Interview Tips

What is the Google Interview?

The Google Interview refers to a system of technical interviewing. The tech legend employs the method to test whether the candidate has specialised skills to develop software expertly. In other words, it serves as a yardstick for the company to assess your technical expertise.

To make a solid impression during the interview, make a strategy to deal with the most critical elements that you will face.

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What is the Google Interview?

The question may arise in your mind, what precisely does Google Interview mean? What can I Expect When I enter the office? It is not like traditional job interviews. If you have appeared in coding-related interviews before, this interview might not be new for you.

The Google Interview mainly comprises three types of questions:

Questions Related to Coding

You will have to solve a coding test that will base on the topics of algorithms and data structures.
You will have to prove that you can provide a solution to the problem efficiently within the deadline.

Questions Related to System Design

You will have to solve the complex problem that would require you to design a high-level system. For instance, the interviewing manager might ask you to design Gmail.
Interviewers will evaluate your abilities to find out whether you know about the major components of a system. Can you develop a solution with scalability?

General Questions

Interviewers will give you a mathematical design, or analysis-related questions to evaluate your approach and how you would behave as a worker.
You will need to provide a variety of solutions and must be able to explain your responses by giving the details of the advantages and disadvantages. It would help if you conveyed that you are capable of working for the company.

Most of Google interview comprises coding, and that is why candidates need to focus on this aspect.

What is the Difference Between Google Interview and Other Interviews?

Google shares its hiring policies. The company has designed a complete page for the information of candidates. The first part of the hiring process is the phone interview, and if you succeed, the company calls you for a series of interviews.

Phone screening and on-site interviews include questions that are also part of other interviews. However, the overall process is different from Google.

Google Phone-Interview

One of the Google employees asks you question on the phone about coding. You will use the document that the interviewer shares with you to write the code. If you have practised well before the interview, you will be able to write the code effectively.

Google On-site Interview

The Google On-site stage means you would speak to various Google professionals. Typically, this stage has 4-6 separate interviews. Predominantly, the interviewers will ask you questions about coding that may include a couple of system design questions.

The interviewers will ask you questions by keeping in view your experience. If you have more experience, you may expect topic-related and system-design specific questions. The company barely asks system design questions if your experience is less than five years.

Grading System

The interviewers will grade using the scale of 1 to 4 in a variety of sections. They will also count your overall coding experience and analytical skills. After completing the grading process, the interviewers will forward the compiled feedback to the hiring committee so that they could determine whether to hire or drop the candidate.

If the company does not hire you in your first attempt, do not get disappointed as you have the option to apply again after six months or a year. Once you have appeared for the interview, you would know the pattern and the overall techniques used in the interview. Therefore, you can better prepare for the next time.

Preparation and the Time Limit

The duration of a phone interview is half an hour to forty-five minutes. One-to-one interviews will be almost for forty-five (45) minutes to 1 hour each. You will need to answer the questions based on the scenario. The scenarios will have a coding-related question.

If you want to practice the questions in a limited time effectively, the best option is to choose one particular question. For example, you can select a problem from the book, and then you can set a timer and try to solve it within half an hour to forty-five (45) minutes. You can keep practising in this way for different categories.

Solving the problem in the limited time consistently would enable you to complete the interview questions well on-time. Remember, time is the key in Google Interview. To be successful in the interview, you will have to invest your time and energy.

You can expect intense competition because Google is a big name, and everyone would like to build their career with this company.

Final Word

The Google Interview is a complete system of evaluating job-seeking candidates through a series of technical questions in a range of interviews. You will have to answer questions related to coding. Also, system design questions will also be part of the discussions. You need to prepare well for the interview. If you don’t succeed, you can reapply after six months or one year.

Amit Kumar

FreeEducator.com blog is managed by Amit Kumar. He and his team come from the Oxford, Stanford and Harvard. At FreeEducator, we strive to create the best admission platform so that international students can go to the best universities - regardless of financial circumstances. By applying with us, international students get unlimited support and unbiased advice to secure the best college offers overseas.