15 Insanely Tough Questions You'll Get In a Google Interview
Interviewing for a job can be tricky at any employer, but there are some companies that are known for having a particularly challenging interview process. And when it comes to companies that ask notoriously tough interview questions, Google may be one of the first employers that comes to mind. After all, it's a widely revered company, so the competition for emplyment there is fierce.
The tech-giant is known for testing interviewees like they’ve never been tested before. But what makes Google interview questions so tough for a candidate? They challenge you to think on your feet, forcing you into time-sensitive, stressful situations that test your out-of-the-box critical thinking skills.
Some of these questions are situational interview questions, some of them are hypotheticals, and some are just plain brainteasers. They all force you to come up with an answer to a nearly impossible problem — but don't let that intimidate you! Job interviews are meant to make you a little bit uneasy; you just have to take time and prepare for the problem before they hit you with it. It’s important before going into a Google interview that you’re prepared for the mental roller coaster ride you’ll be jumping in on and have an answer ready for any question they throw at you throughout the job interview.
Prepping for the below questions can easily get you ready for a phone interview, on-site interview, recruiter interview, and everything in between.
Even if you’re not preparing for a job interview at Google, these interview questions are the perfect questions to test the mental stamina of any job candidate. Here are 15 interview questions to prepare you for anything:
1. If you wanted to bring your dog to work but one of your team members was allergic to dogs, what would you do?
2. How do you think the digital advertising world will change in the next three years?
3. How would I explain the importance of HTML 5 to Larry Page and then to my grandma?
4. Explain to me the Internet like I never knew what it was.
5. Explain a database in three sentences to your eight-year-old nephew.
6. How many golf balls can you fit inside of a school bus?
7. You are tasked with cleaning all of the windows in a city. How would you estimate the number of windows you will need to clean?
8. If you were a mouse how would you ensure a cat did not eat you?
9. If you were given a box of pencils, list 10 things you could do with them that are not their traditional use.
10. If you came to work and had 200 emails in your inbox, how would you prioritize answering those emails?
11. How many cars are on 101 between San Francisco and Mountain View?
12. What is the probability that a best of seven series goes to the seventh game?
13.How would you solve homelessness in downtown San Francisco?
14. Given a family tree, how would you find the least common ancestor?
15. Which do you think has more advertising potential in [city], a flower shop or funeral home?
(All questions were taken from actual Google interview questions listed on Glassdoor.)
Take some time to think about how you'd answer these questions, and you’ll be ready for your next job interview in no time!
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