Practice Like You Play
Effective practice is realistic practice.
In the midst of an interview, you want to be focused and able to spend the majority of your mental energy on the problem given from the interviewer. You dont want to be thrown off by extraneous factors such as not being used to writing code in a non-IDE environment.
Here is a list of factors that you should be mindful of when developing your practice regimen.
Time Constraints
The phone interview is 30-45 minutes, and each of the one-on-one onsite interviews will be roughly 45 minutes to an hour each. In each of these scenarios, you will be presented with at least one question, which, in most cases, is a coding category question.
In order to effectively practice under time constraints, one strategy would be to select one specific problem.
For instance, selecting a problem from one of the book or video resources under the Additional Resources section of this post would be a good place to start. Then, start a timer and attempt to solve the problem without access to an IDE.
Following this practice for a few different categories of questions will give you some signal with respect to how you are faring with time constraints. Getting optimal solutions within the time interval of 30-45 minutes consistently for problems of varying difficulty is the ultimate goal. If you are struggling to hit this goal, use this as an opportunity to tighten up this area is something you will need to work on.
Whiteboarding
Pressure Constraints
Provide An Example Where Youve Had Influence And Convince A Difficult Stakeholder
If you have any type of managerial, customer facing, project related role you, Google interview questions about your ability to influence and navigate difficult interactions and work related situations are bound to come up. The way to successfully answer these types of Google behavioural questions is to tell the story from a first person perspective.
You are main protagonist of this story and youre going to share with them your personal experience within this interaction. So this means What you did, why you did it, when the person responded negatively or aggressively, how did you feel in that moment. From there elaborate on how you responded and why you responded in this way. By taking the interviewer through the back and forth of the interaction, having it played out my a scene from a movie or a play will result in them getting a very clear and intimate picture of your level of emotional intelligence. They will also be able to extrapolate the example and be able to apply it to the job role.
Prepare For The Typical Job Interview Questions
The number-one way to learn how to ace an interview is to come prepared with strong answers to interview questions. While you wont know exactly what will be asked, you can increase your odds of doing well by researching common job interview questions and coming up with 50- to 100-word answers. Be prepared to answer questions like:
- Why should we hire you?
- Whats your biggest weakness?
- Where do you see yourself in 5 years?
- If I call your current/previous employer, what would he/she say about you?
- Tell me about a challenge you overcame
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General Cognitive Abilities Gca Questions
To measure your cognitive ability, Google dedicate a certain amount of time in their interview process to present a range of hypothetical scenarios. In many ways theyre almost the antithesis of Googles behavioural interviews. The scenario that the interviewer presents will almost certainly be linked to the job role, therefore you dont need to be to anxious that theyre going to throw you a curve ball question. However you do need to keep calm when being asked and not rush in to answering the question.
Google Optimizes For Zero False Positives
Every company wants to hire top talent, but Google takes this to the next level by optimizing for zero false positives. In other words, they dont want to make any mistakes by hiring the wrong people. Not even one.
As noted above, Googles revenue per employee is closing in on $2 million. This makes every employee extremely valuable to the company. And that doesnt even take into consideration the cost of onboarding and training a new PM.
From Googles perspective, optimizing for zero false positives helps them hire the right person the first time around. But from your perspective that of a PM candidate it makes it all the more difficult to get a job offer. Google is okay with the idea of missing out on strong, highly-qualified candidates on the search for the perfect person. The demand is there and its not going away any time soon.
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Prepare Smart Questions In Advance
Remember how you reviewed the job description and researched the company? That particular prep work is about to help prove that youre interested in this specific position for this exact company not just someone who stumbled in on a random and indiscriminate job hunt.
At some point during the interview, youll most likely be invited to ask your own questions and this is an opportunity that you shouldnt pass up. Demonstrate that youre eager to learn, interested in the position and the company, and have a general understanding of what they need and what they do through a series of thoughtful questions. Consider questions like:
- What would a typical day in this position look like?
- What challenges could this position help solve?
- Can you share some examples of the types of projects this position would work on?
- What metrics or KPIs would help quantify the success of this role?
- Are there any specific products or goals that the company is currently focused on?
How To Ace Your Google Behavioral Interview: A Guide
The Google behavioral interview is one of many you’ll have to make it through if you’re applying for a Google or Google Cloud job.
