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Failing Google’s Final Round — What I Learned

· 5 min read
Shekhar Patil
Shekhar Patil
Full stack developer.

Google Interview

Like many of us, I used to only share the good stuff — job offers, achievements, career milestones. But over time, I realized failures are just as important. They teach us, humble us, and help others feel less alone in their journey.

This post is about my experience interviewing at Google. I made it to the final round but didn’t get the offer. It hurt, but I also learned a lot. I’m sharing my journey in hopes that it helps you prepare better.

How It Started​

I applied through the Google Careers page around mid-November 2024.. This time, instead of the usual rejection email, I got a call from a Google recruiter — a promising start. He scheduled first Screening Call.

Initial HR Round: The Screening Call​

The recruiter asked about my education, experience, projects, the tech I’ve worked with, and the scale of systems I’ve built. It was a standard screening call—until they asked:

"Have you done any competitive programming?"

At the time, I had solved around 90 problems on LeetCode, mostly Easy and Medium. I was honest and asked for a month to prepare before the next step.

How Google Evaluates Candidates​

Before getting into the rounds, it’s helpful to know how Google evaluates you. After each interview, feedback is given as one of these:

  • Strong No Hire
  • No Hire
  • Leaning No Hire
  • Leaning Hire
  • Hire
  • Strong Hire

Only consistent "Hire" or "Strong Hire" ratings lead to an offer.

The Elimination Round​

I used the one-month prep time to study hard. I solved over 250 DSA problems, mostly on LeetCode and AlgoExpert. You can see my full preparation here:
📘 DSA Roadmap

The round was a live coding interview with three graph problems, all linked together. I had to solve and code them in a Google Doc.

This round went well—I solved everything. Three days later, the recruiter called:

"You cleared the elimination round. Feedback is positive."

Probable rating: Hire / Strong Hire

Technical Round 1: Low-Level System Design​

I was given a real-world scenario and asked to design core functionality using appropriate data structures. I solved it using arrays with O(N²) time complexity.

The interviewer asked if I could optimize it, but under pressure, I couldn’t. After the interview, I realized a Binary Search Tree (or Red-Black Tree) could reduce it to O(N log N).

Probable rating: Leaning Hire

Technical Round 2: HashMap-Based Problem​

This round focused on implementing a solution using HashMaps. I misunderstood the problem at first, which cost time. After clarification, I fixed the code in the last 15 minutes.

The interviewer spotted a bug, though the majority of my solution was correct.

Probable rating: Leaning Hire / Hire

Technical Round 3: Graph Problem​

This round was tricky. I took some time to understand the problem and realized it involved cycle detection in a graph.

I made mistakes in the beginning, and it took me about 35 minutes to get the solution right. Then I did a quick dry run in the another 5 minutes. The interviewer confirmed my final solution was correct. He had a follow-up question, but we ran out of time.

Probable rating: Leaning Hire

The Result​

I had mixed feelings—both excited and nervous. It had been almost three months of continuous effort, and I was very close to the final stage. The next round was the Googliness interview, which is mostly a behavioral round, and many people usually clear it without much trouble.

Two weeks later, the recruiter called and said:

“We won’t be moving forward. The feedback mentioned that you should use more optimal data structures, and your problem-solving speed needs improvement. But feel free to reapply after a year.”

It was disappointing to hear, especially after coming so far. But I didn’t see it as a failure. Here’s why.

What I Gained​

The whole process took almost 3-4 months, and in that time:

🛠️ Key Takeaways for You​

  1. Know your best language: I chose Go, but I'm more fluent in Ruby. In time-bound interviews, using a language you’re super comfortable with makes a big difference.
  2. Manage your time: Getting the right answer isn’t enough. Google looks at how quickly and efficiently you solve problems.
  3. Simulate real interview conditions: Use a timer. Code in a shared doc. Practice talking while solving.
  4. Learn from mistakes: Every small mistake taught me something valuable.

✅ What’s Next?​

I’m not giving up. I’ll reapply in a year. Till then, I’m focused on:

  • Advanced system design
  • Distributed systems
  • Speeding up problem-solving
  • Real-world contributions
  • Mastering Go and revisiting Ruby

If you're preparing for Google or any FAANG interview, check out my:

🌐 Explore More​

🙌 Final Thoughts​

Not getting into Google stung—but the journey changed me. I learned more in three months than I had in the past year. If you’re going through something similar, just know this: you’re not alone, and every setback is a setup for growth.