🔥How to Crack Google Interview Questions Google Interview Questions And Answers Simplilearn

if you're looking to land an interview
with google you're going to need to
prepare yourself beforehand by doing
some research into their interview
process and the types of questions they
ask potential employees we have done the
research and compiled the requisite
information for you in this guide this
comprehensive list of the top 40 plus
google interview questions has been
updated and expanded with the most
researched and ingenuous answers also
make sure you brush up on your interview
skills by practicing these sample
questions before your big day
let's go through the topics to be
covered today we will start by going
through the interview process a
candidate can expect when applying for a
position at google where we cover the
multiple rounds conducted in a regular
interview
next we take a look at some tips on how
to answer the interview questions put
forth in an interview with google we
then cover the top four google interview
questions followed by 40 plus questions
with their explanations in order to
prepare you for the interview
let's get started by learning about the
interview process at google google
interview process after the application
is submitted the next step is a two-fold
process consisting of recruiter connect
and the standard interview rounds when
it comes to the recruiter connect the
recruiter can contact the candidate
based on his or her profiles on linkedin
and other employment-oriented online
service providers or if any of his or
her friends or acquaintances have
referred him or her to the company
however it's always best to message the
recruiters via linkedin and apply for
the roles on the career page of google
if the candidate is good in ds and algo
skills it is highly recommended that he
or she participate in google kickstart a
hiring contest conducted by google six
times a year the recruiters will contact
you if the results in those competitions
are good enough after the recruiter
contacts you the standard interview
rounds begin
and when it comes to the interview
process google conducts a total of seven
rounds of interviews the first two are
telephonic interviews where the
interviewer mostly asks one medium or
two easy algo ds problems to the
candidate and the candidate has 45
minutes to solve the problems
however if kickstart's performance is a
success you move straight to the next
round
next they have five on-site interviews
out of which four are algo ds interviews
and one is a googleness interview which
is mostly a behavioral interview
so let's cover the basic part of the
interview
there are two 45-minute telephonic calls
during which the interviewer asks you to
solve either a medium problem or two
easy problems from a list of algorithms
and ds questions it is expected that the
candidate first explains the solution of
the problem to the interviewer and then
codes the problem on google docs in the
given duration of time
regarding the data structure and
algorithms rounds these are 45-minute
interviews where the interviewer shares
a google doc with the candidate and asks
medium to hard problems about algorithms
and ds it is expected that the candidate
first explains the solution of the
problem to the interviewer and then
codes the problem on google docs within
the given time frame
finally there is a round to check the
google lines of a candidate
this is an interview process started by
google in 2020 the goal is to check for
cultural compatibility with the company
as much as interviewing skills it is
primarily a behavioral interview to
check the adaptability of a candidate to
the diverse cultural environment of the
company
one of the drawbacks of this hiring
procedure is that such challenging
questions can throw candidates off their
game and they may fail miserably
answering such questions can be
exhausting however even though it might
help fetch suitable candidates to a few
hiring authorities there is no evidence
that these bizarre hypothetical
interview questions actually identify
capable applicants which is why they're
not in practice today let's look at the
strategy you can follow to sail through
the interview process how to answer
even if you're only going to be asked
normal interview questions you shouldn't
go in without a strategy especially when
your goal is to impress the interviewer
start by looking at the job description
to understand what the hiring manager
will be looking for this will ensure you
give all the pertinent information in
your interview
then review the company's mission and
value statements to learn more about the
organization including its priorities
and perspective
and finally look at google's profiles
for company news about recent
accomplishments or do a quick news
search for more details if you can
discuss new developments with the hiring
manager during an interview there's a
good chance the interviewer will be
impressed okay now you've got some great
material to work with
moving forward how do you answer the
simple straightforward questions
well straightforward questions can be
answered with a simple yes or no
to demonstrate for example if the hiring
manager wants to know if you have a
skill reply with yes or no followed by
telling them how you acquired or used
that skill if your answer is no or you
know little of that skill explain that
you're making an effort to improve in
that area
