I applied online. The process took 6 weeks. I interviewed at Google
Interview
Recruiter screening, Phone Interview, Design Exercise that goes to a design committee, in-person interview. I spent 70 hours on the design exercise and they just said "no". If you are going to make people spend any amount of hours in an exercise you should at least have the decency to provide some feedback. Screw this new trend for design interviews, is even worse than the infamous "brain-teasers" from a couple of years ago.
Recruiter approach, one phone screen, design exercises, exercise review, onsite interviews with five designers, one graphic designer, two UX researcher, two UX designers, and last, team match with different managers
I applied through an employee referral. The process took 2 months. I interviewed at Google (Mountain View, CA) in Jan 2017
Interview
Very transparent interview process, sharp and reliable recruiters. It was a really comprehensive interview process (recruiter, phone call with designer, design challenge, onsite) so I felt truly understood as a designer and given every opportunity to explain who I was and how I approach/ understand my discipline. "Googley" culture is no joke. There is not one person I met who held an air of ego/superiority - it was all just curiosity and kindness. Most of the onsite interviews were super casual, with questions that really challenged me to be inquisitive. Also, while onsite, I got paired with a lunch buddy who had a similar background to mine, and we hit it off quite well.
I would suggest just coming to the interview being completely transparent and being yourself. Be self-aware. Joke about things. Don't be an jerk!
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
How have you thought about designing for accessibility?