Google

Getting shortlisted for Google SWE Intern through campus was exciting, but the interview process was much more about problem-solving than memorizing standard LeetCode patterns. I had multiple technical discussions. In one round, the interviewer gave me a dynamic programming problem based on a ship travelling for N days. The ship had an initial fuel capacity K, and I was also given the number of holidays available. On a travelling day, the fuel capacity decreased by one, while on a holiday it increased by one. The objective was to maximize the total distance travelled. I first explained the recursive idea and then converted it into a memoized DP solution. The interviewer kept adding constraints, eventually turning it into a 3D DP problem. Another round involved a graph problem. I was given a set of cities and connections and had to determine the required distances between them. I started with BFS and then discussed how the approach could be optimized depending on the number of queries. There was also a short Googliness/leadership discussion. I was asked questions such as **“How would you react if someone else received credit for your work?”** and **“Tell me about a situation where you took a leadership role.”** Instead of giving textbook answers, I explained actual situations and the reasoning behind my decisions. The interviewers were particularly interested in how I approached unfamiliar problems. I made sure to clarify constraints, start with a straightforward solution, discuss complexity, and then optimize it. After the interviews and evaluation, I received the confirmation that I had been selected for the Google SWE Intern position through campus recruitment.