Google SWE Summer Intern 2022 Interview Experience

Time Spent Studying/Study Schedule:

I used to solve LeetCode Questions for 1.5 hr. daily on weekdays( 1 H 2M 1E ). and 3 hrs. on Weekends ( 2H 5/6M ).

Study Schedule after Resume Selection/Interview Invite mail (I've got 7 days b/w my first Interview Round & recruiter's mail ):

9 hrs. a day: 2 hrs. DS&A Revisions + LeetCode Google Tagged Question.

LeetCode Premium?

Yes, I was using LeetCode Premium, was Gifted by the person, who referred me.

Summary of the Interview:

• Round 1 (45 Mins.): 2 Hard
  I was able to do 1st Completely ( explanation with code )
  Unable to complete 2nd.

• Round 2 (45 Mins.): 1 Hard Problem Consists of 3 Sub Problems
  Explained & Implemented all in 35 mins.

What Went Well :

In Starting, The interviewer asked me, “do I know him?”, I said no, but he knows me through my GitHub OSS Contributions.

Round 2 was clean & clear because completed and discussed all three problems before time. and had a small discussion about different tech.

What Didn't Go Well and Why:

Round 1, Unable to complete the second problem in given time. Poor time management (my opinion).

What You Would Change/Not Change In Your Studying For Next Time:

Improve time management, recording yourself & solving with proper timer & analysis.
Habits:

• Google Docs. Solving
• LC Company tagged Question
• Started with EPI ( Elements of Programming Interviews )
• Consistent Problem Solving
• Tracking of the Question with my markers, doubts, imp. points.

Approach: I did follow during the interview or preparation.

Explanation of Problem -> Create New Test Case/s -> Bruteforce Approach -> Complexity Analysis -> Improving the Solution -> Edge Cases -> Complexity Analysis

Result:

Rejected

Feedback:

Strong in Data Structures & Algorithms, Communication and test cases. Good at Finding Edge Case, and criticizing solutions. Improve Time Management & Alternate Solutions.

It was really a great learning experience, usually, I don't post all interview experiences. I posted this because it really teaches a lot. Those two weeks really made me a calm, well-disciplined person.

Also, It is a big personal achievement for me to get this opportunity being from a small city and tier 3 college ( I know this doesn't matter, but opportunities are really limited TBH )

I posted the same on My Twitter as a thread 🧵

Update 1:

LeetCode Acceptance Rate & Testing your solution
=> I don't spam Leetcode submit button. My Mentor said that you should optimise, test solutions yourselves first. Like we have no Judge on Google Docs.

Q. Were the questions from LeetCode?
=> Almost all of them are a kind of modification of LeetCode Google Tagged Question.

Q. What went wrong in my case?
=> Maybe they find some better candidates!

Q. Is it necessary to share a Brute Fore approach?
=> No, Since it was difficult for me. So, I started with my brute force approach. It's not necessary.

Q. Applied Through Referral?
=> Yes, I was referred by a Sr. Google Employee. But, Referral Doesn't guarantee you a interview opportunity.