I applied online. I interviewed at Google (Seattle, WA) in Jun 2016
Interview
Process was lengthy. First applied end of March, was reached out to a month later to say a recruiter had received my materials, and would be looking into a fit. Two weeks later they followed up with a request for open times for a screen in the next three weeks. Heard nothing until end of three weeks, then was asked for more availability. This time around, the screen was scheduled quickly for the next week. After the phone screen, I was asked to pick from one of three design prompts and do a design exercise.
One plus was that they were really forthcoming about the process. From the first scheduling email for the phone screen, it outlined what and how many steps would be required to complete the loop.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
What app/tool/thing you use often would you re-design if you could?
If you were a startup CEO, what other members/roles of your team would you need around you?
Design prompt
I applied through a recruiter. The process took 7 weeks. I interviewed at Google (Menlo Park, CA) in Jun 2016
Interview
I did interview with 5 people, mostly pretty young, with not much experience.
All five interviewers asked me the same exact question and none of them asked me what I actually do today, which was pretty odd.
The interview style was pretty casual, and I did enjoy all conversations. I left thinking that it went really well, but thinking back I had no idea how they could understand my real experience since none of them bothered asking what my responsibility and current job is like.
Overall I had the impression they were looking for a pretty junior position.
When I got home I concluded that I was not impressed and that I wasn't willing to move there. The facility was ok, nothing special. The food was average cafeteria food. Most of the people I talked with didn't seem to really love working at Google. One of them said that it was just ok. When I asked about their specific job most of them did something that was less challenging and interesting than my current job. People I talked to were not all the geniuses I expected.
So, I wasn't going to accept the job, but I am kind of bummed that I didn't get offered the job either.
Overall it was an interesting learning experience. I am glad I did it and that I kind of dismantled a big myth I have been building from years. I would recommend anyone to try it and judge on their own.
I applied through an employee referral. The process took 3 months. I interviewed at Google in May 2016
Interview
I got an internal referral for a position I was well-qualified for. It took about 5-6 weeks for a recruiter to reach out via email to set up a phone screen interview. The recruiter emailed me on a weekday late in the morning and asked me to sign up for a timeslot on his calendar the SAME AFTERNOON. I was on a business trip at the time with a packed schedule, so of course I couldn't make a time slot the same afternoon. I replied back to get another time set up the next week and got a reply in the middle of that week specifying a time to talk the VERY NEXT DAY. Okay, I manage to shuffle tomorrow's schedule to fit him in. When the time actually came, THE RECRUITER NEVER CALLED. I sent another email offering to schedule another time and haven't gotten a response in weeks. World-class recruiting department, A++++++, would get my time wasted again.