I applied through university. The process took 2 months. I interviewed at Google (San Jose, CA) in Jan 2015
Interview
Very good. It was a great process where I was respected as a candidate. The interviews and questions were tough, but they were fair. I would recommend any candidate considers some serious research into Google along with other companies they compete with - there's a whole set of questions on the future of the business and where it's heading.
I applied online. The process took 4 months. I interviewed at Google (Singapore) in May 2019
Interview
The interview process stretched over four months or so. First contact was an hour phone screen with a recruiter, who reviewed my portfolio and asked some questions about my previous projects and career ambitions.
From there, I had five more rounds of video interviews with Googlers in relevant roles. Note that the recruiter would actually have to update me after each round to tell me if I made it to the next interview, so it was nerve-wracking every time. Although this was for a creative role, I was also asked about the business side of things. Generally I got the sense that I wasn't just evaluated on my answer, but HOW I dealt with questions on topics I wasn't comfortable with. The interviewers had to type out my answers as I spoke so they were semi-distracted the whole time, but don't let it get to you - they're definitely listening. They asked a lot of cognitive ability questions - they really care about how you cope with failure, challenge and lack of structure.
A huge plus throughout the process was my recruiter from the first phone call - she supported me throughout the process, and was very transparent and encouraging. I got an offer about a week after the final interview (which focused more on big-picture thinking beyond just creative).
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
If you were the most junior person on the team, how would you approach the project?