This was my first time applying to Google. I applied on Google’s career website for the position of Software Engineer and didn’t know anyone at the company. I never really expected to hear back, as Google was such a pie-in-the-sky company to work for. I was surprised and delighted when a recruiter at Google reached out to me about the role! My application got selected and I received a Mail( “Hello from Google !”) from Google’s HR saying that they are interested in my profile and asked me if I was ready to go ahead with the interview process and that's so obvious that you can't say no to Google.
I remember my heart beating out of my chest when I saw the first email from Google. I couldn’t believe Google was interested in me! I was initially worried, but I focused on preparing for my interview answers rather than worrying. The interview got scheduled after 2 days from the day I received the mail and I was informed that it was the first round and it will start with a short introduction and some rather basic logistical & role related questions.
And the day finally arrived !!
Being deaf, the job search process can present some unique barriers. From my first interaction with Gao(Google's recruiter), I knew this experience was going to be different. She went above and beyond to make sure I had everything I needed to be as successful as a hearing candidate.
We initially had conversation over my Resume, Projects, Internships and Hackathon experiences. I portrayed myself well I told about all my projects and internships in detail. She asked few questions related to my projects and I answered them all.
Then we moved to second round, this was the technical round she asked me questions based on Data Structures and Algorithms. Some of the questions were :
Explain the concept of Binary Search Tree.
Complexity of Merge Sort, Quick Sort and Binary Search
Dijkstra's Minimal Spanning Tree Algorithm
Python Programming Questions(As I have mentioned that my field of interest is Data Analysis)
I have not listed all the questions but most of them were related to DSA and Python. I tried answering only those questions which I knew, I didn't answer few which I was not sure about as I don't want to leave bad impression by answering incorrectly. This round went for 15 minutes.
Then we discussed the role and what to expect through the interview process. I asked few questions about Google's culture and process. She answered all of them and in the end stated that
Google is a place that values diverse perspectives.
She told me that I will get the results in one week and even if I do not get selected there are various opportunities, it's just that I did not fit for the role I applied.
After 5 days I got the mail which stated :
Although this role didn't work out, we may contact you if we come across another opening that we think could interest you and may be a good match for your skills and experience.
I was disheartened as the interview went well but that's how thing works maybe they didn't get what they want. But the sense of accomplishment I achieved after the interview was out of world!!
Hope this blog helps you to be next Googler.
Connect with me at :
LinkedIn - linkedin.com/in/sakshigupta06
Twitter - twitter.com/Sakshi_0612