Google Summer Internship Interview Experience
I applied for a summer internship role at Google in July. Google's application process doesn't involve any online assessment rounds; rather, applicants are required to submit their resumes. After a period of resume shortlisting, selected candidates are contacted for interviews. In my case, I received a call from Google in September.
Tip
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The interview process consisted of two technical rounds, focusing primarily on Data Structures and Algorithms (DSA) questions, with some leaning towards Competitive Programming (CP) concepts. Each round allotted approximately 45 minutes for solving one or two problems.
First Round
- Presented with a medium-hard data structure problem that could be tackled effectively using sets and maps in C++. I struggled initially and consumed about 36 minutes on the first problem, leaving me with little time.
- Given a medium dynamic programming (DP) problem, which I had encountered previously in another company's assessment. Fortunately, I could quickly articulate the solution in 5-6 minutes and implement it within 3 minutes, with the interviewer kindly allowing me some extra time.
Second Round
- Challenged with a graph problem related to topological sorting, graded medium-hard. I managed to solve it within a total of 20 minutes.
- Encountered an unsolvable problem (an NP-hard problem, amusingly). Despite my best efforts, I couldn't crack it. However, I engaged in a fruitful discussion with my interviewer, vocalizing my thought process, proposing various approaches, and analyzing why they might fail. Despite my inability to solve it, I remained proactive in seeking hints, albeit to no avail.
Approximately a month and a half later, I received a call with the outcome of my interview. During this period, I reached out to my recruiter thrice via email, with intervals of 10-12 days, seeking updates on my application.
