I was contacted by a recruiter and given a two-week grace period before I interviewed. Fortunately for me, I was going to the LA area, so they were nice enough to allow me to interview in person. This still involved two pre-screens and then the next level.

I am going to adhere to the agreement of holding the questions to myself, but this is what I took away from it:

Know your data structures. Do not only know them and how to use them; know how to think in depth about speed, best choices, and why for any situation.

Software engineering is a big field, like automobiles. To build a car to ensure it has the best fuel efficiency, top speed, and can handle all maximum conditions is totally different from fixing bugs, adding features, and building components.

If your professional experience is basically the latter, I recommend taking on personal projects, such as an app where data structures matter. It really makes a difference.

Otherwise, the interview was a great learning experience, and I wouldn't trade it.

I will not break the agreement that I made with Google.