now how to handle those tricky interview
questions the ones that don't have a
right or a wrong answer the key here is
to adopt the right strategy
follow the star method which is a
structured manner of responding to
behavioral based interview questions by
discussing a specific situation and
providing information about the task
action and outcome of the situation but
add in the tailoring method and then
make your answers specific to the
interview to maximize your chances of
getting selected the tailoring method is
essentially a way to customize your job
interview to align exclusively with the
specific company and position you are
seeking now that we understand the
mental approach on how to tackle these
questions let us go through some of the
questions asked in google interviews
going through the following will
definitely help you in preparing for the
final rounds be it for a technical role
or business facing questions it's
important to note that the google
interview questions you face will vary
depending on the position one is being
interviewed for for instance a software
engineer will not be asked the same set
of questions as an hr professional
however
certain common questions can apply to
almost any subject or career
so let's start off with some basic
questions and move on to the more
intricate ones number one
what google product do you use the most
and how can you fix it
this is a question to assess how much
you know about google's offerings the
answer you give doesn't matter as long
as you talk about the company with
excitement and say how it's changed your
life somehow
a sample answer can be
i use youtube to find new ideas gain
skills and explore new subjects while
others use it to promote their work to
provide more customization to the users
i would implement an option to say how
the video recommendations are affected
by each video the overload problem may
be solved depending on the feedback that
the youtube community wants
number two
who are google's top competitors and
does google stand out from the rest
with this question the hiring manager
can tell if you are familiar with the
other companies who are vying for the
same position as google and give you a
fair opportunity to mention your
relevant strengths
this can be specifically helpful for
more creative or experimental roles such
as product managers or software
developer jobs where demonstrating how
you are more experienced or better is
important
google's competitors vary depending on
the market google has the ability to
seamlessly integrate its services into
one user experience in addition google
offers a variety of services making it
versatile and easy to avoid leaving the
website to accomplish a task
number three
how do you go about ensuring that your
co-workers are doing what they need to
do
accountability is an integral factor for
employers in the eyes of google you want
to make sure that you take on your
responsibilities and live up to the
company's expectations a hiring manager
may favor candidates who can also help
their co-workers stay accountable
especially if the company expects a lot
of group projects
a sample answer can be
for me accountability is always a
priority
one of the things i do to stay
accountable is to track all of my
deliverables and associated due dates a
list is how i stay organized create
notifications and block out time on my
calendar as necessary ensuring i can
focus on the task and finish on time
when projects are larger
i also employ the use of many milestones
which helps me explore the step-by-step
process and plan more effectively
working with my co-workers i find that
keeping in touch is often helpful now
this can be in the form of scheduling
team meetings to discuss our progress or
bouncing ideas back and forth
additionally i try to contact them
periodically to check if they need
anything or offer assistance if they
appear to be falling behind
number four
have you ever done something
professionally risked a lot and failed
what was it
what made you take the risk and what did
you take away from it
google seems to love innovation and with
innovation comes risks
so when google finds a creative person
it is appreciative and respectful of the
courage to do something no one else
would there should be something to help
that next effort succeed in future
endeavors
now let's go over some other important
questions that you may face when
applying for a job at google
more interview questions
five
what drew you to google in the first
place
the presence of free food and the
ability to bring your pet to the
googleplex isn't what you want to do
here although it is a very important
factor to some
instead discuss how your skills mesh
with what google is looking for what the
company offers and the specific job
you're applying for now this is your
chance to show that you are the right
person for the job and understand the
company
google always releases new devices and
apps your skill as an app developer
could be of assistance to this group
tell them that you would like to get
together with the team and discuss how
you can be of help
number six
what is your knowledge of google's
history
headquartered in mountain view
california google llc formerly google
incorporated from 1998 to 2017
is an american company that develops
produces and distributes software in
diverse technological domains with more
than 70 of worldwide online search
requests being handled by google it is
