Google interviewing process for software developer role in 2020 • Hacker News Board

Re: Google interviewing process for software developer role in 2020

#331

Post by anonymoushn » Tue, Feb 25, 2020, 4:51 AM UTC

onlyrealcuzzo wrote: post #152

justbees wrote: post #131

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Ok, completely different take! I also interviewed there last spring, but I thought it was super positive, even though I didn't get the job. I had to push myself really hard to get the onsite and I think that was beneficial to me. I have no computer science background at all and it forced me to prep intensively between interviews. So, I kind of went into it figuring I probably wouldn't get it but who knows and that it…

My interview experience was so unbelievably amazing at Google that I accepted the job mostly because of that -- despite the fact that I had an offer two levels higher at another public software company. It has not been a mistake. As plenty of people have mentioned, more than a million people interview here every year. With that many interviews, I cannot imagine how bad some outlier horror stories can be. In aggregate…

The post-interview survey is broken for some candidates who try to apply to jobs in multiple Google offices, which is apparently against Google policy. My experience of receiving a below-market 4-day exploding offer from Google in 2019 is not an experience I would rate highly, if I was allowed to take the survey.

Re: Google interviewing process for software developer role in 2020

#332

Post by pheug » Tue, Feb 25, 2020, 5:00 AM UTC

bsder wrote: post #290

mden wrote: post #218

Earlier quoted context omitted.

For anyone who hasn't done interviews and are curious, the interview chain is not vetted in any way or form at most places. Typically in bigger companies there is a one or two hour session where you are told what you can and can't ask from a legal perspective. Sometimes there will also be a tech question bank you might be expected to ask questions from. Having worked at four companies I have yet to see there being an…

> Usually conducting interviews is part of your performance and you are expected to do them Whoa! Really?!?!?! That's a huge difference from any of the places I have worked. If you didn't want to be on the interview loop, nobody in their right mind thought it would be a good idea to command you to do so. Normally people wanted to be on the interview loop simply so they had input on the people who might become their c…

It's the latest HR innovation from Googleplex: doing your job is no longer enough, every employee is required to show off some "citizenship contributions" at the threat of getting their performance review docked one rating lower.

Interviewing is apparently the most popular choice to fulfill this requirement, so get ready for a glut of disinterested people interviewing you at google.

Re: Google interviewing process for software developer role in 2020

#333

Post by ehsankia » Tue, Feb 25, 2020, 5:10 AM UTC

dunkelheit wrote: post #173

compiler-guy wrote: post #140

Google is an enormous company. Well over 100,000 employees. The answer to any question in the vein of, "Does X happen at Google?", or "Does Google do X?" is almost surely yes: Somewhere at the company, some team is probably doing that. Google's interview process is notoriously bad for some folks, and that is absolutely true and something Google tries to fix. And there are absolutely plenty of unhappy people. Even if…

One thought that I had after reading the article was just how average his experience was. This is really the bog-standard "how my Google interview went" post and not some kind of outlier. One complaint that I have seen over and over (even in this thread) is his frustrating moment #3: "Google doesn't respect your time". That's of course entirely subjective and many people may be ok with months of preparation, days of…

I don't really understand how Google doesn't respect your time? Can you provide more specific? How much people decide to study is up to them, Google doesn't force anyone to study for months, nor do I really think you need to if you're generally good at problem solving and walking through a problem, which is the skills they are looking for.

Most people think you have to go in and regurgitate a solution you memorized, but really most interviewers are looking to see your process working through the problem.

They do an initial quick screener, and then a one day interview. Not really sure how much more they could do to respect your time.

Re: Google interviewing process for software developer role in 2020

#334

Post by twblalock » Tue, Feb 25, 2020, 5:11 AM UTC

cmckn wrote: post #36

I interviewed with Google last spring. My experience was different, but about as disappointing. I applied for a job, and received an out-of-the-blue email from a recruiter about a different job a couple months later (my resume must have landed in some "recent" bucket). The position was in Google Cloud. I was frustrated by the "you'll talk to a team after you've passed 100 hurdles" nonsense. I had one phone screen wit…

Not all FAANG is like that. Google is an outlier in terms of their devotion to a particular interview process. Amazon may not be far behind. The rest are significantly easier in terms of process (but not in terms of the hiring bar).

Re: Google interviewing process for software developer role in 2020

#335

Post by ehsankia » Tue, Feb 25, 2020, 5:14 AM UTC

matz1 wrote: post #154

JDiculous wrote: post #116

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Ok let's say you make $300k/yr at a FAANG. Lose 40% to taxes and you're looking at $180k/yr. Living in SV your expenses will roughly be at least $45k/yr. So you save $135k/yr (180 - 45). That's great, but a far cry from being a millionaire in just a few years. Of course as you get promoted your comp increases, hitting $500k gross at L5, but that takes more than a couple years to achieve.

