Preparation: When I geared up for my Google interview, I devoted a solid month to getting ready. I sought advice from Googlers and online resources, and they consistently emphasized the importance of topics like graphs and dynamic programming (DP). Armed with this insight, I delved into solving problems within these domains, while also ensuring I covered other essential topics to round out my preparation.
In the first round, I was asked a question on graphs. I was able to solve both the warm-up and follow-up problems. The round went well.
In the second round, I was given a 1-D array and solved the problem using two pointers. In the follow-up question, I first provided a DP solution, then came up with the most optimal one after a hint given by the interviewer, which again utilized a two-pointers approach.
A few days later, I received a call for the final round. This time, I was expecting a good DP question. However, in this round, I was given two strings. I started with a recursive solution and ended up with a linear solution in the last minute (again using two pointers), but I had no time left to code. I received a rejection a few days later.
One thing I learned from this experience is that we should go into interviews with an open mind and never expect anything particular. Just because it’s a company like XYZ, it doesn’t mean they’ll ask advanced problems that you might struggle with under pressure. It’s not about the topic; it’s about understanding the concepts and effectively implementing them.