Google

I applied for the SDE Intern role at Google through a referral from a Google employee. After waiting for around 40 days, I received an email stating that I had been shortlisted for the online assessment. I cleared the assessment and progressed through multiple interview rounds in a single day. While I performed well in the technical rounds, I believe my performance in the final “Googliness” round was not strong enough, and I was eventually not selected. Application & Shortlisting: I applied through a referral and waited for about 40 days before receiving an email confirming that I was shortlisted for the online assessment. Online Assessment (OA): The OA was conducted on a third-party platform. It consisted of 15 MCQs and 3 coding questions. I was able to attempt all MCQs and successfully solve all coding problems. About a week later, I received confirmation that I had cleared the OA. An HR representative contacted me to schedule interviews and informed me to keep the entire day free for multiple rounds. Round 1 (DSA Round): The interview started with introductions. There were two interviewers in the panel. I was asked two problems: one LeetCode medium-level problem and another more challenging string-based problem with a competitive programming flavor. I successfully solved both. Round 2 (DSA Round): After a short break of around 30 minutes, the second round began. It followed a similar pattern with an introduction followed by problem-solving. I was asked a binary tree problem along with a follow-up. I solved both efficiently. Round 3 (DSA Round): This round again followed the same structure. I was asked two DSA problems, which I was able to solve successfully. Googliness / Culture Fit Round: In the final round, I was evaluated on behavioral aspects such as my journey, how I handle pressure, teamwork experience, strengths and weaknesses, and personal growth. While I answered the questions, I feel that my performance in this round was not as strong as the technical rounds.