A recruiter contacted me a year and a half after I was turned down for an internship position.

I completed the online application and was told that I would receive two links via email: a coding sample and a short survey.

The coding sample consisted of two simple programming problems that I was required to complete within an hour, in any programming language of my choice. One problem was significantly easier than the other; both were related to string processing. I completed both with 10 minutes to spare. The short survey took very little time and asked for basic background information.

After completing both the sample and the survey, my recruiter followed up with a phone call to schedule me for a phone interview with a Google employee. The interview consisted of a single programming problem that was deceptively simple. My interviewer was a software engineer himself, and since I was able to finish the problem early, we chatted a little bit afterwards regarding life at Google.

After passing the phone interview, I was handed over to a different recruiter who scheduled me for an on-site interview at my local Google offices. The on-site interview was a five- to six-hour process consisting of two technical interviews, lunch with a Google employee, and another two technical interviews afterwards. Interview questions ranged from programming problems to general computer science knowledge. In terms of interviewers, I felt like I got a mixed bag, but my experience was mostly positive. I was able to complete every single problem presented to me, though some of them came down to the very last minute. During lunch, I had the opportunity to tour the office, which was a pleasure in and of itself.

About a week later, I received a call from my recruiter telling me that the hiring committee had turned me down.

Overall, I was impressed with how straightforward and clear the entire interview process was. The recruiters did a great job informing me of what to expect.

Programming Problems,

General CS Knowledge