Table of contents

• Where do I apply for a Google interview?
• What topics should I study for?
• What are some example Google technical questions?
• What are some example Google behavioral questions?
• How long is the entire Google interview process?
• What is the Google interview like for a full time software engineering role?
• What are the levels and salary for a software engineer at Google?
• How should I prepare?

Where do I apply for a Google interview?

You will need to upload your resume and provide other relevant information to the Google careers site, or use this LinkedIn strategy to find a recruiter to contact.

If you pass the initial screening, you'll be asked to talk with a recruiter.

What topics should I study for?

• Dynamic programming (Google asks more DP than any other big tech company, and it goes past the basic templates)
• Graph (and tree) traversal
  • Breadth first search
  • Depth first search
  • Graph BFS
• Two pointers
• Sliding window
• Intervals
• Hash maps
• Sorting
• Heaps
• Backtracking
• Time/space analysis
• Design (for L5 and above)

If your prep time is limited, weight dynamic programming and graphs the heaviest. That's where Google differs most from Meta and Amazon. Google also reuses questions far less than other companies, so memorizing question banks doesn't transfer well. Learning the underlying patterns does.

What are some example Google technical questions?

• Given two nodes, determine if they have the same parent.
• Reverse a singly linked list in-place.
• Given a list of integers, find two distinct numbers that add up to a specific target.
• Determine if a string is palindrome.
• Given a list, find the longest increasing subsequence.
• Design an algorithm to play a game of chess.
• Add two numbers represented by linked lists.
• Search for a substring within a string.
• Find the height of the binary tree after removing subtrees.
• Write a shuffle method for a music player.
• Determine if a binary tree is a valid binary search tree.
• Print all primes smaller than or equal to a given number.
• Find the longest common subsequence of two strings.
• If you can climb the stairs one or two steps at a time, return the total number of unique ways to reach the nth stair.
• Find the shortest path between two nodes.
• Given a list containing numbers from 1 to n with one number missing, write an efficient algorithm to find the missing number.
• Invert a binary tree.
• Sort a linked list.
• Design a hash map.
• Given a knapsack and a set of items and their weights and values, determine the subset of items that does not exceed the weight capacity of the knapsack, while having the maximum total value.
• How would you build a distributed system?
• Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of using dynamic programming when designing an algorithm.

One thing to know: some rounds ask you to implement a full class with multiple methods, not just a single function. Expect vague prompts too. Turning a vague ask into a precise problem is part of what's being graded.

What are some example Google behavioral questions?

• Tell me about a time you exceeded expectations.
• Tell me about a time you failed expectations.
• Tell me about a time you had a disagreement with a coworker.
• Tell me about a time you had to work through ambiguity.
• Why are you leaving your current job?
• Tell me about one of the projects you've worked on.
• How do you stay accountable?

This is the "Googleyness & Leadership" round. Google evaluates you on four attributes: General Cognitive Ability (weighted most), Leadership, Googleyness, and Role-Related Knowledge (weighted least). Interviewers also score how you behave during the round: how you take a hint, whether you admit uncertainty, whether you handle pushback without getting defensive.

How long is the entire Google interview process?

From six weeks to three months. Google is notorious for moving candidates slowly, and the two biggest waits are scheduling the onsite and team matching. Team matching alone can take anywhere from a week (if a team wants your profile) to several months when headcount is tight.

What is the Google interview like for a full time software engineering role?

As of 2026, expect at least one round in person. Google brought back in-person interviews to counter candidates secretly using AI tools in remote rounds. Whiteboard practice is worth your time again.

Google Hiring Assessment (30-45 minutes)

An online questionnaire with situational and personality questions. Not a coding test. Some candidates skip it, especially those sourced directly by a hiring manager.

Online assessment (60-90 minutes)

Mostly for new grad (L3) candidates: two data structures and algorithms problems, with photo verification. Experienced candidates usually skip this.

Recruiter phone screen (30 minutes)

Prepare to talk about your professional background, skills, and career goals.

Technical phone screen (45 to 60 minutes)

One screen is typical, and L5+ candidates often get two. You'll code in Google's interview platform: no autocomplete, no syntax highlighting, and your code never runs. Practice writing code in a plain Google Doc so this doesn't throw you.

Onsite (one day, sometimes two for senior roles)

• 4-5 total interviews, 45 minutes each:
  • 2-3 coding interviews
  • 1 system design interview, but only at L5 and above. L3/L4 candidates don't get a standalone design round.
  • 1 Googleyness & Leadership (behavioral) interview

New in 2026: the AI-assisted round. Google is piloting a "code comprehension" round for L3/L4 candidates on some US teams. You get an unfamiliar codebase (a few hundred lines) and 60 minutes to read, debug, and improve it, with Gemini available as an assistant (Gemini only, no other AI). You're scored on how you prompt, whether you validate the output, and whether you catch the model's mistakes. If you get this round, you still face one traditional coding round with no AI. Ask your recruiter whether your loop includes it.

Hiring committee

Four to six senior engineers who never meet you read the written feedback from your interviews and vote. This is why specifics matter so much at Google: speak in numbers and named trade-offs your interviewer can literally write down. Consistency also beats peaks. A steady "good" across every round gets approved more reliably than one brilliant round and one weak one.

Team matching

Usually after committee approval, though the order varies by level and region (ask your recruiter). The recruiter connects you with leads from potential teams. This stage has gotten slower since 2023, so don't read anything into a long wait.

What are the levels and salary for a software engineer at Google?

*Note that compensation varies based on location. These estimates are likely based on the USA HCOL market.

The compensation package will likely include:

• Base salary
• Equity split equally over 4 years
• Target Bonus: usually at least 15% of annual base salary Google provides annual stock refreshes.
• Sign-on bonus that's only given once when hired.

How should I prepare?

Start with how to prepare for a technical interview, then drill the patterns above, especially dynamic programming and graph traversal. Practice writing code with no editor help and no execution, since that's the real interview environment. And ask your recruiter three questions up front: is any round in person, does my loop include the Gemini-assisted round, and does team matching come before or after the hiring committee for my level.