6 ms·

Ask HN: I have an interview with Google in a week. What should I prepare?

I have an interview scheduled with Google in a week's time. It's for a Developer position. I have 7 years of experience mostly with Java, Scala and Ruby. I am shitting bricks as I am a Google fanboy and this opportunity is my Atlantis. How should I prepare in a week and go about it? Feel free to ask any questions you may have. Throw Away account because I am not taking any chances.

askafriend 9y ago
Sorry to say that if you haven't been prepping with various Algorithms, Data Structures, and Systems Design questions every single day for weeks, maybe months ahead of time - you're probably screwed unless you get lucky. You're doing the equivalent of going in cold for the SAT if you're just now asking for this advice...
- tempThrowAwayG 9y ago
  Ok. That hurt but thanks for the honest response. Would it make sense to post pone the interview?
  - askafriend 9y ago
    If you can postpone the interview, that would help for sure. Maybe kick it out another week or two (not sure if the recruiter will let you). In the meantime, fire up Leetcode and do as many Medium difficulty questions as you can until your eyes bleed. And I mean really learn them - don't just do them through rote memorization - cramming won't work. You have to learn to recognize the different problem solving techniques/patterns quickly and apply them through code. When your eyes start bleeding, take a break from Leetcoding and think about your previous work and try to crystallize a narrative around career. You're going to be asked about your previous work, challenges you've faced, approaches you've taken to common problems, etc etc. Be able to answer those really well. If you have something on your resume, be able to explain it really well. I don't have any specific advice around this since each person's career is unique. When your eyes have stopped bleeding - promptly get back to Leetcode. When you're one or two days away from the interview - and this is really really important - make sure you don't do any practice or review of any kind. Eat well, exercise, get an amazing night of sleep, and gather a sense of perspective about why you're doing any of this at all. On the day of the interview, wake up early, be prepared, and be cool as a cucumber regardless of what happens. You've done all you could - you're in God's hands now. If you get rejected, don't sweat it. Many current Googlers have endured 2-4 rejections from Google before making it in. It's not that uncommon. You just go back to the drawing board, figure out where you could have prepped better, and move forward in your career whether you end up at Google or not - because that is what winners do. Oh and this post is only kind of tongue in cheek. I really am mostly serious about this advice if you're serious about passing the bar at a company like Google or any of the top, high paying tech companies.
    - Spoom 9y ago
      FYI they will no longer consider you after three rejections now.
- tempThrowAwayG 9y ago
  Also, let's say I had a month to prepare. What all material should I be going through?
  - matthewvincent 9y ago
    Make a leetcode account and do nothing else until your interview.
- slackingoff2017 9y ago
  Pretty sad what you have to do to have a chance at getting a job these days. Is there any proof that this gets better employees? I haven't seen a shred of real scientific evidence. Is it anything more than corporate hazing? You have to think that for each person hired probably 100 others spent months of their life preparing for the interview. What a massive waste of human effort.
  - askafriend 9y ago
    This isn't just any job. This is a $250-450k per year job for an engineer working on multi-billion-user scale systems/products at one of the most successful companies in the world. Everybody and their mother wants to work at companies like Google, Facebook, Netflix, or similar. So while the preparation and interview processes can be brutal, they filter out all the people who aren't 100% serious or committed. There are many talented people that get rejected from Google routinely and that's fine - Google can't employ them all. They will be fine. I don't see people gawking at MIT's admission standards. MIT turns down ridiculously talented and accomplished students all the time. That being said, with enough grit, preparation, and patience, getting a job at Google isn't that crazy assuming you're good at what you do and you're willing to put in the time. It's probably far far more of a crapshoot to get into MIT. Again, I'm not saying I agree with the way things are but I'm trying to help put them in context for you. Not every job pays $250-450k and not every job is Google.
