SWE-II at Google

How it went

What they would tell you

How to prepare

Their background

Round by round

1. 1

   Phone Screen60 min

   I was given a graph problem and, with a few hints, managed to crack the optimal solution. I was so pumped when I got the call the very next day saying that I cleared it! My onsites were going to be scheduled next. But then... ghosting. Weeks went by without any updates. The uncertainty was tough, but finally, my onsite interviews were set for the third week of Feb 2025. Being a morning person, I requested morning slots on consecutive days. The final schedule was:

   • 17th, 18th, 19th, and 20th Feb 2025.
   • Graph Problem
2. 2

   DSA Mock interview with Senior Engineer60 min

   I wanted a mock interview before my onsites and thus requested the recruiter for the same. I got my mock scheduled on 14th Feb 2025 in the evening. The interviewer was from London, a Senior Software Engineer with 6 YOE at Google. I was asked a pretty standard BFS question with three follow-ups. Graphs are one of my stronger areas, so I solved the first question pretty quickly. Then, the interviewer kept asking follow-ups, and I was able to explain and code all of them one by one. This went really well, and the interviewer even praised me for my speed and understanding of the question. Self-rating: Strong hire.

   • BFS
3. 3

   Onsite - 1 | DSA60 min

   • Got a LC Hard problem on streams.
   • Came up with the optimal solution, and the interviewer seemed satisfied.
   • But… I left a conditional bug in the code. Even after a hint, I couldn’t fix it. That moment still haunts me.
   • I really thought this could have been a strong hire, but that bug might have cost me.
   • Self-rating: Hire.
   • Streams
4. 4

   Onsite - 2 | DSA60 min

   • Got a LeetCode Medium problem based on cyclic sort.
   • Solved the better approach without hints, and with a couple of hints, I cracked the optimal one.
   • Forgot the syntax for a custom comparator in a priority queue (CPP being my go-to language). That might have left a bad impression.
   • Again, thought this could have been a strong hire, but those minor slip-ups made me doubt.
   • Self-rating: Hire.
   • Cyclic sort
5. 5

   Onsite - 3 | Googliness & Leadership Round60 min

   • The interviewer was super chill. That helped calm my nerves.
   • Being my first-ever culture-fit round, I was a bit nervous initially.
   • Struggled to frame my answers properly, but the interviewer encouraged me to relax and think through my responses.
   • We wrapped up early and had a great chat about life at Google.
   • Self-rating: Hire.
6. 6

   Onsite - 4 | DSA60 min

   • This was the big one. I was SO excited and determined to get a strong hire.
   • Got a problem: Find the sum of all subarrays where the difference is 1 or -1.
   • Immediately recognized it was a DP problem.
   • BUT… I messed up.
   • Instead of starting with brute force, I zoned out and jumped straight into trying to derive a mathematical formula.
   • Wasted 20 minutes trying to crack the formula.
   • The interviewer gave me no hints (which meant they expected me to figure it out).
   • With only 10 minutes left, I was told to at least code the brute force approach.
   • Barely managed to complete it. Didn’t even get time to debug.
   • Completely shattered.
   • The interviewer even mentioned that I should work on handling pressure better.
   • If I had just played it safe, started from brute force, and then optimized, I might have at least gotten a Lean Hire instead of what I feared was a No Hire.
   • Self-rating: Lean No Hire.

What came up