YoE: 5.5
Interview Dates: Jan 2022, Mar 2022
Leetcode count: 209 at time of writing, ~120 at time of interviewing
Recruiter reached out via LinkedIn in December 2021.
Phone Screen: Skipped
L4 virtual onsite in January 2022:
1. Googliness Interview
For me this went well, interviewer and I were chatting casually and making jokes in between answering the questions he needed to ask. Pretty sure this was a H
2. Coding Round 1
Recursion based problem. I was able to implement a naive solution but couldn't understand the optimization the interviewer wanted and needed a lot of hints. I believe this was a LNH/NH
3. Coding Round 2
Graph based problem. I don't remember the details too well, but I did a graph traversal and explained why that might be the best solution. Interviewer seemed pleased, but did not ask for any follow ups. I believe this was a SH/H
4. Coding Round 3
Graph based problem. I did a graph traversal and answered all follow up questions. Interviewer and I got along very well. I believe this was a SH/H
5. Coding Round 4
More abstract thinking type of problem. The interviewer was looking for a heap solution, but I didn't grasp that right away. I needed hints to get there, but the interviewer seemed impressed with my ability to call things out ahead of time and anticipate edge cases/concerns. I believe this a LH/LNH
After onsite, I went into team match for approximately 4-5 weeks. I originally matched for L4, but I ended up asking for matches at L3 after 3-4 weeks into the process. I matched quickly at L3 and got sent to hiring committee afterwards. HC put my packet on hold and asked for one extra interview for more "signal."
Extra Interview in Mar 22
The extra interview was a two pointer type of problem. I implemented a naive solution right away (within 10 mins after understanding the problem) and talked with the interviewer about optimizations. They were looking for a two pointer solution, and once I got the hint we worked together to solve it, and discussed tradeoffs and time complexity.
Three days after the last inteview I received a verbal offer from Google! In general I think luck and having good social skills really helps you pass the interview - I think me being able to work with, instead of against, my interviewer helped my case for being a good hire. Leetcode is important to pass the technical interview, but at the end of the day the interviewers are people you might potentially work with, and if they want to work with you I feel like it's more likely for them to give you a favorable rating.