I was coding in Google Docs, not allowed to look anything up. The interviewer gave a brief description of the problem, which was hard to understand based on the limited explanation. I was doing poorly due to not fully understanding the problem, and the pressure of not understanding got to me. This was also because it's an algorithm question, which I must admit I am weak at. It was a total flop.

The interviewer stopped early and proceeded to ask me about my experiences. He phrased everything in a way that made me feel like I hadn't accomplished much of anything, and that what I had accomplished had no value because I wasn't able to quantify it with metrics. Anything I could have told him would have been a disappointment, and he wouldn't have been impressed with anything, probably because he's so much better than me.

I'm the most senior IC on my team at a top tech company in my city. I mentor my peers across the engineering org, and I was made to feel like a total idiot.

The question was not relevant to the role I was applying for (Full Stack developer on a product team). It seemed like the interviewer just wanted to make me feel small when going through my resume, and succeeded. He kept talking about product development not being technical, mentioning that they have non-technical roles in product development or something similar.

This was the most degrading interview I've had in my entire career (~7 years).

I think if you're a computer science wiz that excels in algorithms and other CS things and can deal with the interviewer having an ego and trying to knock you down a few pegs, you'll be fine.

The interviewer was at the Seattle office. Previous interactions with Google employees in the Mountain View, LA, and Austin offices were positive.

I understand that Google employees are top-tier and they can be proud of that, but there's really no need to try to make others around you feel like you think they're so beneath you. What a terrible phone screen experience.

If a function is given A and B, can it return B from A?