So using your numbers it took roughly 7 years to be a millionaire. Damn crazy good to me.

That's not counting the actual compound interest on your money. Even if you don't re-invest the stock they give you, which is a significant part of your compensation, the stock at most of these companies goes up 20% YoY, so you will easily become a millionaire 5 years in with a little investing.

Re: Google interviewing process for software developer role in 2020

#336

Post by twblalock » Tue, Feb 25, 2020, 5:15 AM UTC

blackflame7000 wrote: post #237

triceratops wrote: post #232

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> People in California. The only way you'll end up with a tax bill that large is if you contribute $0 to tax-advantaged retirement accounts. And that's taking into account state taxes, SSI/Medicare. You don't have to believe me, try it out yourself. https://smartasset.com/taxes/california-tax-calculator . Putting in $300k of income for a single person, it gave me $175k take-home pay + $19k in a 401k, which is an effe…

$45k/year is an absurd estimate of expenses especially in silicon valley.

$45k/yr is a little bit more than the mortgage principal and interest on a million dollar house, at today's interest rates assuming a normal 20% down payment. If you rent you a normal apartment you would spend less. If you rent a luxury apartment you'll spend more but you don't need to.

I've lived in Silicon Valley my entire life, except for when I was in college, and I don't think my living expenses ever got close to $45k/yr until I bought a house, which was an entirely optional decision on my part.

Re: Google interviewing process for software developer role in 2020

#337

Post by thatiscool » Tue, Feb 25, 2020, 5:25 AM UTC

The post has a great point: because a single senior Googler decides that you're the wrong person to be hired.

there is no check and balance. It is about picking a person he/she likes.

And many senior Googlers work there for more than a decade, they do not understand external world and full of arrogance and self-correctness.

Re: Google interviewing process for software developer role in 2020

#338

Post by thatiscool » Tue, Feb 25, 2020, 5:30 AM UTC

choppaface wrote: post #166

“You can pass every interview with A grades and still not get a job, because a senior Googler decides that you're the wrong person to be hired.” Google doesn’t need you. They probably already have a clone of you. They have gobs of rank-and-file SWE effort on reserve should one of their key products fail. The process is designed to entertain the hiring manager and certain key employees. They don’t want you for your pr…

you nailed it: "They don’t want you for your productivity. They want you for the chance that you help surround one of their favorites with things they like"

Re: Google interviewing process for software developer role in 2020

#339

Post by halbritt » Tue, Feb 25, 2020, 5:32 AM UTC

dunkelheit wrote: post #173

compiler-guy wrote: post #140

Google is an enormous company. Well over 100,000 employees. The answer to any question in the vein of, "Does X happen at Google?", or "Does Google do X?" is almost surely yes: Somewhere at the company, some team is probably doing that. Google's interview process is notoriously bad for some folks, and that is absolutely true and something Google tries to fix. And there are absolutely plenty of unhappy people. Even if…

One thought that I had after reading the article was just how average his experience was. This is really the bog-standard "how my Google interview went" post and not some kind of outlier. One complaint that I have seen over and over (even in this thread) is his frustrating moment #3: "Google doesn't respect your time". That's of course entirely subjective and many people may be ok with months of preparation, days of…

I've interviewed with Google 3-4 times over the years. Every time they've contacted me, they've asserted they've changed and will respect my time.

Most recently was this past June and I have to say that while the process was protracted, they did do a pretty good job of keeping me informed along the way. Eventually, I accepted an offer elsewhere as it seemed like they intended to under-level me and the choosing the team after the fact really doesn't work for me.

Re: Google interviewing process for software developer role in 2020

#340

Post by chrisseaton » Tue, Feb 25, 2020, 5:34 AM UTC

onlyrealcuzzo wrote: post #300

seanmcdirmid wrote: post #262

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Out of 100 people who interview onsite at google, 78 are happy about it even though only 2 get job offers???? Those are some crazy statistics. Maybe they are satisfied that the interview process convinced them they didn’t want to work at google anyways? Because I don’t see how that could work out otherwise.

First, I don't have the exact numbers. Second, yes, out of 100 people that apply, less than 1 get an offer, on average. If 100 people apply, only a small subset move on to the phone-screen. And you need to at least take the phone screen to be given a chance to fill out the satisfaction survey. Otherwise, there's not much for you to be satisfied or not with. I'm not sure what the percentage of people that make it to t…

> First, I don't have the exact numbers. Second, yes, out of 100 people that apply, less than 1 get an offer, on average.

1/100. I think that’s literally a lower acceptance rate than most top level military special forces units. People getting these offers from Google must be truly god-tier.