Google onsite performance

Amazon
blownout

Go to company page Amazon

blownout
Sep 16, 2021 22 Comments

Did anyone here think they performed really bad in a Google onsite for SWE position and were surprised that they still got the offer (downlevel offer counts)?

By bad, I mean taking a long time in trying to come with an algorithm, maybe with some hints, and not able to finish coding due to only time but still on the right track and just discussed about optimizations at the end? And let’s just say these questions aren’t the warm up kind and are LC medium-hard. More like LC hard if you haven’t seen them before.

TC: 215k

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TOP 22 Comments
  • Google
    djcgvvej

    Go to company page Google

    djcgvvej
    I bombed 1 round but did very well on others and got in. Ive seen people bomb 2 and get in. Relax. Its impossible to guess the outcome
    Sep 16, 2021 2
  • I thought I did poorly in a few rounds but I ended up getting strong feedback all around and an offer. It's more than just coding up quickly
    Sep 16, 2021 4
    • IBM
      giahmen

      Go to company page IBM

      giahmen
      I would guess "not solving the problem & don't know how to finish if given more time" is probably bad 😂
      Sep 16, 2021
    • Had trouble coding up a solution with a bunch of corner cases to consider. Kept getting stumped and spent a lot of time. In 2/4 rounds i didnt even finish lol, but it's not always that important

      I think what really saved me and what gave good signal was how well I did with problem solving. Breaking down the problem, mapping out an algorithm/sample cases, and then coding is my usual approach.
      Sep 16, 2021
  • Goldman Sachs / Eng
    gwhkehejsl

    Go to company page Goldman Sachs Eng

    gwhkehejsl
    Contrary to what others have said, I bombed one, barely managed to solve one, rest were fine and I was rejected by recruiter without even proceeding to HC.
    Sep 16, 2021 0
  • Twitter
    lumkirden

    Go to company page Twitter

    lumkirden
    One of my interviewers was a person who was very well known in the industry for major contributions to a popular programming language. We talked for 45 minutes about compiler stuff and I had no idea what I was saying or how the interview went, and spent most of that time feeling super intimidated and full of imposter syndrome.

    Another interviewer was an self important German guy with a big ego who asked me to do mathematical proofs of my algorithm. This was hard to impossible - I was already 10 years out of college at this point, and I could barely recall how to formulate a proof and recall probability theory sufficiently to answer the question.

    Another interviewer asked me an algorithmic question that had one sorta tricky answer (from later research). I had. No. Idea. I fumbled around for 45 minutes implementing a dag and various DFS things that approached but never really fully solved the problem.

    As part of another interview, I was asked to do multiple back of envelope calculations to estimate the storage used by Google maps. My lame estimations skills combined with rusty mental math skills meant that I floundered throughout this.

    But... I got an offer (at L5), and wound up working there for 10 years, eventually leaving as an L7. I don't really know why they hired me, but I think I did ok irrespective of the interview :)
    Sep 16, 2021 4
    • Twitter
      lumkirden

      Go to company page Twitter

      lumkirden
      Tbh, because this was such a long time ago, interviewing was very different. Now my story would be replaced with 3 LC hards and a system design question straight outta grokking, but with a devious twist.
      Sep 16, 2021
    • Oracle
      agaxx

      Go to company page Oracle

      agaxx
      Thanks. Do you have suggestions on achieving L7?

      for majority L5 is already terminal level and hard to reach. you’ve clearly gone above and beyond what most people deem as impossible. what did you do, in general terms, that could set one apart and become a super high performer in an elite organization like Google?
      Sep 16, 2021
  • Apple
    _Ligma

    Go to company page Apple

    _Ligma
    Did meh on 2 rounds, made some large mistakes on another, nailed SD/behavioral and passed HC. I think if you get good interviewers it’s more about showing you know your stuff and can communicate well rather than just flawless logic/code.
    Sep 16, 2021 0