Google SWE 2025 NEW GRAD
Summary
I experienced three rounds of interviews for a Software Engineer New Grad position at Google, covering technical skills and Googleyness. I felt some rounds went better than others, and I am currently awaiting the final results.
Full Experience
Round 1 (Tech + Googleyness)
The first round began with introductions, though the interviewer joined a bit late. For the coding segment, I was given a problem involving a large array of coordinates, essentially a matrix, where I needed to find the maximum area among all possible rectangles. I initially approached it with a brute-force solution, which I coded. As I was contemplating further, the interviewer offered some hints, guiding me towards an optimal solution which I then discussed and implemented. Following the technical part, we moved to Googleyness. I was asked about a scenario where a teammate takes all the credit for a team project despite everyone contributing. I shared my perspective, and a follow-up question explored what I would do if the same situation occurred again. I felt the interviewer wasn't entirely satisfied, and honestly, she wasn't the friendliest. This round left me feeling somewhat disheartened.
Round 2 (Tech only)
For this round, I truly gave my best. The coding question initially seemed confusing, so I took the initiative to ask several clarifying questions. We discussed the problem in detail, step by step. The interviewer first asked me to outline my approach as sentences, then we delved into the time complexities of each step before I proceeded to code. I found this interviewer to be very friendly and supportive. He kindly answered my questions at the end and even apologized for extending the interview time. My immediate assessment was that I performed very well in this round, likely a hire.
Interim and Round 3 Scheduling
A week later, I received a call from my recruiter who provided feedback on my previous rounds. He informed me that they would like to schedule a third round and emphasized the importance of performing well to advance my candidacy to leadership. This news made me a bit tense, as I knew I couldn't afford to make any mistakes in the upcoming round.
Round 3 (Tech + Googleyness)
This final round was rescheduled over four times due to a festival period before finally being set with a US-based panel. Initially, I was a bit worried about interviewing with someone from the US, but I quickly gathered my confidence. The interviewer started with a warm-up question asking for the depth of a binary tree. The main technical question involved trains, tickets, and the mechanics of people onboarding and offboarding, which I recognized as a variation of a range queries problem. For the Googleyness portion, the interviewer initially asked the same question as in my first round. Upon realizing this, he switched to other behavioral questions, such as how I would integrate myself or someone else into a team that is difficult to get along with, and what I would do if multiple people approached me for help or advice simultaneously, along with a follow-up. This interviewer was very calm and friendly. He seemed quite satisfied with my ability to progress from a brute-force approach to an optimized solution. My verdict for this round was a strong hire.
Outcome
The feedback and the additional preparation time I received after the second round were incredibly helpful for both the technical and behavioral aspects of the interviews. I am now eagerly awaiting the final mail and hoping for a positive outcome!
Interview Questions (5)
Given a large array of coordinates (i.e., a matrix), find the maximum area among all possible rectangles. I started with a brute-force approach, then discussed the optimal solution.
What would I do if a teammate takes all the credit for a team project during a presentation when everyone contributed? The interviewer asked a follow-up question: What would I do if he does the same again next time?
Find the depth of a binary tree.
How do I try to put myself or someone else into a team which is hard to get along with?
What will I do if multiple people approach me for help or advice at the same time? A follow-up question was also asked for this scenario.
Preparation Tips
The specific feedback I received after my second interview, coupled with the extra time I had before the third round, was instrumental. This allowed me to focus my preparation effectively, addressing both technical problem-solving skills and refining my responses for behavioral questions, especially those related to Googleyness.