Process
There were two back-to-back technical phone interviews. Each interview lasted about one hour.
The questions were not very difficult, but I did not answer well and I failed to solve some follow-up questions. I should have done better.
Questions
Given an n * m grid maze, each cell is guaranteed to be 0 or 1. 0 means you can walk on it and 1 means an obstacle. You start from the top-left cell. Try reaching the bottom-right cell with a shortest path.
From a cell, you can move up, down, left, or right by one step to a neighboring cell with value 0.
So, what's the length of the shortest path, and how will you find it?
LC 304 Range Sum Query 2D - Immutable
Was this helpful?
Interview Statistics
The following metrics were computed from 123 interview experiences for the Google Software Engineering role in United States.
Success Rate
26%
Pass Rate
Google's interview process for their Software Engineering roles in the United States is very selective, failing most engineers who go through it.
Experience Rating
Positive67%
Neutral24%
Negative9%
Candidates reported having very good feelings for Google's Software Engineering interview process in United States.
Google Work Experiences
4.0
Still a good company, but may not be the best anymore
Software Engineering • Former Employee
Mountain View, California, United States
September 12, 2008
Pros: Cutting-edge technology, a famous brand, and good food. The good weather here in Mountain View, CA is also a good reason.
If you are tired of the free food here, go get some decent dinners on Castro Street nearby.
You can also learn a lot from tech talks, open days, the MoMA, and the code tree itself. Google's codebase may not be the biggest, but its quality is the best in the world.
Cons: It is a good place for college graduates, but it may not be good for ambitious people. The decision to quit is difficult because of the perks, the good food, and the admiration from people around you when they know you are a Googler. But there is a reason for so many talented people to leave this company...
5.0
Good software company
Software Engineering • Current Employee
London, England, United Kingdom
October 22, 2025
Pros: Benefits, good salary, no real cons.
Cons: No real cons for now.
4.0
Interesting engineering organization
Software Engineering • Former Employee
Mountain View, California, United States
December 30, 2008
Pros: It's a fast-paced environment where employees have a good deal of flexibility on projects they want to work on. Everyone was friendly and welcoming. It seemed like there was a good work-life balance throughout the organization. One thing that was clear was that senior management significantly valued their employees and took every step to take care of them.
For example, there were free breakfasts, lunches, and dinners. During the summer, we were taken on a beach trip to Santa Cruz. Overall, it was a fun work environment.
Cons: Google is a very engineering-driven organization. At times, it seems like there are a multitude of different projects going on with very limited business coordination.
- 4.0Still a good company, but may not be the best anymoreSoftware Engineering • Former EmployeeMountain View, California, United StatesSeptember 12, 2008Pros: Cutting-edge technology, a famous brand, and good food. The good weather here in Mountain View, CA is also a good reason. If you are tired of the free food here, go get some decent dinners on Castro Street nearby. You can also learn a lot from tech talks, open days, the MoMA, and the code tree itself. Google's codebase may not be the biggest, but its quality is the best in the world.Cons: It is a good place for college graduates, but it may not be good for ambitious people. The decision to quit is difficult because of the perks, the good food, and the admiration from people around you when they know you are a Googler. But there is a reason for so many talented people to leave this company...
- 5.0Good software companySoftware Engineering • Current EmployeeLondon, England, United KingdomOctober 22, 2025Pros: Benefits, good salary, no real cons.Cons: No real cons for now.
- 4.0Interesting engineering organizationSoftware Engineering • Former EmployeeMountain View, California, United StatesDecember 30, 2008Pros: It's a fast-paced environment where employees have a good deal of flexibility on projects they want to work on. Everyone was friendly and welcoming. It seemed like there was a good work-life balance throughout the organization. One thing that was clear was that senior management significantly valued their employees and took every step to take care of them. For example, there were free breakfasts, lunches, and dinners. During the summer, we were taken on a beach trip to Santa Cruz. Overall, it was a fun work environment.Cons: Google is a very engineering-driven organization. At times, it seems like there are a multitude of different projects going on with very limited business coordination.
Google Interview Questions
Explore Interview QuestionsTaro 75Google Interview QuestionsMeta Interview QuestionsAmazon Interview QuestionsApple Interview QuestionsNetflix Interview Questions
Explore Interview ExperiencesOpenAI Interview ExperiencesAnthropic Interview ExperiencesPerplexity Interview ExperiencesWindsurf Interview ExperiencesMistral AI Interview Experiences
