How I prepared for & landed 2 internships at Google

Hi folks! I'm Divina John, an upcoming Google SWE Intern and a former STEP Intern. In this article I'll be detailing the application process, resources followed and my overall preparation strategy which helped me crack the coveted 'Google Internship'.

Application Process

The first step of the selection process is an online application. You need to apply through the google careers page when the roles of STEP/SWE intern open. In India, the SWE intern role is observed to open in the months of July/Aug whereas STEP opens a bit later around Nov/Dec. Your resume, academic transcripts and contact info are collected as part of the application. It is strongly recommended to apply with a referral.

There are mainly 2 rounds of selection. The first round is a resume shortlisting round, followed by two 45-minute technical interviews majorly based on Data Structures and Algorithms. If you applied on-campus or received an invite based on your participation in other Google initiatives then you'll have an additional GOC (Google Online Coding Challenge) round before interviews.

How I Prepared

1. Resume Shortlisting

I reviewed multiple templates and finally used overleaf (LaTeX editor) to craft my resume. Using LaTeX gave a more professional appearance. In my resume I made sure to highlight my projects, achievements and skills. I kept the focus on my contributions and impact rather than a general description of the project.

An important point to note is - limit your resume to 1 page! Once done, I got my resume reviewed by my mentors, peers and some Googlers. Many a times, they catch details that we miss.

1. GOC

Leetcode, Leetcode, Leetcode! I can not emphasize enough on how important this platform was for my DSA practice. I solved weekly and bi-weekly contests regularly and followed the Blind 75 list to get a good revision of all topics. When learning the data structures for the first time I went through handouts and notes available online. As I became more familiar I focused on solving medium level problems and upsolved the questions I was stuck in.

I did a bit of cp initially on CodeChef and Codeforces but later decided to stick to Leetcode. The process of giving contests prepared me well for the online coding challenge. Solving questions in limited time, ensuring all testcases pass, resolving TLE are things I became comfortable with by giving contests consistently. In the GOC we had to solve 1 easy-medium and 1 hard-medium level question in 60 mins. I was selected for the next round after passing 20/20 test cases in the GOC.

1. Interviews

There are 2 technical interviews, 45 mins each. My DSA prep for the interviews was simply an extension of the GOC prep. It's important to articulate your thought process and think-out-loud for your interviewer to understand your approach. Google interviewers are usually kind, if you are doubtful or blank they will point you in the right direction. I gave plently of mock interviews for practice and it helped me bridge the gaps and improve my performance. I also glanced through 'Cracking the Coding Interview' book.

When I solved a leetcode problem I intentionally tried to come up with 2-3 alternative solutions and analyzed each one. During the interview, this helped me go from the brute force approach to the most optimized one, with ease. It is also important to know the time and space complexity of your code.

After your interviewer shares the question, it is advised to ask follow up questions to ensure you are on the same page. Then discuss through the approaches and once you both agree with an approach, code it out. In some cases, a third interview is also scheduled but that's nothing to worry. Overall, just communicate well with your interviewer and don't panic on seeing a tough question. Keep a calm mind and go through it step-by-step.

Closing Note

Internship/placement prep can be daunting and stressful. The several months I spent preparing for STEP were challenging in every aspect. I believe what got me through was quite simply - hope. Hope that one day I'll step foot into my dream company! It's what keeps me going. Be sure to prepare well, practice consistently but above all believe that you can make it - because YOU CAN.

I hope this article has given you some helpful tips on how to prepare for an internship at Google. Do share your thoughts in the comments :) Thank you.