufficient. But it’s imperative that you actually do so several days a week for a number of weeks, rain or shine, in order to get cumulative benefits.
Just skimming problems and loading the solutions in your head is unlikely to be enough. Writing code is important in order to make the solutions real. When you write code, you will also discover and learn a lot of nuances of the programming language you’re using, which will come handy in actual interviews and elsewhere.
Repetition deepens your understanding of problems and their solutions. Often, patterns emerge only after repeating a number of problems. Obviously, repetition also improves recall and gives confidence.
Interviews are not standardized tests. You can’t prepare for them in a vacuum for several months and then suddenly hope to get better at the end of it all. After every few problems/days of practice, you have to do mock interviews.
Mock interviews are best done with engineers at top companies, but they can also be done with your friends and fellow seekers. Mocks will help your recall circuitry, and give you feedback about where you stand. That will in turn, either increase your confidence, or let you tweak your practice early, if required.
The thumb rule is to reach about 150 medium to challenging problems as your first milestone. By that time, assuming you’ve written code for those many problems and repeated them, you should feel pretty confident. But overall, let mock interviews guide your prep.
Participating in Google’s coding challenges helps you get noticed by recruiters. It isn’t that Google is going to hire you if you end up among the finalists or the top 3% in the competition. You could, however, land a coding interview with Google for a developer/engineer position.Even if you don’t have any projects listed in your CV, no open-source contributions, and average grades in college, getting to the final round in Code Jam or Hash Code can get you an interview call.
Here are some tips that will help you prepare for Google’s coding challenges:
To help you understand what exactly goes down during a coding interview, we’ve broken it down into different phases. Read on to know what you should do during each of these phases:
The introduction phase of the interview lasts three to five minutes. In this phase, the interviewers want to know more about you, your experience, background, projects you have worked on, etc. We recommend presenting yourself in the best possible light and leave a lasting impression on the interviewer.
However, do not forget to be true to yourself. Talk about your projects, interests, and how you were able to accomplish something significant.
To ace a coding question, you must understand the problem. The problem statement presented by the interviewer will be concise. It won’t have many details about the corner cases, constraints, and more. If there are ambiguities, you must build clarity so that you can effectively solve a given problem.
For example, you may ask questions such as:
Determine an optimal solution after understanding the problem. This is where all your hardwork and weeks of practicing coding questions will come in handy. Think of which data structure or algorithm can you apply to develop the best solution.
The key is to be comfortable with the language you’re coding in. Sometimes, interviewers at Google will ask you to write your solution on a whiteboard. This means memorizing the syntax of the language you’re using.
Make sure that your code is concise and clean, making it easy for the interviewer to review. You’ll likely be asked to explain your solution to the interviewer or fix a bug.
After finishing the problem, it’s your turn to ask the interviewer if you have any questions. This is an excellent opportunity for you to learn more about the company and the job itself. Here are some questions that you can ask:
Yes. However, you need to articulate why you are switching the language. Say, for example, you cannot solve a problem in C++ and choose to use Java instead. Explain why the first choice was not effective and why you thought Java was a better solution.
It is recommended to send a follow-up email thanking the interviewers for their time (generally to be sent within 48 hours of the interview).
Cracking the Google coding interview is not easy. The best way to practice is from others and be actively engaged in the explanations to answers. Read articles and forums about coding interviews. Also, we recommend learning from technical experts that are known to help candidates ace technical interviews at FAANG.
Preparing for Google coding interviews is a coordinated and calibrated process. You can’t expect to crack these interviews by just being smart. You’ll have to be prepared for the grind and trust the process without getting too caught up or absorbed in the outcome. Putting in the hard work is important. But what’s equally important is executing the right strategy.
The Interview Kickstart method is a proven way of helping engineers get really intimate with the basic core fundamentals of their profession — the same core fundamentals that are used to evaluate their technical chops in tough interviews.
We are the only platform with a breadth of instructors from FAANG companies who can guide you on what it takes to make the “cut.†We pioneered the concept of a structured interview prep program and are the most experienced platform.
We have already worked with over 5200 candidates, the bulk of whom are experienced working engineers. During that period, we have generated over 4000 offers. The total quantum of the offers we have generated is in the hundreds of millions of dollars.
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The 11 Neural “Power Patterns” For Solving Any FAANG Interview Problem 12.5X Faster Than 99.8% OF Applicants
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The 11 Neural “Power Patterns” For Solving Any FAANG Interview Problem 12.5X Faster Than 99.8% OF Applicants
The 2 “Magic Questions” That Reveal Whether You’re Good Enough To Receive A Lucrative Big Tech Offer
The “Instant Income Multiplier” That 2-3X’s Your Current Tech Salary
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