Google Interview Preparation: The 4-Week Study Plan

Google’s technical interview is one of the most challenging interviews among big tech companies. The interview process is the ultimate test of your coding and design capabilities. There’s more, though. The interview also evaluates your behavioral attributes and responses in workplace situations, as well as the scope of your professional experience to see if you’re the right cultural fit.

With a solid prep strategy in place, it is most certainly possible to land a deserving offer from your favorite company. An exhaustive study plan along with consistency is just the ingredients you need to succeed. 

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 Google Interview Questions and How Hard It Is to Get a Job at Google for specific insights and guidance on Google tech interviews.

Having trained over 10,000 software engineers, we know what it takes to crack the toughest tech interviews. Since 2014, Interview Kickstart alums have been landing lucrative offers from FAANG and Tier-1 tech companies, with an average salary hike of 49%. The highest-ever offer received by an IK alum is a whopping $1.26 Million!

At IK, you get the unique opportunity to learn from expert instructors who are hiring managers and tech leads at Google, Facebook, Apple, and other top Silicon Valley tech companies.

Want to nail your next tech interview? Sign up for our FREE Webinar.

In this article, we’ll cover a 4-week study plan to help you land that coveted offer from Google. Although we strongly recommend that you commence your interview prep at least 8 weeks before your interview, a highly intensive 4-week study plan can work too. 

Here’s what we’ll cover in this article:

• The Google Technical Interview Process
• Topics to Prepare for the Google Interview
• The 4-Week Google Interview Preparation Study Plan
• Some Interview Tips to Help You Get Ahead
• FAQs on Google Tech Interviews
  

The Google Technical Interview Process

The Google interview process is the ultimate test of your programming and problem-solving abilities. The process is spread across multiple rounds. It begins with the initial phone screen with a recruiter, followed by the technical phone screen, and ultimately, the on-site interview. 

While the technical phone screen is conducted remotely, recruiters invite you to the Google campus for the on-site interview. The on-site comprises a coding, design, and behavioral round, each built to test your capabilities as a programmer and how good a fit you’d be for your role. 

To learn more about the interview process, check out our comprehensive Google Interview Guide.

Topics to Prepare for the Google Interview

The Google technical interview tests the depth of your knowledge in core data structures and algorithms. It also evaluates your ability to design and develop scalable distributed systems. 

There are essentially three main components in the interview:

The Coding Aspect

Your knowledge of core DSA is evaluated in the coding rounds. You’ll be given a problem or two to solve during the technical phone screen and on-site interviews. The hiring manager will essentially test how you approach the problem and arrive at the most optimal solution. 

The following topics are important to cover:

• Arrays
• Strings
• Linked Lists
• Sorting Algorithms
• Recursion
• Trees
• Graphs
• Dynamic Programming
• Hash Tables

Recommended Reading:
Google Coding Interview Questions
How to Solve the Most Popular Whiteboard Google Interview Questions 

The Design Aspect

The systems design round, which usually takes place during the on-site interview, tests your overall design knowledge. The design interview carries greater weightage for senior positions at Google. The following topics are essential in the context of design interviews at Google.

• Network Protocols and Proxies
• Sharding Techniques
• Caching
• Database Management Systems
• Latency, Availability, and Throughput
• Load Balancing
• Polling, SSE, and Websocket
• Queues and Pub-sub

Check out Systems Design Interview Preparation Tips to thoroughly prepare for systems design rounds at on-site interviews. 

The Behavioral Aspect

The behavioral interview is mostly a test of your attitude, conduct, and how much you’ve learned from your past experiences and projects. Questions in the behavioral interview are primarily around the following areas:

• Google’s company culture
• Workplace-related situations
• Relationships with coworkers and superiors
• Past projects and experiences

To learn more, check out Behavioral Interview Questions For Software Engineers.

The 4-Week Google Interview Preparation Study Plan

Now, onto the main part — the 4-week study plan to nail Google’s technical interview. Here it is:

Week 1

• Brush up on data structures and algorithms concepts. Cover Arrays, Linked Lists, Strings, and Sorting Algorithms
• Solve at least 3 problems every day to get a hold of the concepts
• You can spend a day or two searching for a good online resource to help you with your prep
• Attend a technical interview webinar to understand the best ways to prepare for Google’s interview

Week 2

• Cover Dynamic Programming, Trees, Recursion, Graphs, and Graph Algorithms
• Continue solving a minimum of 3 problems a day
• Identify inherent patterns in problems and start applying these patterns to solve new problems  

Week 3

• Dedicate the week to prepare for your systems design interview. If there is a spillover from week 1 or 2, look to finish it during week 3
• Continue solving 3 problems a day, and also practice coding on a whiteboard
• Practice mock interviews with industry experts. With Interview Kickstart, you can practice tons of mock interviews with industry experts boasting 25+ years of experience

Week 4

• Revise concepts in your programming language
• Practice responses for the behavioral interview — structure your answers using the STAR format
• Create a good project portfolio
  

Some Interview Tips to Help You Get Ahead

These proven tips will help you make the most of your 4-week study plan!

• Time your study sessions and take regular breaks — at least one break every 45 minutes, to avoid burnout and fatigue. 
• Practice whiteboard coding as it is super important from an interview perspective
• Avoid distractions during your preparation. Problem-solving is an intense skill that needs rigorous effort and dedication
• Solve a minimum of 2-3 problems every day for the 4-weeks leading up to your interview
• Focus on identifying power patterns in problems and apply them while solving new problems
• This is perhaps the only way to tackle challenging and tricky problems in the interview
• Practice mock interviews with hiring managers from FAANG+ to polish your interviewing skills

FAQs on Google Tech Interviews

Q. Are coding rounds more important than design rounds at the Google interview?

For junior software positions, coding rounds are more important than design rounds. For senior developer and managerial positions, design rounds and behavioral rounds hold more weight in hiring decisions.

Q. What type of behavioral questions are asked at Google’s technical interview?

Behavioral questions asked at Google’s interview are typically around the following topics:

• Past projects
• Stints with previous companies
• Leadership
• Relationships with coworkers and superiors
• Your general attitude and response to work-related situations
• Work-life balance and productivity

Uplevel Your Career Now!

If you’re serious about up-leveling your career, register for Interview Kickstart’s technical interview webinar to understand the best prep strategies to nail technical interviews at FAANG and tier-1 companies. 

IK is the gold standard in tech interview prep. Our programs include a comprehensive curriculum, unmatched teaching methods, FAANG+ instructors, and career coaching to help you nail your next tech interview. 

Sign-up now to Uplevel your career!