Google SWE | L4 | USA | Experience [Rejected]

Hello LeetCode Community,

I'm here to share my recent experience interviewing for an L4 role at Google. Here’s a breakdown of my interview rounds, how they went, and some reflections on the process. I initially didn't know the outcome and was expecting a downlevel or outright rejection.

Interview 1

Feedback: SH
This interview started with a simple trie problem, which was then expanded to include an additional data structure in the second part. It went really well; the interviewer even mentioned they were impressed with my approach! I was able to solve both parts optimally and felt I showcased my problem-solving skills effectively. We finished the coding portion a bit early, so I had some extra time to ask the interviewer about his experience working at Google.

Interview 2

Feedback: H / LH
This was an OOP-style interview focused on designing a class with specific methods and data structures optimized for time complexity. It was a mix between InsertDeleteGetRandomO1 and LRU Cache. I felt confident as I worked through it, although I did initially miss a minor detail in the problem statement, which led to a bit of over-optimization. Luckily, the interviewer seemed okay with it and let me continue.

Interview 3

Feedback:LNH / NH
This interview featured an array problem I hadn't encountered before. It took me a while to fully understand the requirements due to some unique twists that made it difficult to categorize. I quickly coded a brute-force solution but struggled to arrive at the optimal approach without guidance from the interviewer. I managed to code a basic version of the optimal solution just in time, though I missed a few edge cases. This felt like my weakest performance and might affect my overall outcome.

Interview 4

Feedback:H / SH
A standard behavioral interview covering questions about my experiences, teamwork, and problem-solving approach. Overall it felt like a good conversation, but I couldn't get much signal from the interviewer as they were pretty neutral the entire time. Still felt like I performed decently though.

Final Thoughts:

The experience was a rollercoaster of ups and downs, with more to come as I still didn't know my result. For those going through the process now, I’d recommend staying calm, asking clarifying questions early, and being mindful of time constraints. Even if you encounter an unfamiliar question, focus on explaining your approach and problem-solving skills to the interviewer. Don't get lost in implementing complexities that you can abstract away and implement later if you have time.

Thanks for reading, and best of luck to everyone on their own interview journeys!

UPDATE 1

I was contacted by my recruiter and told that I would need to do another coding round to get more signal. I was really hoping this wouldn't mean a downlevel. I planned to post the results of that round, as well as the overall result once I got it.

UPDATE 2

I wrapped up the extra round, and I'm still waiting on overall feedback from the recruiter. This interview definitely went better than round 3, but not well enough to warrant a Strong Hire in my opinion. The question was a backtracking problem, with quite a few moving parts. Overall, I'd give myself a H / LH.

UPDATE 3

I was downleveled. Ultimately, it was a rejection since there is no L3 headcount in my area. GG, I will try next time.