I was referred by a friend who works at Google, and I had applied for a specific position they advertised. They called me within a few days and asked when I was available for a phone screen.

The phone screen started with another engineer asking me to type a program into a shared Google Doc. While it wasn't a particularly difficult program, I found it tough going trying to solve it while on the phone, typing in a Google Doc editor.

It probably took me longer than it should have, and I don't think I quite had the boundary conditions just right. I don't know exactly what to say about the experience. It's entirely possible that it reflects poorly on my ability to program; however, I have no doubt that it's a program I can write fairly easily if I need to.

I didn't get past this stage, but regardless, I am told that further stages would have involved multiple interrogations and their Mountain View office. It all seems like a bit much, or maybe, despite my years of experience, I am perhaps a programmer gone "soft".

Sorry, I cannot disclose this.