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.
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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.
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 :)
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?