Google

Software Engineer Interview Experience - Mountain View, California

March 1, 2013

Positive ExperienceNo Offer

Process

The interview process was relatively straightforward. I went with an internal referral and got past the first stage vet interview.

The interview consisted of two conversations with different engineers:

One was with a younger engineer.
The other was with an engineer who had been at Google for some time.

The questions were basic algorithms questions. If you have read "Cracking the Coding Interview," you will be prepared. They made me sign an NDA regarding the questions, so I will respect that.

Questions

I signed an NDA, and will respect that.

Prepare by reading "Cracking the Coding Interview".

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Interview Statistics

The following metrics were computed from 748 interview experiences for the Google Software Engineer role in Mountain View, California.

Success Rate

20%

Pass Rate

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

Experience Rating

Positive64%

Neutral23%

Negative14%

Candidates reported having very good feelings for Google's Software Engineer interview process in Mountain View, California.

Google Work Experiences

Amazing Pay, Free Food

Software Engineer • Former Employee

Mountain View, California, United States

Pros: Great pay and benefits, free food.

Cons: No cons at all for working at Google.

Amazing Pay, Free Food

Software Engineer • Former Employee

Mountain View, California, United States

Pros: Great pay and benefits, free food.

Cons: No cons at all for working at Google.

Good until Layoffs

Software Engineer • Former Employee

Mountain View, California, United States

Pros: Team Pay Perks Food Quality of engineer

Cons: Management Timings RTO policy Managers Work-Life Balance

Good until Layoffs

Software Engineer • Former Employee

Mountain View, California, United States

Pros: Team Pay Perks Food Quality of engineer

Cons: Management Timings RTO policy Managers Work-Life Balance

Not great, but at least they pay well

Software Engineer • Current Employee

Mountain View, California, United States

September 18, 2023

Pros: Good pay and benefits. Many in-office amenities.

Cons: Unclear metrics in performance reviews. Some managers give feedback that is unhelpful to your development. There is not much transparency or room for negotiation with regard to pay and benefits. Ramp-up is not very beginner-friendly. You're much better off if you've been working in the software industry for a bit instead of entering Google as a fresh college grad. Lack of flexibility with work location. The team you're on determines which offices you're allowed to work in, and WFH opportunities are increasingly limited.

Not great, but at least they pay well

Software Engineer • Current Employee

Mountain View, California, United States

September 18, 2023

Pros: Good pay and benefits. Many in-office amenities.

Cons: Unclear metrics in performance reviews. Some managers give feedback that is unhelpful to your development. There is not much transparency or room for negotiation with regard to pay and benefits. Ramp-up is not very beginner-friendly. You're much better off if you've been working in the software industry for a bit instead of entering Google as a fresh college grad. Lack of flexibility with work location. The team you're on determines which offices you're allowed to work in, and WFH opportunities are increasingly limited.

Amazing Pay, Free Food

Software Engineer • Former Employee

Mountain View, California, United States

Pros: Great pay and benefits, free food.

Cons: No cons at all for working at Google.

5.0
Amazing Pay, Free Food
Software Engineer • Former Employee
Mountain View, California, United States
March 12, 2024
Pros: Great pay and benefits, free food.
Cons: No cons at all for working at Google.

Good until Layoffs

Software Engineer • Former Employee

Mountain View, California, United States

Pros: Team Pay Perks Food Quality of engineer

Cons: Management Timings RTO policy Managers Work-Life Balance

5.0
Good until Layoffs
Software Engineer • Former Employee
Mountain View, California, United States
May 15, 2024
Pros: Team Pay Perks Food Quality of engineer
Cons: Management Timings RTO policy Managers Work-Life Balance

Not great, but at least they pay well

Software Engineer • Current Employee

Mountain View, California, United States

September 18, 2023

Pros: Good pay and benefits. Many in-office amenities.

Cons: Unclear metrics in performance reviews. Some managers give feedback that is unhelpful to your development. There is not much transparency or room for negotiation with regard to pay and benefits. Ramp-up is not very beginner-friendly. You're much better off if you've been working in the software industry for a bit instead of entering Google as a fresh college grad. Lack of flexibility with work location. The team you're on determines which offices you're allowed to work in, and WFH opportunities are increasingly limited.

3.0
Not great, but at least they pay well
Software Engineer • Current Employee
Mountain View, California, United States
September 18, 2023
Pros: Good pay and benefits. Many in-office amenities.
Cons: Unclear metrics in performance reviews. Some managers give feedback that is unhelpful to your development. There is not much transparency or room for negotiation with regard to pay and benefits. Ramp-up is not very beginner-friendly. You're much better off if you've been working in the software industry for a bit instead of entering Google as a fresh college grad. Lack of flexibility with work location. The team you're on determines which offices you're allowed to work in, and WFH opportunities are increasingly limited.

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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