I applied online. The process took 2 months. I interviewed at Google (Seattle, WA) in July 2012
Interview
I applied online and got contacted after about 3 weeks. The HR person scheduled a phone interview and asked typical screening questions for PMs and Google in general. That round was easy and went well. I was then scheduled for a technical phone interview, which I knew would be a random PM from any location. It turns out I got an Associate PM 2 years out of college (from NYC) who said "Okay, cool" before each question. She clearly was not an experienced interviewer (esp. for Senior level position) and made no effort to connect with me, find out about my experience, what I knew about Google and their products or anything else specifically relevant to the position for which I was interviewing. She asked me a few brain teasers, such as Russian Roulette questions. After the 45 minute call, I did not hear anything for 2 weeks, which ended up with Google not wanting to pursue any further steps. I was not impressed with their interviewing process, but mainly with the Associate PM that I talked to which had no relevance to my local Google apps/features or the team I would be working with.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
Suppose there is a smart phone API that can give you a person's mood and that there are 100 different moods. There can be varying level of moods, such as happy, very happy, sad, extremely sad, etc. You can also have more than one mood at a time (such as nervous and excited). What app would you create to take advantage of this API?
Recruiter Screen (30–45 min)
Discuss background, product experience, and interest in Google
Hiring Manager Screen (45–60 min)
Behavioral + product strategy, leadership, prioritization
Technical/Analytical Screen (45–60 min)
Problem-solving, data analysis, metrics, A/B testing
On-Site / Virtual Interviews
Product design & strategy
Execution & technical tradeoffs
Leadership & influence
Googleyness / behavioral
Hiring Committee & Team Match
Feedback review, team fit, final approval
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
Google Search is seeing a decline in engagement among teenagers. How would you identify the root cause and propose a strategy to improve usage in this segment?
I applied through an employee referral. I interviewed at Google (New York, NY) in Sept 2025
Interview
Very straight forward process though I only went through with two interviews. Phone screening with talent director followed by team leads. Withdrew from process due to the role being on-site 5 days a week.
Very difficult interview loop. Lots of trick questions and brainteaser problems. Even with studying a ton in the leadup I still struggled and ultimately did not receive an offer. Interview process is still similar to what any guide online describes.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
Estimation question about computing revenue for a product line given 0 details