Cracking the Code: Your Guide to Google Internships

Have you ever wondered what it's like to work at one of the largest tech giants in the world, Google? A Google internship can be a launchpad for your career. This article provides essential information about interning at Google, covering everything from eligibility and the application process to interview preparation and securing a return offer.

What is the Google Internship Program?

Google's internship programs are designed for aspiring individuals eager to grow as professionals through hands-on learning. As Google describes their program, #GoogleInterns work across Google, including being part of various teams like software engineering, business, user experience, and more. Interns familiarize themselves with Google’s tools, technology, and culture, gaining fundamental and on-the-job training experience while being assigned to a specific role. With internships across the globe, Google offers many opportunities to grow and help create products and services used by billions. Positions are available in the United States, UK, and dozens of other countries, helping build for everyone.

Key Facts about Google Internships:

Internship Length: 12-14 weeks
Salary: \$45/hour & housing stipend of \$9,000/month + other benefits!
Number of Interns: 1,500 (across all roles)
Office Locations: Mountain View, San Francisco Bay Area, NYC, & more!
Application Cycle: Rolling (Apply early to maximize your chances!)

Available Internship Positions

Google offers a wide range of internships across all departments. While many interns are hired for software engineering, there are also opportunities available in areas like research, marketing and partnerships, legal, and business/operations!

Here are some specific internship areas:

Software Engineering
Data Science
Product Management
User Experience (UX) Design
Mechanical Engineering (design and analysis projects)
Electrical Engineering (system design projects)
Business (driving change, solving challenges, and putting users first)

Google is gearing up to release its highly anticipated Summer Internships and New Graduate Product Manager (PM) roles, with applications opening soon. Google’s internships are designed to offer real-world experience from day one. Whether you’re a software engineer, UX designer, or business strategist, Google provides a platform where you can tackle complex challenges and work on cutting-edge technology.

Read also: Landing an Internship at Google

Eligibility and Qualifications

Google has standard eligibility requirements to apply to their internships. To apply, you'll need to be currently enrolled in a Bachelor's or Master's Degree in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Data Science, Electrical Engineering, or majors related to these fields. Google typically prefers candidates with some previous technical experience - specifically, programming experience with at least one modern language such as Python, Java, or C++, with experience in object-oriented design is a big plus.

Google's STEP Internships

Don't have any internship experience with coding or software development? No worries - Google offers a program for first and second-year undergraduate students with a passion for technology and computer science, with "a focus of providing development opportunities to students from groups historically underrepresented in tech, through technical training and professional development." STEP, which stands for Student Training in Engineering Program, is a great option for those just getting into computer science!

The Application Process

Applications for Google's SWE internships usually open in September/October of the year before, meaning applications for Summer would be opening in September of the previous year. In recent years, Google has set an application deadline within 2-3 weeks of the application opening. The application process for most software internships moves pretty quickly, with most of the events (interviews, technical screens, etc.) happening within the first 3 months of the application opening.

To maximize your chances of getting an interview, apply as early as possible (ideally July - August) before the "wave of applicants" flood in during peak internship recruiting season.

The Google application is long and asks for information you've probably entered multiple times while applying to different roles.

Read also: Understanding Google Internships

Preparing for the Interview

According to Google, the process begins with an initial resume screen as roles become available. Depending on available roles and regions you apply to, you may receive a follow-up survey. This information is then sent to the recruiting team for review, and if roles align with your specialized skills, the recruiting team will reach out to you directly to schedule phone interviews.

For SWE roles in particular, the Google interview process consists of 2 rounds of 45-minute technical interviews, where you code in a Google Doc in a programming language of your choosing! Most technical interviews (especially for internships) really focus on two key concepts: Data Structures and Algorithms.

How to prepare for an interview?

Unlike behavioral interviews with the usual “Where do you see yourself in five years?” and “What is your biggest weakness?” questions, technical interviews focus on assessing your technical expertise, communication, and problem-solving skills. They do this by utilizing interview questions. In essence they are questions that test your problem solving and programming abilities on DSA problems.

Data Structures: Brush up on some interviewer favorites like Arrays, Linked Lists, Stacks/Queues, Trees (Binary Tree, Binary Search Tree, Red-Black Tree,).
Algorithms: Brush up on sorting algorithms (both comparison sorting and non-comparison sorting), and tree traversals (in-order, preorder, postorder, level order) are all great places to start.

Familiarity with Google products can also help you stand out from the crowd! Have an idea or feedback for a specific Google product or service?

Leet Code is the go to platform for preparing for technical interviews. It has thousands of DSA problems ranging in difficulty from easy to hard. The problem with starting out on Leet Code, is that for someone starting out, even their easy problems can be quite difficult.

Try out an easy or two to test the waters and measure where you are at. If, like me when I first started preparing for my interview, you can’t solve a single problem yet I would recommend you try out Code Wars. The main benefit of Code Wars is it has a broader range of easy problems. Start solving some problems at 8 kyu (the lowest difficulty in their ranking system). Then continue progressing until you can graduate to Leet Code, this point will usually be when you can solve 5-4 kyu problems.

