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Why I Keep Failing Candidates During Google Interviews…
They don’t meet the bar.
After joining Google in 2022, I got trained to interview candidates. I’ve had a chance to meet candidates and saw how much they struggled. I’m ready to share some of their common mistakes (that I’m legally allowed to share).
Not knowing their data structures is NOT the #1 reason why I fail candidates.
Before we dig in, let’s go through what the interview process looks like today.
Online Assessment
(This article is now available as a youtube video)
If you’re a new grad, you’ll likely be given an online assessment to solve a coding problem in whatever language you’d like. How well you do on this screen won’t affect your odds of getting an offer in the later interview stages.
What this screen is testing for is one thing:
Does the candidate know how to code?
If the candidate can’t solve the problem, then they wouldn’t do well on the phone screen or onsite. If they pass, congrats! They’ll move on to interview in person.
Phone Screen
The phone screen at Google will represent one of the onsite interviews. The candidate will join a Google voice chat and solve a coding on Google’s IDE with a Googler.
The candidate will be held to the same standards as an onsite interview. This is to assess if the candidate can really pass back-to-back onsite interviews. Some do, most don’t.
For those that don’t do well on the phone screen, here’s what they should know:
- They can be given a second chance. Ask the recruiter and explain why you deserve another shot or didn’t demonstrate all your coding skills.
- They’ll have to wait again for at least 12 months to reapply.