While behavioral interviews are guaranteed for most tech positions, they’re often overlooked in interview prep. This is because at surface level they may not seem as hard to answer as .
However, these open-ended questions are a key part of determining if you’re the right fit for a job at Google. You should spend time preparing answers for the most commonly asked behavioral interview questions and set yourself apart from the rest of the candidate pool.
Below, you’ll find a behavioral prep guide. We cover the basics of the behavioral interview including sample questions, what to say to make your answer sound great, and how to practice for the interview before your big day. Let’s get ready for your dream job at Google!
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Don’t Be Afraid To Talk About Yourself Don’t Be Shy
Your interview is your time to shine. Don’t be afraid to tell your interviewer about your most important accomplishments and how you helped make them happen.
Sometimes candidates only ever talk about their team and company accomplishments.
Google interview questions are designed to learn about you as a person and how you fit into the company. Don’t be afraid to highlight your personality.
After all, questions like “how many golf balls…” are meant to be fun and creative problem-solving exercises.
Does Google Ask Behavioral Interview Questions
Behavioral interviews at Google and Google Cloud Platform are a little different than other tech companies.
For starters, your first interview at Google will be a phone screen with a recruiter. In this interview, you’ll get asked behavioral questions that will see if you’re a quality candidate.
However, what sets Google apart, is that you’ll also get asked behavioral questions at nearly every other stage of your interview as well.
During technical interviews your interviewer may ask you about your previous roles as a way to buy time or as an icebreaker to jump into the rest of the interview.
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Practice Your Job Interview
Confidence is key to crushing an interview. It may feel silly at first, but the best way to work on your interview skills is by rehearsing. Ask a friend or family member to play the role of interviewer or hiring manager and set up a video call or meeting.
Introduce yourself, summarize your work history, answer the questions they ask, and practice asking your own questions.
Work on not only what you say, but also how you say it. Do you sound nervous? What message is your body language conveying?
Are you talking too fast or rambling? Make sure your faux interviewer understands that critical feedback is essential to your success. Ask them open-ended questions about what went well and how you could improve.
Trust Relatability And Likability
Toronto-based career coach Nada Buhendi became an entrepreneur after a series of challenging rejections. Seeking another path, she quit her 9-5 job to launch a now successful career coaching business.
Despite having strong work experience , I hit a plateau during my job searches and kept getting rejected, she says. So, when I started my career coaching business, I realized the formula for getting someone to buy into what you say during the interview comes down to trust, relatability and likability.
Ms. Buhendi has created a framework to help her clients navigate the interview process here are a few of her tips:
1. Have a trusted advisor mindset
When you make the conversation about you, you will come across as desperate, Ms. Buhendi says. You need to instead approach the interview as, How can I help this person? and present yourself as a trusted advisor.
2. Structure creates consistency
People need a structure to organize their thoughts. So, Ms. Buhendi suggests people create a script before their interviews by putting their thoughts and ideas onto paper and then rehearsing. Once candidates become comfortable, they can ditch the script. Ms. Buhendi notes that its important to approach interviews as conversations in order to build a rapport with the interviewer, rather than sounding robotic or stilted.
3. Tell stories as proof of success
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Provide An Example Where Youve Had To Deal With Criticism About Your Work
This is a classic Google behavioural interview question and therefore will require you to utilise the competency STAR method . Many interviewees trip up on this particular type of question because its putting yourself in a position to have to talk negatively about yourself. However that is something you shouldnt be afraid of as the Google interviewers are looking for authenticity in your example. However at the same time ensure that the example you use isnt for something mediocre, for example you were criticised for coming late to work. Secondly ensure that you show your process of reflection, how you dealt with the negative feedback and eventually turning it around. Dont be afraid to be vulnerable in this process, however do ensure that the lessons learnt are truly implemented at the end by highlighting further work that youve turned around.
The Google Phone Interview
For the phone screen, you are interviewed by at least one Google employee who provides you with a coding question. You share a Google document with the interviewer and use it to write code for the question asked by the interviewer.
Protip: Coding in Google Docs sucks, but if you update your preferences it can make your life 1000x better. Learn how to do that here.
This interview will focus on your ability to produce code without an IDE . Typically, the question asked will be one that can be solved by a brute-force solution, and then progressively improved upon.