Here’s how to get the most out of your interview practice:

Use spaced repetition. Spaced repetition is the practice of revisiting previously solved problems to avoid forgetting them. After having put in the hard effort of solving them it would be a shame to let all that time go to waste by letting yourself forget.
Quality over quantity. It is easy to get caught up in the numbers game of how many problems you have solved, but it’s important to remember that the goal is to learn as much as possible, not to solve as many problems as possible. Understanding this nuanced difference can be crucial in maximizing your efforts.
Maximizing for learning means pushing yourself out of your comfort zone. After every completed exercise ask yourself these questions:
- If you solved it procedurally: Can I solve it recursively? (Vice-versa)
- What is its time and space complexity? (If you’ve never heard these terms study Big-O Notation)
- How does it compare to the best ranking answers? What can you learn from them? What technique are the best answers using?
- Then, implement the optimizations you have learned.
Make it feel like the real thing. Learning is context-dependent, it is at its most effective when where you are learning is most similar to the scenario in which you will be applying the knowledge. Some tips for making it feel like an interview:
- Read the instructions and come up with clarifying questions and edge cases for the problem.
- Speak aloud, as if you were in an interview, every time you practice.
- Time yourself. Set a 45 minute timer to mimic the real constraints you will have during the interview. As you continue to improve, lower the time you give yourself to account for the extra nerves you will feel on interview day.
- Practice the topics that are most important for the position you are applying for.

Here are some common pitfalls to avoid:

Although it can feel very satisfying to finally solve the problem you were stuck on for hours. Don’t stay stuck on any single problem for too long. If you can’t solve the question in less than an hour take a peek at the solution until you understand the answer deeply. Then go back to the exercise and try to solve it without looking back at the answer.
Don’t get fancy, with very few exceptions you should be using Python for programming interview. Even experts in other languages tend to take their interviews in Python.
Don’t over rely on motivation. Motivation and good intentions alone don’t last. Schedule your sessions and get someone to hold you accountable to them. Treat it like a professional, not an amateur. A professional works even when he doesn’t want to, an amateur only when he feels like it.

How many Leet Code problems should I solve?

There is no magic number of problems you should aim for. For the STEP internship continue practicing until you are able to consistently solve a new easy Leet Code problem in less than 25-30 minutes. (The same rule applies for SWE roles, but the problems will be of medium difficulty instead.) Although you will have 45 minutes in the real interview it is important to give yourself ample breathing room, especially when you consider the debuff the nerves will have on you and the short introductory conversation that will take place.

Securing a Return Offer

If you want to secure a return offer from Google for a future internship, the best way is to focus on building relationships with your team. During the internship, be sure to reach out to members of your team to get to know them better, and actively participate in team activities, like Hackathons. Also, make sure that you come prepared to your intern project by doing research and presenting your ideas in a clear and concise way. Lastly, make sure to follow up with your team after the internship is over to let them know how you are doing and if you have any questions. Building relationships and demonstrating initiative will help you stay top of mind when it comes time to make return offers!

Perks of a Google Internship

As one of the biggest and most influential companies in the world, valued at 2 trillion dollars, Google will be able to provide you with perks like no other. Free meals (breakfast, lunch, and dinner), snacks and coffee while you work, and even access to pools, gyms, basketball courts, and boxing classes. They are committed to keeping employees happy, and it shows. Google workers consistently rank among the happiest employees in the world, across industries, for nearly a decade.

While you won’t be able to take the endless ice cream and snacks with you after the internship, there’s plenty you will. You’ll work alongside the best engineers in the world, learning from the brightest minds in tech. These lessons will stay with you long after you leave, and having Google on your resume will open countless doors, giving you credibility for future opportunities. Oh, and did I mention the pay?

Additional Opportunities with Google

Generation Google Scholarship

At Google, we believe information should be universally accessible. Our education and scholarship programs aim to inspire and help students become future leaders in computing and technology by breaking down the barriers that prevent them from entering these fields.

The Generation Google Scholarship was established to help aspiring computer scientists excel in technology and become leaders in the field. Selected students will receive 10,000 USD (for those studying in the US) or 5,000 CAD (for those studying in Canada). As part of the scholarship, current high school seniors who are entering their first year of university will be required to attend Google’s Computer Science Summer Institute (CSSI) in the summer. Current undergraduate or graduate students will be invited to attend the Google Scholars’ Retreat.

Who can apply?

Generation Google Scholarship for current high school seniors
- To be eligible to apply, applicants must:
- Be a current high school senior
- Intend to be enrolled in or accepted as a full-time student at a university in the US or Canada.
To be eligible to apply, applicants must:
- Be currently enrolled as an undergraduate or graduate student at a university
- Intend to be enrolled in or accepted as a full-time student at a university in the US or Canada
- Pursuing a Computer Science or Computer Engineering degree, or a degree in a closely related technical field
- Exemplify leadership and demonstrate a passion for computer science and technology
- Exhibit a strong record of academic achievement
- Be a student from an underrepresented group in computer science (African American, Hispanic, American Indian, or Female.)

Students with disabilities should apply to the Google Lime Scholarship on (google.com/students/scholarships).

Student Researcher Program

As a Student Researcher, you'll collaborate with some of the world’s leading AI thinkers.

You can find existing opportunities on Google’s careers page. The Student Researcher Program organizes applications by degree level (BS, MS, PhD) and location. When you apply, we’ll consider you for all relevant positions across Google’s AI teams. That might be Google DeepMind, Google Research, or other Google teams and projects. This helps us find you the perfect match for your skills and interests.

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