    - ajeet_dhaliwal 9y ago
      Every Google engineer makes a minimum of $250k? Glassdoor doesn’t suggest this. Do you know this to be true?
      - askafriend 9y ago
        Yes, if you're in the Bay Area and work for Google as a mid level engineer your total compensation is at least $250k a year. Closer to 200k a year for new grads fresh out of School who have 0 experience. Look at my other reply. This is incredibly common at the top companies in the Bay Area or any other major city (Seattle, NYC, etc).
- Spoom 9y ago
  Interviewed at Google, this is spot on. You need to know arrays, trees, graphs, stacks, queues, at least two sorts (I suggest mergesort and quicksort), dynamic programming, greedy optimization, and big O cold at an absolute minimum. I'm sure I'm missing some stuff. They tell you all this in the "secret" onsite prep website.
c0110 9y ago
Did the recruiter give you a list of materials to review? You need to practice whiteboard coding in a timed setting as well. Leetcode is a good place to practice online, but a whiteboard is even better. If you need interview practice, you can also try mock interviews (they tend to cost money). Good luck!
- tempThrowAwayG 9y ago
  Thanks c0110. The recruiter asked to review basics of Algos, DS, Space and Time complexity and System design concepts.
  - c0110 9y ago
    The Quora link another poster submitted is a good starting place. * Steve Yegge's advice (often cited when people ask how to prepare for Google interviews): https://steve-yegge.blogspot.com/2008/03/get-that-job-at-google.html https://steve-yegge.blogspot.com/2008/03/get-that-job-at-goo... * Buy "Cracking the Coding Interview" and go through as many problems in it. It also gives a good rundown of Algos, DS, Space & Time complexity. * If you've never done a Google (or other big company) interview before, you could also consider looking on YouTube to see some example interviews (e.g. how people approach a problem, how they talk it out with the interviewer, etc.) If you don't end up nailing the interview, it's really ok. You can try again in a year. :) There are people who've done 2 or 3 tries at interviews before they get in.
    - tempThrowAwayG 9y ago
      Great thanks. Bought Cracking the Coding interview already. Read the blog as well. Now watching YouTube videos. Is the cool off period 1 year at Google? Seems long.
      - krapans 9y ago
        Most of the time for big companies it's 1 year.
fahimulhaq 9y ago
You would probably need more than a week if you need to revise Data Structures & Algorithms, practice problems on the whiteboard and learn about system design basics. This Quora answer has a lot of resources. https://www.quora.com/What-is-the-best-way-to-learn-algorithms-I-want-to-prepare-for-a-Google-interview-and-I-am-willing-to-spend-all-of-my-free-time-learning https://www.quora.com/What-is-the-best-way-to-learn-algorith...
DmitryOlshansky 9y ago
Just relax and sleep well. Always worked better for me compared to times when I spent the last days furiously trying to learn all the stuff. There are very few things you can learn thorougly at the last moment and it’s not worth it usually.
bjourne 9y ago
Is it a phone or on-site interview? If it is a phone interview, then keep in mind that they call up thousands of people every year and only a small percent of all candidates pass through. One thing I know from experience is that overconfidence is a big no no. For example, if you claim that you are an amazing Python developers, then they will probe you with questions not even Guido van Rossum could answer. It's better to only claim that you are fairly good because then they will ask you easier questions.

