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Welcome to Episode #2 of The Loop, the podcast where I unpack practical career advice and insights from experts and coaches. Today's guest is former Google software engineer, Phil Verghese. Phil was a Tech Lead and Manager at Google for 12 years, and most recently, he led the Google Photos Android core team and was part of the team that did the initial launch of Google Photos.
Google Photos has over 1 billion monthly active users. Prior to his work on Google Photos, he was on multiple teams including Google Now, Google Mobile Maps, Google's Aerial Imagery team, and the Google Search Appliance.
Other interesting roles he's held: startup co-founder, U.S. Army M1A1 Tank Company Commander, and FAA Certified Flight Instructor.In our conversation, we get into detail about the expectations of a software engineer at Google, the different levels of software engineer, the expectations of an engineering manager, what Google is looking for when they hire an engineer, common interview pitfalls, and advice for anyone looking to apply for a role at Google.Nowadays Phil coaches job seekers on nailing the interview and leadership. You can setup a time to chat with Phil here —> https://app.carrus.io/s/phil-verghese-1
Relevant articles:
Interview Insights from an Ex-Software Engineer at Google The Google Interview Process Everything you Need to Crack the Google Coding Interview Highlights and Timestamps:
[4:10] The parallel between being an army tank commander and a software engineer, the importance of the 'why'
[6:10] What is it like to be a software engineer at Google, common misconceptions, learning how to write software
[9:30] How much technical knowledge do you really need to land the job/ why LeetCode isn't enough
[11:50] Breakdown of different levels between an L3, L4, L5 engineer, etc.
[14:45] Why promotions are meant to be "late" at Google
[15:32] What a staff engineer does
[16:30] What a senior staff engineer does
[20:40] L8 engineers and directors
[23:00] How to prepare for senior engineering positions/leadership interviews
[26:40] System design, coding interviews, behavioral interviews, and what to expect
[29:10] An example of a difficult and less common System Design question from Phil and how to start approaching it
[32:14] Why "Premature Optimization is the Root of All Evil"
[34:30] How Phil prepares people for Google interviewers and tricky questions you might ask/ traps to watch out for
[36:33] Why Leetcode is NOT enough to prepare
[37:40] How many answers can you get wrong in a technical interview at Google and still pass?
[41:00] Why it's okay to say I don't know
[42:30] Phil's #1 interview tip/framing before the interview / getting in the right mindset
[46:30] The technical portion of product manager interviews
[47:30] Questions Phil asks product managers for interview prep
[49:30] Interview questions for Engineering Managers and leadership roles
[52:50] How common it is to fail an interview / why google would prefer a false negative over a false positive / applying multiple times
[54:30] The amount of time it takes to put in/ does time prepping correlate to success
[56:30] Is it harder to get a job at Google now vs. 10 years ago?
Questions/Comments/Feedback about this Episode? Drop me an email anytime at misha@carrus.io!
Welcome to episode #1 of The Loop, the podcast to help you grow in your career! Let's get this bad boy on the road. Anna Cseke is a tech recruiter who has helped countless people get jobs in leading tech companies, including Amazon. She was a tech recruiter for Amazon and recruited people in seven different countries across sales, marketing, product and more. Today she's a behavioral interview and career coach with a stellar track record of getting people hired into their dream jobs using a blend of mock interview prep and actionable feedback.
You can book a free 15-minute chat with Anna about interview coaching or preparing for the Amazon interview and connect with Anna on LinkedIn here.
Relevant articles:Top Amazon interview questions you need to know Amazon interview processThe STAR method for answering behavioral interview questions
Podcast Highlights:
[10:20] How much time you need to prepare for Amazon's interview
[12:20] The "2 and 5 promise" / how fast you will get interview feedback
[18:30] What sets apart those who are successful vs. not successful in the interview
[20:10] The importance of humility and on being too humble, and bragging
[23:30] The mindset you need to nail the interview and why you shouldn't get coaching just for the sake of it
[25:55] Why a referral won't guarantee you the job
[28:15] How Anna does her mock interview prep with clients
[30:40] The way to make a STAR story stand out and on being memorable in the interview
[33:35] Top 3 mistakes people make in the behavioral interview
[38:20] The difficulty of answering the "failure question" and why you shouldn't try to soften the blow
[43:55] Why humor is okay to use in an interview, coming off as likeable, especially in a management role
[46:52] How do deal with standoffish interviewers who have a blank stare / dealing with lack of live feedback loops
[53:45] The power of mock interviewing
[56:55] How many Leadership Principle stories should you prepare
[57:55] Is it okay to bring notes to the interview?
Questions/Comments/Feedback about this Episode? Drop me an email anytime at misha@carrus.io!