I applied through a referral, and the response was very quick. I received an immediate response from the recruiter and was given an initial 90-minute coding challenge, which I solved successfully. I then received a quick response stating I was being processed to the next round.

I had to schedule two 45-minute phone interviews back-to-back. The recruiters emailed me to confirm my available dates, and I recently had the interviews.

The first round was fair. I was asked to solve a grid problem, which I solved using DFS. However, there were some technical issues where I couldn't hear the interviewer properly, which wasted at least 20 minutes of my time (pure bad luck). I could somehow get near the solution, and the recruiter was kind enough to encourage me through it.

The second round was a disaster. The recruiter was typically following a format I wasn't comfortable with. I introduced myself, and we started the coding part. I was asked an easy-level array question initially, which I solved quickly. I was then asked another medium-level question based on arrays. Here, I started facing difficulties with the recruiter. I tried to explain my thinking process minute-by-minute, but the recruiter wasn't giving me any hints. Instead, he showed his displeasure before I even started coding. He was nagging, which made me uncomfortable to even proceed with the solution. I could somehow complete 80% of the solution by the end but wasn't feeling comfortable talking out loud to explain it because the recruiter sounded frustrated. After the interview ended, I could solve the question within five minutes. I just felt the recruiter's attitude took away my confidence. However, the level was fair for any coder.

The Google interview was nothing typically difficult or different from others. A person who loves coding could easily get through it if they maintain their cool.

All the best if you are about to be interviewed.

Implement Minesweeper.