The phone interview is about 30-45 minutes. Assuming you did well, the Google recruiter will reach back out to you to give you the next steps if they decide to move along with you.
Dont be disappointed if they ask to do a second phone interview. Thats totally normal if they dont feel like they were able to adequately assess you the first time and doesn’t have any bearing on your later interviews.
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Acing The Google Interview: The Ultimate Guide
Passing the Google Interview. Every engineers dream.
After all, why wouldnt you want to work at Google with the free food, cushy salary, and credentials that will make you set for life?
The Google Interview is a methodology of technical interviewing that has been widely used and popularized by the tech giant, . It serves as the ultimate test to determine whether you have the coding and algorithmic chops to develop software with the best.
It is a crucial measuring stick by which your technical prowess is assessed and arguably the most important determining factor in Googles decision to go hire or no hire.
If you want to stack the deck in your favor when interviewing at Google you need to develop a strategy for attacking the most critical parts of what you will encounter. In this post, Ill show you how.
As the style of interview that Google uses has been so widely emulated, this post will also help you interview at most other large tech companies. So sit back and lets dig in.
Things You Should Know About The Interview Process
Googles hiring process is highly decentralized. A former hiring manager at Google said that there is no strict guidance on how to get hired. But still these tips will indicate you the right path to success. Google interview process is unique. It can take several weeks and you have to be patient. There are two types of interviews at Google.
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How To Ace A Developer Interview At Google
So you sent off hundreds of developer resumes to the biggest technology companies in the world, and waited by the phone for days. When you didn’t get any replies, you bottomed out in the pit of despair, and began watching 80s movies in your underwear. Then, the impossible happened: the phone rang! You’ve got an interview! Wait, now what?
You’re probably asking: “What kind of questions get asked at developer interviews?” or “what do I have to do to prepare for an interview at Google?”
ITProPortal is here to help, with our comprehensive guide on how to prepare for a developer interview at one of the world’s technology giants.
Make A Good First Impression
First impressions are made within seconds of meeting someone. Dont miss your opportunity to get off on the right footand not just with your interviewer.
The gatekeepers, like receptionists or assistantssometimes people ignore these individuals, and thats a huge mistake, says Spencer.
Treat every person with respect and kindness. Without exception.
When you meet the person who will be conducting the interview, be sure to smile and make eye contact. Let him or her initiate a handshake. Spencer says a good handshake is palm-to-palm, firm, and two to three pumps.
Keep in mind that the interviewer may be more nervous than you. In this case, you may want to break the ice with some safe conversation. Ask them how their day is going, chat about the weather, or comment on something in their office that gives clues about themmaybe a photo of a dog or a degree on the wall.
Finally, be aware that your first impression includes sights and smells. Avoid garish colors and strong fragrances, because you dont know what they might trigger.
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Follow Up On Questions Asked During The Interview
If there was a question that you couldnt answer on the spot, dont forget to follow up on your promise to provide an answer after the interview. It may be tempting to assume theyll forget about it, and they might, but following up shows that you gave the question the consideration that it deserves and gives you an extra opportunity to remind them of your interest.
Here Are Some General Advice That Will Help You To Get Prepared For An Interview
- You should be prepared for a forthcoming interview. Find the most common interview questions at Google and think of your answers in advance. But dont memorize it. You have to sound natural during the interview. If you want to get an internship at Google, check out some common internship interview questions.
- Google used to be famous for diverse brainteasers in order to see if a candidate can break a complicated problem. But now they rejected this idea. But here are some great news for you. Google recruiter no longer asks brainteaser questions. It was decided that it cant help to predict candidates working potential, instead they use work sample tests and ask some structured questions during the interview.
- Tell your professional story through examples you have prepared beforehand. These great examples will prove your skills and knowledge. Tell recruiters your professional story.
- Practice is your key to success. Remember that it makes perfect. Take your time and rehearse all your answers until you can respond clearly and sound persuasively.
- During the interview be confident, dont be nervous and intimidated and watch your body language. Always show your passion and enthusiasm for a job.
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Keep Your Eyes On The Webcam
As strange as it might feel, keep your eyes focused on your webcam, not the screen. It will make you seem all the more present and personable.
My Tip: If using a laptop or tablet, place it on a stand or stack of books to get the camera at eye-level. Check your camera and all the other settings . Trust me, its a more flattering angle.