A Google recruiter based at the company's New York office has shared key tips for candidates preparing for job interviews at the technology giant. Lauren DeVito outlined the two types of questions candidates can expect during Google interviews: behavioural and hypothetical.
Explaining how candidates should approach behavioural questions, DeVito said these questions are based on experiences and situations from their past. Her biggest piece of advice is to use the STAR method, which stands for Situation, Task, Action, and Result.
She advised candidates to spend most of their time explaining the action they took rather than focusing excessively on the situation or task.
"Your interviewer is going to care about your measures of success. They want to hear data, they want to hear metrics. So, just make sure that you're focusing a lot of that story on the actual action," she said.
DeVito also advised candidates to highlight their individual contributions when answering questions about teamwork.
While teamwork is extremely important at Google, she explained that interviewers cannot assess a candidate solely on what the team accomplished. Candidates should clearly communicate their own contributions to a project or task.
Speaking about hypothetical questions, DeVito said these are situational questions that ask candidates how they would respond to a particular scenario at Google. For instance, an interviewer might ask, "Imagine that this comes up at Google, what would you do?"
She advised candidates to pause and understand the question fully before attempting to solve the problem. Candidates can briefly note down the question, repeat it to the interviewer, and ask clarifying questions if necessary.
DeVito further suggested keeping responses to hypothetical questions conversational. Rather than speaking continuously, candidates should share their initial thoughts and leave room for the interviewer to ask follow-up questions. This helps make the discussion more interactive.
She also advised candidates to keep their introductory elevator pitch short and concise. Towards the end of the interview, they should come prepared with a few questions to ask the interviewer.
For more information, candidates can visit careers.google.com.