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Software Engineering Interview Experience - Mountain View, California

March 1, 2015
Positive ExperienceNo Offer

Process

My interview was a 45-minute call. I was asked to develop some code in a Google Doc. The last few minutes were reserved for questions about the company. Prior to the interview, I chose my language. The first question was a warm-up.

The second question was Linked List-related, but my interviewer didn't grasp my idea. He stopped me a few times. After a small talk, he let me continue/finish. In the end, he liked my solution more than he expected.

I started a third question but didn't have time to finish. I just wrote some methods and some code, and I explained the idea.

I passed the first interview and was disqualified in the second one.

Questions

You are building a house and have hired multiple contractors to finish it.

Each person has a list of tasks to complete, and each task depends on other tasks being finished. For example, the fusebox must be installed before wiring can begin.

Can you convert their tasks into a single ordered list?

  • Elevator -> Move in
  • Fusebox -> Wiring
  • Fusebox, Wiring -> Lamps
  • Wiring -> Elevator

Expected output: Fusebox, Wiring, Lamps, Elevator, Move In

java class Task { String TaskName; Set DependsOnTaskName; }

Personal Note: I think the Set<String> in the code is tricky. I believe the interviewer might be expecting you to propose a refactor, changing it to Set<Task>.

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Interview Statistics

The following metrics were computed from 16 interview experiences for the Google Software Engineering role in Mountain View, California.

Success Rate

25%
Pass Rate

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

Experience Rating

Positive63%
Neutral25%
Negative13%

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

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