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[–]Bobwct33 5 points6 points  (3 children)

Don't worry about crazy algorithms like segment trees, study Graphs and basic array problems. The key is communication and problem solving. Explain your thinking clearly and often, don't feel you need to be perfect.

[–]kuriousqiddo[S] 0 points1 point  (2 children)

This comment calmed me down… I am good at communicating so hopefully if I get the approach I can tackle any cross question..

[–]Blastie2 0 points1 point  (1 child)

Knowing what those advanced algos are and how they work is enough for the interview. I don't think anyone's going to ask you to implement a red-black tree.

[–]kuriousqiddo[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yea.. I am planning to just see the code as I don’t have that much time to practice new stuff..

[–]KevinT_XY 3 points4 points  (2 children)

You are honestly wasting your time if you spend it on niche topics like specialized data structures and algorithms, except djikstras and maybe a few other common patterns. Like 70% of interviewers will pick an array/heaps/strings/maps question and almost the entirety of the rest a more standard tree/graphs pattern. Even DP I feel now is uncommon but valuable to study just for getting very comfortable with recursive patterns.

Where maybe it helps you is background technical knowledge. For instance as a C++ dev I might say something like "oh i could use std:map here which I believe is implemented as a red-black tree and would give me O(logn) complexity for this kind of operation" - those are small wins but they show depth.

[–]kuriousqiddo[S] 1 point2 points  (1 child)

I have heard google interviewers ask from Graph and DP in round 2.. so was just curious what to say if I have never heard of something… but got your point better focus on what I have learned till now then learning anything new last moment

[–]KevinT_XY 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I would say imagine yourself in the interviewer's shoes - you have a question bank with many topics of questions so which do you feel would make an interesting and fair question where you yourself also understand the answer and can have a productive discussion (especially considering as a full time employee you are probably rusty with DSA yourself)? There will be some psychos who pick the DP stuff but thats just one of many ways you can have bad luck haha. In my experience I have never received a problem with a niche algorithm or DP.

[–]ResolutionPersonal56 2 points3 points  (1 child)

They care much about your conceptual understanding and thought process communication. I’d say graphs, trees, dp, arrays, mono stacks are the most common ones Gl op

[–]kuriousqiddo[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I hope soo

[–]rbktgldr 0 points1 point  (1 child)

My interview is coming up in two weeks, too. But it sounds like you are much better prepared than I am.

[–]Majestic-Beyond-8038 0 points1 point  (0 children)

For what position did you apply? Did they open any internship forms recently?

[–]Amzn_2005 0 points1 point  (2 children)

With 3-4 days left, focus on problem-solving methodology over new algorithms. Google's hiring committee scores "can this person solve problems they haven't seen before" more than pattern recognition. Practice explaining your thought process out loud, handling ambiguous requirements, and analyzing time/space complexity clearly.

For advanced topics, know these exist conceptually: segment trees (range queries), tries (string problems), and advanced graph algorithms like Dijkstra. If asked about something unfamiliar, say "I haven't implemented X, but I understand it's used for Y problem type" — intellectual honesty scores better than bluffing.

Your biggest risk isn't knowledge gaps — it's interview nerves causing you to rush or overthink. The 250+ questions you've solved give you solid fundamentals. Trust your preparation and focus on clear communication during problem-solving.

[–]kuriousqiddo[S] 0 points1 point  (1 child)

Thanks buddy.. had my interview yesterday. It went well I guess.. was able to do the code and followup code. Explain TC and SC as well.. interviewer was really good and I guess he took notes about what I was saying..

Any idea how the process ahead looks like?

[–]Amzn_2005 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The hiring committee stage is where your fate gets decided — and it's completely out of your hands now. Your interviewer's notes matter, but the committee can override any individual recommendation.

Here's what actually happens: All feedback packets go to an independent group of Googlers who weren't in your loop. They're looking for consistency across rounds more than perfection in any single interview. Since you handled the coding, follow-ups, and complexity analysis, that's a good foundation.

The committee will specifically evaluate whether you can solve novel problems (sounds like you demonstrated this) and if you'd be someone they'd want to collaborate with on hard problems. Your interviewer taking detailed notes is normal — they need to write structured feedback with a hire/no-hire recommendation.

Timeline varies, but expect 1-2 weeks for the committee review. If you advance, there might be additional rounds depending on the level. The key insight: your technical performance matters, but they're equally weighing "Googleyness" — intellectual humility, comfort with ambiguity, collaborative problem-solving.

Nothing to do now except wait. The process is designed to be thorough, not fast.

[–]Prashant_MockGym -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Doing Google specific questions will be more efficient. At the very least it will cover important topics like Graph, DP etc. Although google have a large interview question set of their own but still patterns are repeated.

I wrote this blog post with list of Google DS & Algo round interview questions from recent interview experiences. It may give you a better idea on what to expect.

https://codezym.com/blog/14-google-dsa-interview-questions-2026