15 of the Hardest Google Interview Questions in March 2024

Prepping for a Google job interview is much the same as preparing for any other: the objective is to sell yourself as a perfect match between your skills, personality and the company’s requirements. However, you also need to train yourself to expect the unexpected, as Google has a reputation for posing fiendishly tough brainteasers to test candidate’s problem-solving abilities under pressure.
Google, as could be reasonably expected for an entity that has thrived on the anticipation of what people are looking for, has a reputation for asking touch interview questions. Indeed, the toughest Google interview questions are untypical of what might be expected in most interviews.

Many Google interview questions are cryptic, brainteaser type posers, designed to test your behaviour, cognitive and problem-solving skills while in a high-pressure situation. Google has long placed a a premium on emotional intelligence over IQ, and their questions are designed to make you think laterally and also quantitatively.
The questions below are taken from careers guidance websites such as GlassDoor.com and ImpactInterview, newspapers, and online communities such as GitHub and Quora. Some of these Google interview questions are novel ways of testing a candidate’s general knowledge, and can be answered using Google searches, but others really put your problem-solving skills to the test.

There are ways of preparing for what’s in store in a Google interview. A good start is Are You Smart Enough to Work at Google? by William Poundstone. More specifically, a frequently recommended book for programmers is Elements of Programming Interviews authored by Aziz, Lee and Prakash, a trio of Google insiders. Other literary preparation aids include Peter Keyne’s acclaimed The Great Book of Riddles, which is a super way of training your mind for the kinds of puzzles that are typically posed by Google interviewers. In the meantime, enjoy giving your brain some serious exercise with the following 15 of the toughest Google interview questions.

 

1. How many times a day does a clock’s hands overlap?

Google Interview Questions Source: Git Hub

 

2. If you wanted to bring your dog to work but one of your team members was allergic to dogs, what would you do?

Google Interview Questions Source: Glassdoor.com

 

3. What do you know about Google?

Google Interview Questions Source: Glassdoor.com

 

4. Why are manhole covers round?

Google Interview Questions Source: Independent.com

 

5. A coin was flipped 1,000 times and there were 560 heads. Do you think the coin is biased?

Google Interview Questions Source: Glassdoor.com

 

6. If ads were removed from YouTube, how would you monetize it?

Google Interview Questions Source: Glassdoor.com

 

7. What is your favorite Google product, and how would you improve it?

Google Interview Questions Source: Glassdoor.com

 

8. You have eight balls all of the same size. 7 of them weigh the same, and one of them weighs slightly more. How can you find the ball that is heavier by using a balance and only two weighings?

Google Interview Questions Source: ImpactInterview.com

 

9. What does “being Googley” mean to you?

Google Interview Questions Source: Glassdoor.com

 

10. What is your opinion on whether or not individuals should be required to use their official name when opening a Gmail or Google+ account?

Google Interview Questions Source: Glassdoor.com

 

11. If you look at a clock and the time is 3:15 then what is the angle between the hour hand and minute hand?

Google Interview Questions Source: Quora.com

 

12. Design an evacuation plan for the building.

Google Interview Questions Source: Glassdoor.com

 

13. Which do you think has more advertising potential in Boston, a flower shop or a funeral home?

Google Interview Questions Source: Glassdoor.com

 

14. Name a prank you would pull on x manager if you were hired.

Google Interview Questions Source: Glassdoor.com

 

15. How many golf balls can fit in a school bus?

Google Interview Questions Source: DailyMail.com

 

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