The Google Interview: Telephone Interview #1

Remember this post?

So after a number of emails were exchanged back and forth, setting the date/time for the over-the-phone interview was done. Date was 6th July, time was 1pm BST, British Summer Time. Translated to 3pm local time. I had been advised to get a stable internet connection because I could be asked to write code real-time onto a shared google doc.

I did the interview @mlabeastafrica, using the meeting room. I have to thank @mtotowajirani and @jessicacolaco whom I displaced during the duration of the interview. Also @gmeltdown, the mlab manager.

Using an ethernet cable I borrowed from @mmuendo, I plugged into the network, closed all other windows apart from the ones I required on my laptop and opened the blank shared document. I had my Ideos nearby for back-up internet in case the internet went down for some reason.

About 4 minutes past 3pm, the phone rang. I was using the Nokia X2-01, earphones plugged in so I could be hands free.

Having googled ‘Google Interviews’ and got these two interesting insights (Steve Yegge’s blog and this blog), I was ready for the call. It lasted about an hour and I’m sure you are curious what was asked, just in case you are called someday.

Updated Post

I’m sorry, having researched a bit, I have realized it is better not to divulge interview questions. This would mean the interviewer will have to come up with a new set of questions for future interviewees and they want to get a feel of how candidates perform with the current questions before moving onto the next set of questions.

We said our goodbyes and he told me to expect a response in 3-5 days.

On Monday 11th, I got an email telling me they are progressing with the next step, which is another phone interview in a similar format to the first one. So my next interview is on July 18th.