I have an "onsite" interview with the Google Kirkland office soon. It's for an L5 position and the interview prep material that the recruiter sent me tells me to review CS101 books, i.e. the stuff you find on leetcode. Totally expected for an L3 or college grad interview, but I am wondering if an L5 interview will involve more difficult content (besides the systems design interview). If so, what kind? Just harder versions of the same problems (more restrictions, demanding more efficiency, etc.), or do the questions actually steer out of leetcode territory into less academic sort of questions?
leadership is going to be evaluated differently
L5 has system design, L3/4 doesn’t.
Expect one system design round, plus another round wherein they evaluate design/requirements clarification with easy/medium LC coding. You might get 2 hard LC problems. Googleyness round will be leadership focused. Everything good and you’ll get L5. Bad system design or leadership can downlevel you to L4 or L3 (worst case).
What’s your yoe ? And tc at msft ?
Don't worry they will downlevel you to L4