essential to most internet users
experience
at first google just focused on its
search function but now it offers a
multitude of products such as email
document creation software and more
however 2012's acquisition of motorola
mobility enabled it to sell its own
hardware as well
google's wide range of products size and
influence on the high-tech market makes
it one of the four largest companies
alongside apple ibm and microsoft yet
its search tool is its core product that
drives its success
google earned all of its revenue in 2016
from advertisements based on people's
search requests
number seven
in your opinion should people have to
use their legal names when setting up a
gmail account
although it is required by google you
don't need to use your real name or the
google username of your choice to
complete this profile
you can put your nickname make sure it
sounds authentic like a first name and
you should be all set
number eight
what changes do you think digital
marketing will undergo in the next five
years
it is difficult to predict how digital
marketing will change in the next five
years but it will most likely be more
integrated into our daily lives digital
marketing is already widespread in most
countries and it's not going anywhere
anytime soon with the popularity of
smartphones and other mobile devices
users are spending a large percentage of
their time online
and on mobile apps instead of watching
tv or reading magazines like they used
to
as such advertisers are quickly adapting
to the way people consume information on
the go
number nine how would you explain this
google product to a young person say a
four-year-old
this is a complicated test that can seem
impossible when you are not well
prepared
chances are the interviewer will ask you
questions about google products
connected to the job you are applying
for so focus on those
know how the product works what it does
and whether you understand it well
enough if you understand it well enough
you should be able to rephrase it enough
so a four-year-old can understand
well do you know how we pay the cashier
at the grocery store for our food well
it's easier than ever to use my phone to
pay the cashier with google pay my bank
account is directly connected to the
purchase so i don't have to worry about
leaving my card behind
number 10
what do you think of google charging for
their productivity apps do you agree or
disagree
a sample answer can be
i disagree with google charging for
their productivity apps by charging for
these apps it will be difficult for them
to get a large user base as not everyone
is willing to pay for software
many users use these apps every day as
part of their jobs and don't want to pay
money for them by charging these fees
they may see a decrease in their users
or they may even lose potential
customers due to high prices
number 11
share a detail about yourself that you
haven't put on your resume
hiring managers often use interview
questions like these to see how quickly
you think on your feet and to get a
sense of your personality be ready to
describe something unique about yourself
that isn't listed on your resume or in
any other documents you've provided
avoid getting flustered and struggling
for words but also be careful not to
oversell yourself or give off a false
impression for example
if you say you can juggle flaming
bowling pins while riding a unicycle
hiring managers might want to know why
that skill is relevant to their business
and here's a hint it probably isn't
number 12
can you give me an example of a time
when you and your manager were at odds
how did you two finally come to an
agreement
a sample answer can be
i once disagreed with my boss about a
decision that would have cost the
company a lot of money it was about how
we were going to handle our facebook
advertising and i suggested a solution
that saved the company about a grand i
wrote up a document with my plan and
emailed it to him asking if we could
discuss in person
he loved the idea so we went with it and
it ended up working out wonderfully
number 13
what does multi-threaded programming
mean
a multi-threaded program is an
executable program with multiple
execution threads each running on its
own processor
sometimes there could be multiple
threads running simultaneously on
multiple processor cores
number fourteen
could you briefly explain adwords to
someone who's unfamiliar with the
product and online advertising
google ads is an online advertising
platform used by companies to promote
their products and services on google
search youtube and other sites with
google ads companies can also specify
what kind of traffic they want the ads
to generate with a google ads account
advertisers can customize their budgets
and targeting and start or stop their
ads at any time
this question tests whether you can
articulate a complicated business issue
and solve someone's problem it's not
about how much you know but how well you
can communicate it to someone else
number fifteen
if you were told to create an initiative
to increase gmail's user base what would
you do
if you were in charge of marketing gmail
how would you go about getting more
people to start using it
well this type of question is designed
to see if you can formulate a strategy
on your feet
show them that you can brainstorm and
execute strategies give an example of a
time when you increase your team's sales
numbers or user base by x percent
