Google is unlike all the other places I’ve interviewed with. My key takeaways for a successful interview: 1 - Each interviewer will jump around focus areas, so be able to pivot from PS, to Ex to Strategy very quickly and with a clear structure. 2 - Even though the comp sci area was removed, the interviews are still quite technical compared to other companies. Be ready to think deeply about technical problems. 3 - You have to be ON for every interview. If you feel yourself drifting from a great structured answer, pause and navigate your way back. I recovered a poorly answered question in the last five minutes. 4 - There’s an emphasis on L&D now, so have your examples ready in a STAR format. 5 - Estimation will be involved directly or indirectly. Brush up on napkin math. 6 - PS questions tend to crop up more than once, so nail down your framework for answering those repeatedly. 7 - Strategy questions are a big part of the interview, so have a clear framework for those. Some interviewers might spend the whole 45min on those, some might asked mixed questions that have a strategic component. You really do need to score at least 4/5 on every interview. Don’t get psyched out if they ask you to redo one. That’s common.
The process was straightforward and moved quickly. After applying online, a recruiter reached out within a few days for a brief phone screen. That was followed by two video interviews, one with the hiring manager and one with a panel of team members focused on project planning and stakeholder communication. The whole thing wrapped up in about two weeks, and the team was responsive and clear about next steps throughout.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
I walked through a specific project where a key vendor delivery slipped. I explained how I flagged the risk early in our weekly status review, reset expectations with stakeholders, re-sequenced dependent tasks, and brought the timeline back within an acceptable range by negotiating a partial early delivery.
standard 1st round digital interview, they are asking about your experience, background, some behavioural questions and technical questions. and they also share a bit more about the role, culture and expectation
Very self-driven, first of multiple rounds, where I had to take the initiative to arrive at the problem, constraints, approach, solutions, tradeoffs and reasoning behind it in a matter of 30 minutes.