askafriend 9y ago

Sorry to say that if you haven't been prepping with various Algorithms, Data Structures, and Systems Design questions every single day for weeks, maybe months ahead of time - you're probably screwed unless you get lucky. You're doing the equivalent of going in cold for the SAT if you're just now asking for this advice...

tempThrowAwayG 9y ago
Ok. That hurt but thanks for the honest response. Would it make sense to post pone the interview?
- askafriend 9y ago
  If you can postpone the interview, that would help for sure. Maybe kick it out another week or two (not sure if the recruiter will let you). In the meantime, fire up Leetcode and do as many Medium difficulty questions as you can until your eyes bleed. And I mean really learn them - don't just do them through rote memorization - cramming won't work. You have to learn to recognize the different problem solving techniques/patterns quickly and apply them through code. When your eyes start bleeding, take a break from Leetcoding and think about your previous work and try to crystallize a narrative around career. You're going to be asked about your previous work, challenges you've faced, approaches you've taken to common problems, etc etc. Be able to answer those really well. If you have something on your resume, be able to explain it really well. I don't have any specific advice around this since each person's career is unique. When your eyes have stopped bleeding - promptly get back to Leetcode. When you're one or two days away from the interview - and this is really really important - make sure you don't do any practice or review of any kind. Eat well, exercise, get an amazing night of sleep, and gather a sense of perspective about why you're doing any of this at all. On the day of the interview, wake up early, be prepared, and be cool as a cucumber regardless of what happens. You've done all you could - you're in God's hands now. If you get rejected, don't sweat it. Many current Googlers have endured 2-4 rejections from Google before making it in. It's not that uncommon. You just go back to the drawing board, figure out where you could have prepped better, and move forward in your career whether you end up at Google or not - because that is what winners do. Oh and this post is only kind of tongue in cheek. I really am mostly serious about this advice if you're serious about passing the bar at a company like Google or any of the top, high paying tech companies.
  - Spoom 9y ago
    FYI they will no longer consider you after three rejections now.
tempThrowAwayG 9y ago
Also, let's say I had a month to prepare. What all material should I be going through?
- matthewvincent 9y ago
  Make a leetcode account and do nothing else until your interview.
slackingoff2017 9y ago
Pretty sad what you have to do to have a chance at getting a job these days. Is there any proof that this gets better employees? I haven't seen a shred of real scientific evidence. Is it anything more than corporate hazing? You have to think that for each person hired probably 100 others spent months of their life preparing for the interview. What a massive waste of human effort.
- askafriend 9y ago
  This isn't just any job. This is a $250-450k per year job for an engineer working on multi-billion-user scale systems/products at one of the most successful companies in the world. Everybody and their mother wants to work at companies like Google, Facebook, Netflix, or similar. So while the preparation and interview processes can be brutal, they filter out all the people who aren't 100% serious or committed. There are many talented people that get rejected from Google routinely and that's fine - Google can't employ them all. They will be fine. I don't see people gawking at MIT's admission standards. MIT turns down ridiculously talented and accomplished students all the time. That being said, with enough grit, preparation, and patience, getting a job at Google isn't that crazy assuming you're good at what you do and you're willing to put in the time. It's probably far far more of a crapshoot to get into MIT. Again, I'm not saying I agree with the way things are but I'm trying to help put them in context for you. Not every job pays $250-450k and not every job is Google.
  - ajeet_dhaliwal 9y ago
    Every Google engineer makes a minimum of $250k? Glassdoor doesn’t suggest this. Do you know this to be true?
    - askafriend 9y ago
      Yes, if you're in the Bay Area and work for Google as a mid level engineer your total compensation is at least $250k a year. Closer to 200k a year for new grads fresh out of School who have 0 experience. Look at my other reply. This is incredibly common at the top companies in the Bay Area or any other major city (Seattle, NYC, etc).
Spoom 9y ago
Interviewed at Google, this is spot on. You need to know arrays, trees, graphs, stacks, queues, at least two sorts (I suggest mergesort and quicksort), dynamic programming, greedy optimization, and big O cold at an absolute minimum. I'm sure I'm missing some stuff. They tell you all this in the "secret" onsite prep website.

c0110 9y ago

Did the recruiter give you a list of materials to review? You need to practice whiteboard coding in a timed setting as well. Leetcode is a good place to practice online, but a whiteboard is even better. If you need interview practice, you can also try mock interviews (they tend to cost money). Good luck!

tempThrowAwayG 9y ago
Thanks c0110. The recruiter asked to review basics of Algos, DS, Space and Time complexity and System design concepts.
- c0110 9y ago
  The Quora link another poster submitted is a good starting place. * Steve Yegge's advice (often cited when people ask how to prepare for Google interviews): https://steve-yegge.blogspot.com/2008/03/get-that-job-at-google.html https://steve-yegge.blogspot.com/2008/03/get-that-job-at-goo... * Buy "Cracking the Coding Interview" and go through as many problems in it. It also gives a good rundown of Algos, DS, Space & Time complexity. * If you've never done a Google (or other big company) interview before, you could also consider looking on YouTube to see some example interviews (e.g. how people approach a problem, how they talk it out with the interviewer, etc.) If you don't end up nailing the interview, it's really ok. You can try again in a year. :) There are people who've done 2 or 3 tries at interviews before they get in.
  - tempThrowAwayG 9y ago
    Great thanks. Bought Cracking the Coding interview already. Read the blog as well. Now watching YouTube videos. Is the cool off period 1 year at Google? Seems long.
    - krapans 9y ago
      Most of the time for big companies it's 1 year.

fahimulhaq 9y ago

You would probably need more than a week if you need to revise Data Structures & Algorithms, practice problems on the whiteboard and learn about system design basics. This Quora answer has a lot of resources. https://www.quora.com/What-is-the-best-way-to-learn-algorithms-I-want-to-prepare-for-a-Google-interview-and-I-am-willing-to-spend-all-of-my-free-time-learning https://www.quora.com/What-is-the-best-way-to-learn-algorith...

DmitryOlshansky 9y ago

Just relax and sleep well. Always worked better for me compared to times when I spent the last days furiously trying to learn all the stuff. There are very few things you can learn thorougly at the last moment and it’s not worth it usually.

bjourne 9y ago

Is it a phone or on-site interview? If it is a phone interview, then keep in mind that they call up thousands of people every year and only a small percent of all candidates pass through. One thing I know from experience is that overconfidence is a big no no. For example, if you claim that you are an amazing Python developers, then they will probe you with questions not even Guido van Rossum could answer. It's better to only claim that you are fairly good because then they will ask you easier questions.