/life/Google Interview Day
Yesterday morning I got up at about 8:15. I had slept fitfully, as I do before an early flight or exam.
After breakfast, I caught a tax. The receptionist said it would take 15 minutes to get there, so I gave 30 minutes. He was about 8 minutes late, and then there was a traffic jam. Everything cleared up in time, and I made it with a few minutes to spare.
I met my recruiter, Sue, in the lobby of one of the four buildings in the main "Googleplex". We found my interview room, talked about the day, and then the interviews began. I hadn't really brought anything -- a clipboard and a pen would have been nice.
I had two 45-minute interviews, lunch, then four more interview. The algorithms-related ones went very well. Only one, which focused on IP-layer network stuff, went quite badly. If the "veto-system" rumours are true, that may have killed my chances. It wasn't just that I didn't know things, but that I didn't figure them out well, and made some bad, unstated assumptions.
The lunch was phenomenal. All organic, tons of veggie and vegan choices, very healthy, dozens (hundreds?) of bottled drink choices. It was extravagant, but not in a foie-gras and filet-mignon way.
I'm happy with the day in general. I don't think I messed up too many things that I feel like I should have done better.
Last night I caught a bus into "downtown Mountainview", a single strip of restaurants and bad Irish pubs. I ate at a cheap Thai place, despite my per diem allowance from Google. I was considering cancelling my last night at the hotel here and going to San Fran and staying in a hostel, but I'm not very motivated to do that kind of travel right now, and I lack the equipment for it.
Tonight, I'm meeting my friend Paul, and we're either going to hang out here, or perhaps head to San Francisco, about an hour away.
Comments
jesse wrote
You might be interested in this article (via Goyer).
jesse wrote
http://news.com.com/Google+riches+outed+on+the+Web/2100-1030_3-5514016.html?part=rss&tag=5514016&subj=news.1030.5
How do I post hypertext?