through a particular initiative it could
be a real situation or something
hypothetical just make sure it's
relevant
number 16
describe a time when you faced a
technical problem how did you fix it
a sample answer can be
working in my current position i often
get to call customers on the phone and
fill orders through the company's system
however on one particular day the system
went down and there were more than 100
callers waiting to place their orders
initially it was difficult but then i
realized there were a number of things i
could do to help with the problem i
contacted our customers and reassured
them that we were doing everything in
our power to assist them i spoke to as
many customers as i could so they were
on top of the priority list and their
wait time would be shorter i also stayed
sincere and helpful and told them the
truth our system was down momentarily
i have always enjoyed telling our
customers the truth about their service
when it hasn't been perfect and i love
taking the initiative to get to the
bottom of messy situations when my
managers have left me in charge i am
very eager to tell your customers about
your wonderful product should there be a
time when your system is temporarily
inaccessible
number 17
let me know three non-google sites that
you'd like to visit what do you like
about them
google has developed a reputation for
asking brain teasers that don't actually
provide much insight into candidates and
no your answers shouldn't mention turing
machines or anything like that still
google is interested in knowing how you
think remember to describe your reasons
and back them up with examples from your
experience and knowledge your answer
might be straightforward for instance
you can say you like cnn because you
always know what's going on in the world
and you love sites like facebook because
it lets you connect with friends
whatever you choose make sure to stick
with it google will ask follow-up
questions about why you said what you
said
number eighteen
how do cookies move along through the
http protocol
a cookie is transmitted as part of an
http protocol via a header field
cookie lifecycle the first time a
browser connects with a particular
server there are no cookies the server
creates a unique identifier and returns
a set cookie header in the response that
contains the identifier
number 19
what is the function of congestion
control in tcp protocol
to prevent congestion or mitigate
congestion after it has occurred the tcp
protocol incorporates congestion control
mechanisms in contrast to the sliding
window used in the flow control
mechanism tcp uses the congestion window
maintained by the sender
number 20 if an advertiser doesn't see
the benefit of adwords due to poor
conversions how would you convince them
to stay on board
if conversion rates are low i'd first
try to work out why
usually the client's website is the
problem in cases like this
my approach to this is pretty
straightforward i can either sell them a
new website or improve their existing
one on the other hand i can make a
landing page with a tool like unbounce
to see if we get any leads or make sales
it only really works for lead generation
not e-commerce
you can test if your conversion tracking
is actually working and make sure you're
tracking every conversion you can
contact forms sales phone conversions
etc
sometimes a client may not see any
benefit even though conversions are
happening as they're not being tracked
you need to show them how successful
your adwords campaigns are in other
words adwords is only an issue when it
is related to converted views
present them with numbers such as time
on site the number of pages visited and
bounce rate but do it with an idea of
what the problem is and how to fix it
let the client know that you spotted a
potential problem and gave them a
potential solution even if it's just a
test
number 21
pick an app on your phone's home screen
what do you like about it what do you
dislike about it
i would like to share my opinion on my
app ifitness which has a home screen
i like that it is simple and easy to use
while having multiple features but there
are many things i dislike about it such
as having to pay every month even if you
do not use all of its features
the app is also very complex and takes
up a lot of memory on my phone making it
longer for my phone to boot up
number 22 what steps could youtube take
to improve its business model
youtube is currently a free platform for
users and makes money primarily through
advertisements
youtube could possibly create paid
accounts for users who wish to avoid ads
another option would be to offer users
pay-per-view videos and exclusive
content only available with a
subscription
number 23
describe a time when you were faced with
adversity how did you overcome it
a sample answer can be
my former employer put me through an
excel training course that i flunked
it was too challenging i soon realized i
shouldn't have started with an advanced
level course i brought up this issue
with my boss and we both came to the
conclusion that i wasn't quite ready for
advanced level coursework
i am not a skilled user but i have used
computers a lot to solve the problem i
studied online for a few weeks and then
took up the course again when i was
better prepared this approach was much
more successful as i not only managed to
complete it i secured 92 percent
number 24 could you explain why the
google home page is mostly blank
