The process took 2 weeks. I interviewed at Google (New York, NY) in Feb 2009
Interview
I was initially contacted by a Google recruiter through LinkedIn Inmail. I stated my preference to work in NYC on Google’s infrastructure software and a one-hour technical screening phone interview was scheduled. The phone interview covered Computer Science basics such as trees, hash tables, coding constructs, differences between Java and C++, and Design Patterns. At the end I was given a coding assignment to complete within 24 hours “to show my best work” and submit to Google.
The NYC on-site interview was scheduled 2 weeks later where I was interviewed by 5 different Engineers for 45-minutes each. Some asked me to design solutions to problems and code them (on a white board) in my preferred programming language. Others were open-ended problems where (I believe) I was expected to ask smart questions to define the problem and its solution.
Interview questions [3]
Question 1
Create a fast cached storage mechanism that, given a limitation on the amount of cache memory, will ensure that only the least recently used items are discarded when the cache memory is reached when inserting a new item. It supports 2 functions: String get(T t) and void put(String k, T t).
Create a cost model that allows Google to make purchasing decisions on to compare the cost of purchasing more RAM memory for their servers vs. buying more disk space.
Design an algorithm to play a game of Frogger and then code the solution. The object of the game is to direct a frog to avoid cars while crossing a busy road. You may represent a road lane via an array. Generalize the solution for an N-lane road.
I applied through a recruiter. The process took 2 days. I interviewed at Google in Dec 2008
Interview
Initial interview with in-house recruiter, followed up by a technical phone interview. We reviewed my resume and work experience, as well as, technical questions and programming questions. Second in-house recruiter interview, followed-up by on site interview. A full day interview with several technical staff members. None of the interviewers looked at my resume nor asked me any questions regarding my past work experience including time management, project timelines, group interactions, risk assessment, etc. I have years of experience in delivering high-volume products to the consumer market including patents. They simply asked me data structures questions and posed coding problems. They are looking for one type of engineer (CS) regardless of employment experience.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
A question on graphs and their use for optimally sorting fictitious coins from another country.
I applied through a recruiter. The process took 1 day. I interviewed at Google (Zürich) in Sep 2008
Interview
Die Vorstellungsgespräche waren ziemlich informativ und entspannt. Das Unternehmen kannte meine Arbeit bereits, also war der Prozess eher kurz - nur ein paar Befrager. Ich wurde gebeten, ein Problem auf dem Whiteboard zu lösen, meine Lösung wurde diskutiert und dann diskutierten wir darüber, wie sie verbessert werden könnte. Dann wurde ein anderes (und sehr viel komplexeres) Problem präsentiert und ich wurde gefragt, wie ich mich ihm nähern würde - keine tatsächliche Codierung, nur Diskussion.
Sie sagen "Alles auf Ihrem Lebenslauf ist Freiwild" und meinen es so - seien Sie vorbereitet und haben sie keine zu hohen Ansprüche.
Der Personalvermittler war auch sehr hilfreich über den gesamten Prozess hinweg und sehr offen, meine Fragen zu beantworten und mich wissen zu lassen, was vor sich geht.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
Sie haben eine Datenbank mit Angestellten und ihren Hierarchien. Konstruieren Sie eine SQL-Anweisung, um jeden Angestellten mit seinem Supervisor zu verbinden.