I interviewed for the IRTP position after Google visited my school. I spoke to a recruiter, and about a week later, I was invited to a technical interview over the phone.

The interview was with an operations engineer, who started the technical questions right away after saying hello. There was no room for formality or discussing your resume/experience. The initial screen is to weed out anyone that does not meet the qualifications, and it is intense.

I would recommend studying protocols, system administration, and the specifics of Linux/Windows/Mac administration.

I forgot the difference between hard and soft links and didn't know a lot about how OS X loads certain background processes. Many of the questions required you to solve technical problems, such as what to do if a router goes down and how it loads IP tables.

Study hard! Also, remember to ask questions at the end of the interview; that can be a dealbreaker.

Ultimately, I didn't make the cut, but it was a good experience.

What is the difference between hard and soft links in Linux/Unix?