> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://book.aonecode.com/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://book.aonecode.com/faang/google-software-engineer-interview-guide.md).

# Google Software Engineer Interview Guide

### Interview Process

**𝗥𝗲𝗰𝗿𝘂𝗶𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗣𝗿𝗲-𝘀𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗲𝗻** (20-30 mins) – Non-technical. Chat about your resume and background. Get ready to answer questions like Why Google? What's your biggest achievement? Why are you leaving your current job?<br>

**𝗧𝗲𝗰𝗵𝗻𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗣𝗵𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗦𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗲𝗻𝘀** (40-60 mins) – One or two phone screens with the hiring manager or a Google employee. You'll solve a coding question related to data structures and algorithms on a shared Google Doc. Some questions on your background.<br>

**𝗢𝗻𝘀𝗶𝘁𝗲 𝗟𝗼𝗼𝗽** (4-5 interviews) – coding and system design questions. Expect questions related to slightly harder data structure, algorithms, and system design.

<figure><img src="https://files.gitbook.com/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FkG5BmeTljwaNO1WnSJpQ%2Fuploads%2FYLVIFtWT1Ab8JtQINC3K%2Fg-careers.png?alt=media&#x26;token=c8720192-c2cf-4774-a9d7-682c35e6eb19" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure>

#### Google evaluates candidates on 4 criteria:

𝟭) 𝗚𝗼𝗼𝗴𝗹𝗲𝘆𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀

Googleyness means putting the user first, being friendly, approachable, humble, doing something nice for others, being proactive, and keeping your eye on the goal. You'll be judged for being a team player and having a bias for action.<br>

𝟮) 𝗚𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗹 𝗖𝗼𝗴𝗻𝗶𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗔𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆

Your ability to solve problems and explain your thought process. Expect open-ended questions like how would you optimize this further? The interviewer wants to know how you learn and adapt to a situation.

𝟯) 𝗟𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽

Your ability to take on tough problems and step back when it's not needed. They'll gauge if you can mobilize a team to solve a difficult problem. Get ready to answer questions like, how have you demonstrated leadership when you weren't the manager? how have you dealt with trade-offs and ambiguity?<br>

𝟰) 𝗥𝗼𝗹𝗲-𝗿𝗲𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗞𝗻𝗼𝘄𝗹𝗲𝗱𝗴𝗲

Is your technical expertise sufficient to drive impact at Google? How will you grow and scale with Google?

#### <img src="/files/seGnazEqJ62RZLK6W8x8" alt="" data-size="line"> Interview Tips&#x20;

* **Data Structures** - Practice Heaps, HashTable, Tree, Stack, Queue, Graph, and Trie.&#x20;
* **Algorithm** - Practice Dynamic Programming, Quick-Sort, Breadth-first and Depth-first search.
* **Explain your thought process** - Practice describing your design decisions clearly and concisely.
* **Collaborate** – Don't forget to discuss tradeoffs, present multiple solutions, and take hints from the interviewer.

<figure><img src="/files/err1e2ViTchKfaGx6MmP" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure>

#### Top recent Google tagged Coding Questions on LeetCode

Minimum Meeting Rooms (medium)

Number of Islands (medium)

Merge Intervals (medium)

Number of Closed Islands (medium)

Making a Large Island (hard)

Employee Free Time (hard)

Alien Dictionary (hard)

&#x20;&#x20;

#### Top System Design Questions

Design Web Crawler

Design Google Docs

Design Facebook Messenger

Design YouTube

Design Twitter/Facebook Message search

<br>

For detailed criteria for the interview grading of FAANG companies,

check out:

<https://book.aonecode.com/faang/mastering-the-faang-coding-interview-how-the-grading-system-works>