Tough Google Interview Questions You Should Prepare

Google tough interview questions can look intimidating, but they are far easier for those who truly understand the concepts and then practice implementation. Google interview questions are well-crafted to test several skills. Google is not looking for rote memorization of standard question-solving patterns, just excellent role-related skills and an in-depth understanding of the concepts surrounding them.

Expert’s Quote:

"Success in any field, but especially in business, is about working with people, not against them."

–Keith Ferrazzi

(American author and entrepreneur in professional networking and relationship-building)

If you are preparing for a tech interview, check out our technical interview checklist, interview questions page, and salary negotiation ebook to get interview-ready! Also, read Amazon Coding Interview Questions, Facebook Coding Interview Questions, and Google Coding Interview Questions for specific insights and guidance on Google tough tech interviews.

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This article focuses on Google Tough interview questions to help you prepare for your next Google Tough interview. Read ahead to learn more!

In this article, we’ll cover:

• Top Google Tough Interview Questions and Answers
• Sample Google Tough Interview Questions for Practice
• Most Common Google Tough Interview Questions
• FAQs About Google Tough Interview Questions

Top Google Tough Interview Questions and Answers

We’ll begin with some sample Google tough interview questions and answers to get a basic idea of what to expect.

Expert’s Quote: 

"Interviewing at Google is a unique experience. It's not just about coding proficiency; it's about showcasing your ability to collaborate, your passion for learning, and your capacity to thrive in a dynamic and innovative environment. It's not just an interview; it's a glimpse into how you approach problem-solving in the real world."

– Anonymous

Q1. How many times in a day do a clock’s hands make zero degrees with each other and overlap?

A clock’s hands overlap 22 times a day. There are 11 intervals in one hour, and the overlap happens once for every hour interval.

Q2. You have eight balls. Seven of them weigh the same, and only one weighs heavier. Determine which one in two weighings.

Pick any six balls and put three on each side of the weighing scale. If the weights of the three-ball sets are the same, the heavy ball isn't one of these six. It's one of the remaining two balls. Now put the two remaining on the scale to see which one. However, if one set of three weighs heavier than the other in the group of six, the ball is one in the heavier set of three. Put any two of those three on the scale. If there’s a heavy ball in that measurement, you have found it. If both balls have the same weight, then the remaining ball that wasn’t measured is the heavy ball.

Q3. Explain the significance of "dead beef."

DEADBEEF refers to 0xDEADBEEF and is a hexadecimal value used in debugging in the mainframe/assembly days. IBM RS/6000 systems use it, Mac OS on 32-bit PowerPC processors uses it, and the Commodore Amiga uses it as a magic debug value. On Sun Microsystems' Solaris, dead beef marks freed kernel memory.

Q4. Explain a database in one sentence to your eight-year-old nephew.

A database is like a person who remembers lots of information about lots of things and gives other people that information when they need it.

Q5. Why are maintenance hole covers round?

Round maintenance hole covers don’t accidentally fall into the hole and are easier to manufacture. They require no alignment as there are no sides/corners in the round shape. This makes the heavy maintenance hole covers easier to put back on without hassle.

Sample Google Tough Interview Questions for Practice

Here are some Google tough interview questions. Ensure you can solve them before your interview:

1. How would you describe AdWords to a 6-year-old?
2. Would it be good for Google to charge Gmail users?
3. How would you explain the importance of HTML to your grandmother?
4. How many ways are there to find a needle in a haystack?
5. What changes will happen in the digital advertising space in the next few years?
6. An advertiser makes $0.10 every time an ad is clicked. Only 20% of visitors click on this ad. How many people need to visit the site for the advertiser to make $20?
7. What would you spend your time on if you didn’t have to work?
8. Explain the internet to a person who has no clue what it is.
9. If you had to remove ads from YouTube, how would you continue making money from the platform?
10. Which has a significant advertising potential between a flower shop and a funeral home?
11. How much will you charge to wash all the windows in the city?
12. What day is today if the day before, the day before yesterday, comes three days after Saturday?
13. How would you solve homelessness in downtown San Francisco?
14. How can a man accurately predict the exact score of every football game before it begins?
15. An airplane crashed into a field, and all died except two. How can that happen?
16. Get a total of 1000 by using eight 8s.

Practice some more Google interview questions and uplevel your tech interview prep.

Most Common Google Tough Interview Questions

Lastly, here are some of the most common Google tough interview questions. Some of these are so tricky that they were banned:

1. In a group of 10 members, the age of all ten members is the same as it was four years ago because a young member replaced an old member. How much younger than the senior member is the new member?
2. What is one song you’d like to play whenever you enter a room for the rest of your life?
3. Estimate the number of basketballs that can fit into an average-sized plane.
4. Explain cloud computing to a 6-year-old.
5. Name your favorite Google product, and describe how to improve it.
6. What would you do if you wanted to bring your pet to work, but one of your team members was allergic to pet fur?
7. List some things that make you nervous.
8. Would you choose to earn or learn?
9. What’s the number of piano tuners in the entire world?
10. What does Googleyness mean to you?
11. A coin was flipped 1,000 times, and there were 560 heads. Is the coin biased?
12. What is one sentence you’d want to be remembered by?
13. Design an evacuation plan for the city.

We hope that this Google tough interview questions list will help you crack your tech interview. Practice some mock interviews and read our guide to 12 key preparation tips to crack an interview to prepare better.

FAQs About Google Tough Interview Questions

Q1. What is Google's acceptance rate?

Google receives around three million applications every year and accepts 0.2% of them. This means that you have a better chance of getting into Harvard than Google.

Q2. Can a fresher get a job at Google?

Yes! While most jobs at Google require a few years of experience, Google does hire fresh graduates if their projects and internships stand out and exhibit the innovative, problem-solving skill set they’re looking for.

Q3. How long is the Google interview process?

Google interview process can be rigorous, often with 3-4 interviews in one day, either in-person or over video). They also aim to make it friendly and warm and allow you to get to know them better too.

Q4. Is Google interview very tough?

Google interviews can be tough and involve Google-specific questions covering a wide range of topics. But as long as your concepts are clear and skill sharpened, it’s a more intellectually stimulating experience than an overwhelmingly daunting one.

Q5. What do Google interviewers look for?

Google interviewers look for alignment with their four principles: cognitive ability, leadership, role-related knowledge, and Googleyness.

Q6. Does Google pay well?

According to a Work Happiness survey at Indeed, 72% of people think they are paid fairly at Google based on 2,798 ratings.

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