Google Software Engineer Interview Preparation Guide

You know the best thing to do while preparing for the most challenging tech interviews, especially at MAANG?

Giving yourself a deadline.

With a plan full of action items - to complete every??single??day??!

At the same time, give yourself enough room to improve.

If you’re actively preparing for a Google SDE interview, it’s recommended to continually study for two months (60 days) daily for at least 2-3 hours.

Pre-Evaluation ??

And then if needed you can increase the duration after evaluating your performance in these three areas:

• Your speed of problem-solving
• Efficiency in coding
• Practice in explaining your problem-solving approaches

So, yes. The first step is to build a plan of SMART goals. T for time-bound. ?

Now, think of how you can consciously carve out time in your schedule to follow your plan religiously.

???? ?? For those of you still in your final year of college - it’s comparatively easier for you to make a timetable and follow it without fail. So, really use your time to the fullest.

???? ?? For those who are working professionals - It will be challenging, no doubt. But where’s the fun in doing easy things, eh?

No matter how busy your schedule is. Make sure to keep aside 3 to 4 hours either in the morning or evening, as per your most productive and mentally active time zone.

The mistake many candidates do is they stretch their preparation for far too long. 6 months, 8 months, even! That’s not needed. All you need is focused preparation in the right direction.

Alright. This was just a warm-up.

Now getting to the specific details.

First things first. Get insights on the number of rounds and types of interviews you’ll have to go through.

Google SDE Interview Process ??

1. Screening round: Initial few HR calls to discuss your resume and candidature
2. Coding rounds: 4 to 5 coding rounds that are up to 45 minutes long
3. Googlyness round: Cultural compatibility + overall behavioural round

Last but not least,

4. Team matching phase: Technically NOT an interview, but equally important (because you get your offer letter only after clearing this milestone)

Now determine how much time you need to spend on each topic. This depends on the results of your self-pre-evaluation.

Not sure how to do this? Get a free trial session from a Google Mentor and simply ask them how to do this.

Topics to Study for Google SDE Interview ??

Topics to cover in the priority order of importance and coverage:

• Data structures and algorithms
• Graphs and trees
• System design basics
• Arrays and string processing
• Dynamic programming
• Recursion
• Geometry and math

These were only the tech topics.

An equally crucial part to cover contains (not necessarily in that order):

• Communication and soft skills
• Thinking clarity and fluency
• Efficient problem-solving
• Speed
• Attention to detail
• Ability to explain coherently
• Positive body language
• Ability to listen intently

Note this extremely practical hack. ?

When you’re solving problems online, talk to yourself OUT LOUD. Explain your approach to solving each of those problems. As you’re doing it, record yourself.

Through this hack, not only you’ll be able to time yourself but also hear your responses later. If you hear objectively enough, you’ll be able to note down some of the errors you made while speaking. This is like hitting two birds with one stone - practise coding and thinking out loud simultaneously.

Not referring to only grammatical errors here - because they can often get overlooked as long as your approach is correct and it helps you reach a viable solution.

But the possible mistakes you make can go against you, are the overall manner and tone of speech, the general flow of solving problems step by step, and being vocally descriptive of those steps.

Schedule Your Prep ??

Coming back to the schedule part. Mark the topic you’ll be covering every day in a calendar.

Make sure to visit the behavioural and soft skill part at least twice every week. Practise answering the most common behavioural interview questions.

BTW, do you know what a Google behavioural interview is named?

The Googleyness Round

Here’s everything you should know about the Googleyness round.

Now coming to the approach to answering interview questions.

How to Answer Interview Questions ??

Here are the top two answering methods:

Learn how to answer the interview questions using the STAR method.

PAR can also be considered as ‘Problem - Action - Result’.

You will need these methods in both answering tech questions and behavioural questions, so practise your responses accordingly.

Don't underestimate the power of mock interviews and preparing with an expert.

Devashish, who cracked the Google SDE interview last year, said,

I have seen candidates solving hundreds of leetcode questions and still not getting selected for Google. So go for mock interviews - as many as you can. Have supportive people around you with whom you can have these conversations.?

He also mentioned,

I can’t stress this enough - know how to communicate effectively. Those interviewers are looking for a potential teammate, so steer clear of getting into any arguments with your interviewers. Behavioural skills are tested throughout all the rounds, not just in the Googleyness round.?

Read the full conversation with Devashish about his Google SDE interview experience here.

The best way to practise your interview questions is practising them with a Google mentor.

Here's a list of our top Google Mentors:

The best part is you can take a FREE trial session with a Preplaced mentor and ask all your doubts regarding your Google SDE interview preparation.

Sign up for this newsletter now to get a weekly dose of interview tips and motivation coming straight from our top mentors!

That's all for this week.

See you again soon! ??