RejectedSWE-III at Google
- Difficulty
- Process took
- 4-5 Weeks
- Rounds
- 5
- Format
- Remote
- Applied via
How it went
- I was thrilled as Google has always been one of my dream companies. Despite the challenges I faced during the interview process, it was an invaluable experience, and I hope sharing it will help others who are preparing for similar roles. Thank you for reading.
What they would tell you
- I was thrilled as Google has always been one of my dream companies. Despite the challenges I faced during the interview process, it was an invaluable experience, and I hope sharing it will help others who are preparing for similar roles. Thank you for reading.
How to prepare
- What i felt, google often expects formulaic or optimal solutions (especially in string or combinatorial questions) instead of brute-force + set-based answers, so prepare accordingly
- Practice deep, stepwise explanations in addition to code; interviewers want to hear your thinking process in tight, logical steps.
Their background
I have several years of experience solving backend engineering problems and love breaking down challenging algorithms.
I applied through LinkedIn, I got a message from a recruiter who asked for my contact details and discussed the role with me.
Round by round
- 1
Telephonic Round40 min
The actual interview started with a fairly straightforward statistics question: Given 20 integers, find the mode and median. The approach here was direct sort for the median, and use a hash map for mode. Other problem was Product of the Last K Numbers.
- 2
Technical Round 160 min
A grid problem Richest Customer Wealth , it was about working through a matrix and figuring out aggregates, handling row sums.
- 3
Technical Round 260 min
Given an integer N, count the number of "patterned strings" of length N using only 'A' and 'B'. Such strings must be composed by repeating a substring of length d (where d divides N), so that repeating the substring forms the full string. For N = 4, the answer is 4: {AAAA, BBBB, ABAB, BABA}. My Approach: I initially explained that for each divisor d of N, 2^d strings are possible, but would count duplicates (strings formed by repeating substrings of smaller lengths that divide d). I suggested using a set to filter duplicates. The interviewer wanted a more optimal, non-enumerative solution (without generating duplicates and sets). Time ran out before I could optimize further.
- 4
Technical Round 360 min
The third onsite round involved a more straightforward: Problem: Given a 10 x 10 board and N strips of length 1*x, check if the board is valid. Rules:
- Strips can be placed horizontally or vertically, but not diagonally.
- Strips cannot touch each other (either by side or corner).
- No extra strips should be present on the board apart from those given in the input.
- I was able to implement a solution and handle all the edge cases. This round went smoothly, and I completed the task within the given time.
- 5
Googlyness45 min
This final interview was about cultural fit handling conflict in teams, owning mistakes, and examples of personal growth. I came in with 4–5 STAR stories prepared in advance, covering scenarios where I'd resolved conflicts or learned from setbacks. The conversation was honest and went smoothly, with natural follow-ups and clarifications.
What came up
A candidate-reported account, lightly edited. Interview processes change by team and date.