Google

Software Engineer Interview Experience

December 18, 2018

Positive ExperienceNo Offer

Process

I was referred to the onsite interview by a friend at the company.

I did a quick phone screen soon after, and then I went onsite.

I heard back after a few weeks. They provided the feedback that I should "improve my coding," which wasn't especially helpful, and recommended applying again in a year.

Questions

4 coding/algorithm coding questions

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Interview Statistics

The following metrics were computed from 3,728 interview experiences for the Google Software Engineer role in United States.

Success Rate

12%

Pass Rate

Google's interview process for their Software Engineer roles in the United States is extremely selective, failing the vast majority of engineers.

Experience Rating

Positive59%

Neutral29%

Negative12%

Candidates reported having very good feelings for Google's Software Engineer interview process in United States.

Google Work Experiences

Great People, Low Pay

Software Engineer • Current Employee

New York, New York, United States

Pros: A cool environment to work in. Great people.

Cons: Salary not commensurate with work.

Great People, Low Pay

Software Engineer • Current Employee

New York, New York, United States

Pros: A cool environment to work in. Great people.

Cons: Salary not commensurate with work.

Good environment and good learning experience

Software Engineer • Former Employee

January 4, 2019

Pros: Free lunch, good mentoring system.

Cons: It kind of falls to basics when you spend a long time here.

Good environment and good learning experience

Software Engineer • Former Employee

January 4, 2019

Pros: Free lunch, good mentoring system.

Cons: It kind of falls to basics when you spend a long time here.

Scale is a Pro and a Con

Software Engineer • Current Employee

Boulder, Colorado, United States

December 28, 2020

Pros: Scale up your impact by working for a company with billions of users, a culture that is focused on the right things, and brilliant coworkers.

Cons: Changing a system with billions of users is harder than changing smaller systems. Google today is cautious, deliberative, and process-heavy. Much of what makes an engineer successful at Google today is their ability to navigate the hierarchy, build consensus, and document everything. If you want to crank out code, iterate quickly, or focus on technical tasks, Google is not the place for you.

Scale is a Pro and a Con

Software Engineer • Current Employee

Boulder, Colorado, United States

December 28, 2020

Pros: Scale up your impact by working for a company with billions of users, a culture that is focused on the right things, and brilliant coworkers.

Cons: Changing a system with billions of users is harder than changing smaller systems. Google today is cautious, deliberative, and process-heavy. Much of what makes an engineer successful at Google today is their ability to navigate the hierarchy, build consensus, and document everything. If you want to crank out code, iterate quickly, or focus on technical tasks, Google is not the place for you.

Great People, Low Pay

Software Engineer • Current Employee

New York, New York, United States

Pros: A cool environment to work in. Great people.

Cons: Salary not commensurate with work.

5.0
Great People, Low Pay
Software Engineer • Current Employee
New York, New York, United States
March 31, 2023
Pros: A cool environment to work in. Great people.
Cons: Salary not commensurate with work.

Good environment and good learning experience

Software Engineer • Former Employee

January 4, 2019

Pros: Free lunch, good mentoring system.

Cons: It kind of falls to basics when you spend a long time here.

5.0
Good environment and good learning experience
Software Engineer • Former Employee
January 4, 2019
Pros: Free lunch, good mentoring system.
Cons: It kind of falls to basics when you spend a long time here.

Scale is a Pro and a Con

Software Engineer • Current Employee

Boulder, Colorado, United States

December 28, 2020

Pros: Scale up your impact by working for a company with billions of users, a culture that is focused on the right things, and brilliant coworkers.

Cons: Changing a system with billions of users is harder than changing smaller systems. Google today is cautious, deliberative, and process-heavy. Much of what makes an engineer successful at Google today is their ability to navigate the hierarchy, build consensus, and document everything. If you want to crank out code, iterate quickly, or focus on technical tasks, Google is not the place for you.

5.0
Scale is a Pro and a Con
Software Engineer • Current Employee
Boulder, Colorado, United States
December 28, 2020
Pros: Scale up your impact by working for a company with billions of users, a culture that is focused on the right things, and brilliant coworkers.
Cons: Changing a system with billions of users is harder than changing smaller systems. Google today is cautious, deliberative, and process-heavy. Much of what makes an engineer successful at Google today is their ability to navigate the hierarchy, build consensus, and document everything. If you want to crank out code, iterate quickly, or focus on technical tasks, Google is not the place for you.

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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