My experience with Google corroborates some of this. Particularly the unpredictable callbacks and repeated contacts despite being within the 18 month period an

My experience with Google corroborates some of this. Particularly the unpredictable callbacks and repeated contacts despite being within the 18 month period and complete lack of feedback post-interview. Additionally, there was plenty of confusion about which position I was being asked to interview for. Initially, it was something completely outside my skill set, later it was a bit more refined, but not at all specific. I did encounter some questioning where the interviewer seemed to be looking for one rather specific answer, but nothing nearly as bad as "I wanted you to use a priority queue. We will just move to another question." or "Time's up. Maybe you can ask your friend there what the answer is." Amusingly, a friend of mine who interviewed there not too long ago ended up receiving and declining an offer only to be called and asked about his "start date" months later. That said, my experience was generally positive and I'd do it again given the chance as most of my difficulties came from the recruiting end.