Google

Software Engineer Interview Experience - Cambridge, Massachusetts

April 1, 2013

Negative ExperienceNo Offer

Process

I have no idea how they hire people.

My only rule so far is, "Whatever you think the result of your interview with Google is - you are wrong."

First, I thought I did a lousy job, and I got to the next phase. Next time, I thought I did well, but this turned out to be false.

The questions during an on-site interview were not difficult, but really niche, requiring a very particular background.

Questions

Heap types.

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Interview Statistics

The following metrics were computed from 28 interview experiences for the Google Software Engineer role in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Success Rate

21%

Pass Rate

Google's interview process for their Software Engineer roles in Cambridge, Massachusetts is very selective, failing most engineers who go through it.

Experience Rating

Positive61%

Neutral21%

Negative18%

Candidates reported having very good feelings for Google's Software Engineer interview process in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Google Work Experiences

Great office culture

Software Engineer • Former Employee

Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States

Pros: CAM is a tight-knit site with a lot of good-hearted people doing good technical work.

Cons: Lots of things changing at a broader level outside of the office's control.

Great office culture

Software Engineer • Former Employee

Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States

Pros: CAM is a tight-knit site with a lot of good-hearted people doing good technical work.

Cons: Lots of things changing at a broader level outside of the office's control.

Good benefits, declining culture

Software Engineer • Current Employee

Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States

Pros: The benefits are great. The pay is second to none in the Boston area for YOE. Food is pretty good too, coffee is great, and the offices are beautiful.

Cons: The company culture seems to have taken quite a hit these past few years. Many people are unhappy with the work they are doing, but afraid of being laid off. Lots of inter-team competition for not many projects or promotion opportunities.

Good benefits, declining culture

Software Engineer • Current Employee

Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States

Pros: The benefits are great. The pay is second to none in the Boston area for YOE. Food is pretty good too, coffee is great, and the offices are beautiful.

Cons: The company culture seems to have taken quite a hit these past few years. Many people are unhappy with the work they are doing, but afraid of being laid off. Lots of inter-team competition for not many projects or promotion opportunities.

Not the Google anymore

Software Engineer • Former Employee

Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States

Pros: benefit, team, office, people—anything that is not from upper management.

Cons: Upper management did a really bad job and killed all these excellent engineers.

Not the Google anymore

Software Engineer • Former Employee

Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States

Pros: benefit, team, office, people—anything that is not from upper management.

Cons: Upper management did a really bad job and killed all these excellent engineers.

Great office culture

Software Engineer • Former Employee

Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States

Pros: CAM is a tight-knit site with a lot of good-hearted people doing good technical work.

Cons: Lots of things changing at a broader level outside of the office's control.

5.0
Great office culture
Software Engineer • Former Employee
Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States
April 23, 2023
Pros: CAM is a tight-knit site with a lot of good-hearted people doing good technical work.
Cons: Lots of things changing at a broader level outside of the office's control.

Good benefits, declining culture

Software Engineer • Current Employee

Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States

Pros: The benefits are great. The pay is second to none in the Boston area for YOE. Food is pretty good too, coffee is great, and the offices are beautiful.

Cons: The company culture seems to have taken quite a hit these past few years. Many people are unhappy with the work they are doing, but afraid of being laid off. Lots of inter-team competition for not many projects or promotion opportunities.

4.0
Good benefits, declining culture
Software Engineer • Current Employee
Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States
May 10, 2024
Pros: The benefits are great. The pay is second to none in the Boston area for YOE. Food is pretty good too, coffee is great, and the offices are beautiful.
Cons: The company culture seems to have taken quite a hit these past few years. Many people are unhappy with the work they are doing, but afraid of being laid off. Lots of inter-team competition for not many projects or promotion opportunities.

Not the Google anymore

Software Engineer • Former Employee

Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States

Pros: benefit, team, office, people—anything that is not from upper management.

Cons: Upper management did a really bad job and killed all these excellent engineers.

3.0
Not the Google anymore
Software Engineer • Former Employee
Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States
March 21, 2023
Pros: benefit, team, office, people—anything that is not from upper management.
Cons: Upper management did a really bad job and killed all these excellent engineers.

Google Interview Questions

Two Sum

Find two numbers in a given array that add up to a specific target value, and return their indices. Essentially, you need to efficiently locate the pair that satisfies the sum requirement.

Palindrome Number

Determine whether an integer is a palindrome. That is, it reads the same forwards and backward.

Bit Manipulation

Add Two Numbers

You are given two linked lists, each representing a non-negative integer. Add the two numbers and return the sum as a linked list.

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