in the wake of annoying pop-ups and
advertisements the google founders have
made it simple for the users which
ultimately led to a better interface
number 25
in layman's terms how would you explain
the balance sheet to someone who isn't
familiar with accounting principles
a balance sheet is a simple one-page
financial statement showing what you own
and what you owe they're simple to
create and comprehend on one side it
lists what your business owns while the
other side lists how much debt you owe
as well as how much of the company you
own
the info on a balance sheet will give
you your lenders and your investors a
brief overview of your company's current
fiscal health
that is when you need to take your
company's temperature a balance sheet is
your thermometer
number 26
how would you assure a hesitant client
that making the move to a cloud solution
is the right thing to do you'd want to
understand what specifically about a
cloud solution is causing them to be
hesitant
you'd also want to gain an understanding
of how it would impact their operations
as well as any potential security or
compliance concerns most importantly
you'd want to establish a clear course
of action that will help your client
make peace with moving forward with a
cloud solution and ensure that they
fully understand how and why such a move
will benefit them in the long term
number 27
what is google's largest concern right
now
for a while now microsoft has been
google's biggest threat it has had a
tough time making gains in the pc market
but is still firmly entrenched in the
office space
industries that google is aggressively
trying to compete in include technology
business gaming and the cloud
if microsoft's phones can be
significantly upgraded they may have the
ability to outperform google in various
areas
to note google's greatest competitor in
advertising at this point is facebook
while microsoft is their main competitor
in search with a spot at the number two
position with significant gains as is
the case with many android-based phones
android companies have moved away from
using android due to their disdain for
the way that google dictates their
product choosing to launch their own
alternative software
number 28
given an auto suggest issue in a
developing country what steps would you
take to correct it
a few steps in resolving an auto suggest
issue for searches in a developing
country would include
number one identify keywords that are
being searched frequently in your
country and then test those out for
feasibility as suggested search terms by
watching live auto suggest results
testing out of potential abbreviations
and etc
number two
try to find similar countries or regions
where you can test it first before
launching it on a larger scale
number 29
tell me about an area where you believe
google is under invested if you work for
google it's a pretty safe bet that they
are already investing heavily in social
media but even if you don't your job is
to be able to pinpoint areas where
google is under invested and potentially
could use some extra help for example if
you believe facebook has been expanding
into youtube territory by producing
engaging videos and therefore has a
potentially lucrative revenue stream at
its fingertips then explain why
number 30.
tell me about an area where you think
google is over-invested
just as the question before your answer
should follow the same formula replace
underinvested with over-invested
number 31
share a time when a project had expanded
beyond what was originally anticipated
this is an open-ended question that you
should handle carefully
while it is good to be honest you don't
want to come across as arrogant by
saying something like your project was
so important that they couldn't ignore
it
instead you should simply say something
like it was clear early on that we had
far more work than we had initially
anticipated
the key thing to remember is that there
are always unexpected issues in any
given project
when faced with a situation where there
is more work than anticipated your
response will help determine whether or
not you are viewed as someone who can
take charge of a situation and ensure
things get done
or if you're someone who cannot
effectively manage time and resources
a good answer would acknowledge their
concern while also reassuring them that
even though there were challenges
everything worked out in the end
number 32
what can i discover about your
personality by checking your browser
history
some of these questions may seem odd or
irrelevant but remember that
interviewers are trying to get a sense
of your personality
many candidates have failed not because
they couldn't answer questions about
technology and data structures but
because they lack social skills
that is being a team player
while there isn't really any right
answer for these questions it helps to
be personable and show your human side
through examples that you come up with
off the cuff
for example if asked if you open your
browser history what will they learn
about your personality
one answer could be that you spend a lot
of time on facebook you like connecting
with friends and family
but if they look at your linkedin
profile instead they might see that your
interests revolve around artificial
intelligence when you were younger you
wanted to work at ibm research
number 33
share a story with me about when you had
to handle confusing circumstances
