I applied online and was sent a coding assignment. It was 90 minutes long and consisted of two problems.

One was fairly easy, while the other was remarkably difficult. Even though I failed miserably on the second question, the recruiter contacted me and said they wished to proceed to a technical phone interview. She also sent a helpful guide for preparation.

The technical phone interview was 45 minutes long with a Software Engineer, and I coded on a Google Doc. The question was quite simple but had a trick I didn't initially see, which made me realize I'd likely failed. After coding the solution, the engineer asked many follow-up questions concerning scalability.

I received feedback exactly one week later: I had failed. This is the part that made me quite upset.

Typically, if I fail a phone interview, recruiters usually respond via email, which is the standard. However, the recruiter actually called me, and I initially assumed that meant I was advancing to the next round. Instead, she called to inform me I had failed the interview.

While I understand that Google aims to do things their own way, I found this approach unnecessary. If she had called to inform me of a failed on-site interview, that would have been understandable. I recognize she was only performing her job duties, but I still believe it was an unnecessary step. It raised my hopes for no reason.

I wonder how others feel about this.

The coding test questions can be found on LeetCode.

They range from medium to hard difficulty.