Landing a job at Google is a dream of the masses but it is achieved only by a few masterminds!
You’d be surprised to learn that the tech giant has an acceptance rate of just 0.67%. Therefore, tech analysts often claim that it is 8 times harder to land a job at Google than get admitted to Harvard!
But don’t let these statistics bog you down! By learning in-depth about the infamous Google recruitment process, you can certainly beat the hiring odds!
In this roundup, we will be looking at the five steps of the Google recruitment process and how to jump start your Google interview preparation. Happy reading!
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Five Steps of the Google Hiring Process
The hiring process at Google consists of 5 major steps – resume screening, 1-2 rounds of phone screenings, 4-5 rounds of on-site interviews, hiring committee reviews, and executive reviews. A typical interview round at Google lasts up to 45 minutes.
Each part of the recruitment process has its own difficulties. But, the phone screenings and the on-site interviews are the most crucial ones to pass. The hiring process at Google and other tech-based firms such as Amazon is more or less the same. Therefore, if you’re planning to try for other IT firms as well, then you can read the interview process in this article and generate your own Amazon interview preparation strategy.
Read the hiring process given below to curate your own Google interview preparation strategy!
1. Resume Screening
Like most tech-based enterprises, Google also proceeds with its hiring process beginning with resume screening. In this round, a candidate’s application and resume is screened by experts to see if they will fit the technical requirements of the role or not. While writing your resume for getting hired at Google, you must take note of three important points:
- Ensure that you highlight the technical abilities that Google is on the hunt for.
- Write crisp and result-focused lines in bullet points.
- Don’t use any slang. Write using professional terms only.
2. Phone Screenings
The phone screenings last for 1-2 rounds. They are one of the most crucial rounds to qualify in order to get hired at Google. The employer will first contact you and tell you certain details about the round before proceeding further. Phone screenings typically last for 30-60 minutes based on your desired job profile.
For technical job profiles, you might have to face some additional rounds after the phone screenings. These rounds will involve solving coding challenges on the phone.
The employer will also test your basic knowledge about technical topics such as CSS, Data structures, and DOM manipulation. If all goes as expected, then you’ll also be assigned an at-home coding project.
If you’ve applied for a non-technical role at Google, you can expect behavioral and case-study based questions in the phone screenings.
For example – in case of product management applications, the examiner might ask you how you will improve Gmail, Google Maps, etc.
3. On-Site Interview
After qualifying the phone screenings, you’ll be called by the company for 4-5 rounds of on-site interviews. You’ll be interviewed for about 45 minutes by the panel during an on-site interview.
On-site interviews are conducted to assess whether you’re fit for the job profile or not, whether you’re a team player or not, and whether you’ll adapt well to the company’s work culture or not.
For technical job profiles, Google conducts two types of on-site interviews – Systems Design on-site interview and Coding on-site interview. You can expect multiple interview rounds under each type.
- Systems Design On-Site Interview: This level involves creating a superior quality product architecture based on your knowledge of Systems Design. If you’re an experienced candidate, be prepared to face multiple rounds of the Systems Design interview.
- Coding On-Site Interview: Technical candidates have to face coding problems even in the phone screenings. However, the problems given in the on-site interview are slightly tougher. Here, you’ll have to chalk out a code on the whiteboard for technical problems based on data structures and algorithms. Contrary to the Systems Design On-Site Interview, a fresh engineering graduate has to face a higher number of coding rounds to prove their suitability for the role.
Apart from this, you’ll also be expected to qualify the culture fit interviews for both non-technical and technical roles. The culture fit interview will involve questions edging around the topics – Conflict Resolution, Agile Methodology, Collaboration and Teamwork.
4. Hiring Committee Reviews
If you’ve managed to pass the much-dreaded on-site interview rounds, then congratulations! You’ll now be eligible to sit for the hiring committee reviews.
However, before this stage, certain candidates might have to go through a team-matching phase as well. In this phase, the team managers of the company will decide which team you’d be fit to work with and the type of work that should be assigned to you.
If a team wants to get associated with you then they’ll convey it to the recruiter. This will then get added to your job portfolio and passed on to the hiring committee.
Once the above-mentioned process is completed, your entire interview performance will be reviewed critically by a panel of 4–5 Googlers. In the days leading up to the Google hiring committee meeting, the panel decides amongst itself whether or not to hire the applicant.
At the hiring committee review meeting, the panel will discuss their feedback with you about your interview journey. If you’re found to be suitable for the role, the panel will agree to extend a job offer to you.
5. Executive Reviews
After clearing the hiring committee reviews, your profile gets scanned by the top Google executives. A compensation committee made of esteemed Googlers decides the total compensation suitable for your job offer.
Once the results are declared, you’ll be contacted by your recruiter who’ll break the exciting news to you and tell you further details about the job offer!
Conclusion
The recruitment process at Google might seem daunting at first but you can mail this exhaustive interview process by optimizing your Google interview preparation strategy.
Furthermore, if you have the talent and want to dream big about your professional career, then you must also prepare for interviews at other similar companies. For example, Amazon interview preparation can also open the golden gates of career growth for you in the future!
Now that you have a good sense of what Google seeks in its candidates, practice as much as possible and build your confidence to crack an interview at the company!