all of us have to handle confusing
circumstances at work it's important to
remember that you don't have to come up
with a solution on your own in such
situations instead you can seek help
from colleagues and mentors
if you have an opportunity to work at
google or other huge technology
companies then it's very important to
prepare such questions beforehand
number 34
let me ask you something what do you
enjoy doing outside of work
the idea behind this type of interview
is to have a more conversational style
one way interviewers can get a sense of
who you are and what matters most to you
is by asking you about something in your
life that isn't related to work
you may discuss what matters to you the
most in life you may speak about your
family non-profit or favorite sports
team
share with others not just what you like
but also why it matters to you
why does it matter to you
do you mind if i ask why you care so
much i'm curious how it has influenced
your career
if you had no fear of failure what would
be your dream job
some companies interview potential
candidates by asking them what they
would do if they weren't afraid of
taking risks and didn't fear trying new
things because they want people who are
cautious risk takers and can take up
challenging assignments
number 35
tell me a time when you had to sell or
propose a solution to an engineering or
stakeholder team
a sample answer can be
i had a code base that i inherited from
another developer
it was unmaintainable because it was a
confusing mess of spaghetti code many
developers were afraid to change it
i put together a presentation and shared
my plan for refactoring it with my team
and then made changes using pair
programming so we could all learn
something new together
afterward we work through bugs
collectively passing fixes back and
forth until our process became smoother
and more efficient
number 36
what's the maximum number of golf balls
that can fit in a school bus
school buses are enormous vehicles often
reaching lengths of about 40 feet
the average school bus can hold about 56
students but how many golf balls could
fit in a school bus
in 1994 one person calculated that
approximately 34 million golf balls
could fit into a single school bus
and that's not just a guess he had
actually measured it
at least two were inside each seat and
another 16 were scattered in every
square foot of the floor space as well
number 37 between learning and earning
which one do you enjoy more
a sample answer can be i enjoy learning
and i'd rather focus on being more
career oriented than money-minded as i
feel that that's how you become more
qualified at what you do
knowledge will lead to wisdom and a
deeper understanding of what you are
doing
now we will cover some of the questions
that you can ask at the end of an
interview getting clarity regarding the
job profile is highly important for your
career and prospective decisions moving
forward
number 38
when i first started working for google
what surprised me was
the diversity of its workforce it's
important to be aware that most people
there are talented in their own way
when i first joined i imagined everyone
who worked there to be like a typical
computer geek
every one of my co-workers comes from a
different background and i have learned
something new from each of them
this welcoming of new ideas is another
of your company's core values which
inspires me to consistently challenge
myself improving my skills at work and
elsewhere
number 39 what challenge is google
facing today what does this role hope to
do to fix this challenge
google faces a multitude of challenges
every day
the company has to ensure that its
products and services stay on top of
customer trends and ahead of competitors
offerings or else it risks being
irrelevant in today's fast-moving
business landscape google is always
innovating new products and updating old
ones to make them more user-friendly so
you should mention one challenge google
faces in this area and how you hope to
fix it if hired
number 40 what does an average day look
like for this role
this question is all about making sure
you know what you're getting yourself
into so be honest with your interviewer
if a typical day involves any of these
things like working on saturdays or
traveling several times a month say so
that way you won't have any later
unforeseen surprises
number 41
what does success mean to you in
relation to this job
by asking this question they want to see
if your definition of success matches
that of the potential employer
don't try to hide your answer and expect
them to give you a different one
there are many different ideas of what
success means so the important thing is
that you're honest with yourself about
what makes you successful and write that
down
number 42
on average what do the most successful
people in this position share in common
most successful people in this position
share not only a willingness to learn
and put in the effort but also have a
great enthusiasm for their position and
their areas of expertise
those are the type of questions that you
can come up with when applying for
google
now that you're equipped with a good set
of google interview questions to
practice it's time for you to utilize
these nifty exercises so as to gain the
skills required to have an immense
impact in this inclusive and lucrative
industry
hope you learned something new today if
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