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Summary
I interviewed with Google for a Software Engineer, University Graduate role for the 2025 cohort and unfortunately received a rejection after multiple challenging technical and Googliness rounds. Despite the outcome, the entire experience was incredibly valuable, teaching me resilience and enhancing my problem-solving skills.
Full Experience
My journey interviewing with Google for the Software Engineer, University Graduate position for 2025 has been quite an experience. As a final year B.Tech CSE student, I approached this off-campus opportunity with a mix of excitement and apprehension.
The interview process kicked off with Round 1: DSA on November 11, 2024. This 1-hour round included two problems. The first question challenged me to find a node in a graph that could serve as the root of a tree, which really tested my understanding of graph traversal. The second problem asked me to determine if the levels of a tree were alternately colored, demanding clear logic and a solid grasp of tree properties.
Round 2: DSA followed on November 25, 2024, another 1-hour session. Here, I was presented with a problem where, given match outcomes between 'n' players, I had to determine if a precise ranking of all players was possible. This was a classic graph theory problem focusing on dependencies and ordering.
Round 3: DSA + Googliness took place on December 16, 2024. This round was 45 minutes for DSA and 15 minutes for Googliness. The DSA question involved allocating rooms to interns in an apartment based on their preferences to maximize the number of satisfied interns, a combinatorial optimization challenge.
Finally, Round 4: DSA + Googliness was on January 13, 2025, with the same 45/15 minute split. The technical question here was intriguing: given a rectangular PCB board with 'n' components, I needed to find the maximum number of components that could be touched by a single straight line, either horizontal or vertical. This required analytical and geometric reasoning.
After waiting for about a week post the final round, I received the news: I was rejected. While the outcome wasn't what I had hoped for, this entire experience has been incredibly valuable. It taught me a lot about resilience, problem-solving under pressure, and the absolute importance of thorough preparation. It has only fueled my determination to work harder and come back stronger in my next endeavors. I truly believe that every setback is a stepping stone to success.
Interview Questions (5)
Find the node in a graph that could act as the root of a tree. This problem tested my understanding of graph traversal techniques.
Determine if the levels of a tree were alternately colored. This required logic and a clear grasp of tree properties.
Given match outcomes between n players, determine if it’s possible to rank all players precisely. This graph theory problem revolved around dependencies and ordering.
Allocate rooms to interns in an apartment based on their preferences to maximize the number of satisfied interns. This required solving a combinatorial optimization problem.
Given a rectangular PCB board with n components, find the maximum number of components that can be touched by a single straight line (horizontal or vertical). This required analytical and geometric reasoning.