Google Behavioral Interview Prep

Google's behavioral questions ask how you have handled real situations and how you would approach new ones. Google says interviewers use the same rubrics for every candidate in a role and ask open-ended, role-related questions. This page covers what Google says it looks for, the questions to expect, how to build your examples, and how to practice.

To prepare for a Google behavioral interview, build a library of real examples from your recent work and match them to the job description. Google asks questions like "Tell me about a time when..." and "How would you approach this situation...?", so prepare past stories and practice reasoning out loud. Structure each story with STAR and show your impact with data.

Google's interview prep page asks candidates to be ready to show how they handle ambiguity, how they work with people and teams, including conflict and influence, and how they have mobilized others, with or without a formal leadership role. Google says every candidate for a role is assessed with the same clear rubrics, and that it asks open-ended questions, not brainteasers.

To rehearse, give someone who knows Google's interviews the job description and let them choose the themes. Answer out loud against a clock, and ask them to press on each answer with a second and third question until it holds or falls apart. Google says to expect follow-up questions, so practice your second answer, not just your first.

See mentors at Google

How the Google interview works

Assessments. You may be asked to take the Google Hiring Assessment, which Google says measures workstyle skills, plus role-related assessments such as a coding exercise.
Recruiter conversations. Typically one or two shorter conversations over phone or video with your recruiter. They usually assess key skills for the role and cover the team and your preferences.
Project work, for some roles. Depending on the type of role, Google may ask for a small project first, such as a case study or a writing or code sample.
Interviews. A panel of interviews, either over video or in person. Google says every candidate is assessed using clear rubrics, with role-related, open-ended questions and no brainteasers. AI tools are not permitted during interviews. Asking for clarity is okay, and so is taking a moment to think.
Decision and offer. Google brings your application and interviews together and says it takes into account a number of perspectives to reach a decision. Interviewers are expected to give structured and thoughtful feedback. If you are the chosen candidate, your recruiter contacts you with the offer.

Google says that once interviews start, the process typically takes roughly 6 to 8 weeks and varies by role, and it may be several weeks before you hear an outcome. Your recruiter explains your timeline.

What Google says it looks for

These themes come from Google's own interview prep page. The questions are ours, written for practice.

Theme	What to show	A question to practice
Navigating ambiguity	A decision you made without the full picture	Tell me about a project where the goal changed partway through. What did you do?
Growing outside your comfort zone	Something you took on before you felt ready	Tell me about a time you took on work you had never done before.
Working with people and teams	How you work across functions and time zones	Tell me about a time you worked with someone whose working style was very different from yours.
Addressing conflict	You raised it directly and it got resolved	Tell me about a disagreement with a teammate. How did it end?
Influencing teammates	You changed minds with evidence, not rank	Tell me about a time you got a team to adopt your idea when you were not the decision maker.
Driving collaboration	You brought together people who were not working together	Tell me about a time you got two teams to work on one goal.
Mobilizing others (leadership style)	You helped a team succeed, with or without the title	Tell me about a time you stepped up to lead when nobody asked you to.
Impact shown with data	A result with a number you can explain	Tell me about the piece of work you are proudest of. How did you measure it?

Some candidates and prep sites call this Googleyness, or Googleyness and Leadership. The two Google pages linked here don't use the word. Google's interview prep page describes the themes above.

Two kinds of questions: past and hypothetical

Past questions: "Tell me about a time when..."
Google says its behavioral questions are meant to draw out specific examples over "I always do X," so answer with one real situation, not a habit. Use STAR, where the A in Google's version is Activity: the steps you took and the role you played. Keep the setup short. Two more to practice: "Tell me about a mistake you made at work and what you changed afterwards." and "Tell me about a time you pushed for what users needed over what was easiest to ship."
Hypothetical questions: "How would you approach this situation...?"
These test how you think. Under Showcase your strategic thinking, Google asks you to say when you are making an assumption, or going deep instead of broad, and explain why. Do that out loud before you answer. Google adds that the interviewer is looking at your thought process more than the answer.
Practice both together
Follow each hypothetical answer with a real example where you did something similar. It shows you have used the approach, and it gives the interviewer a story to probe. If a question is unclear, rephrase it back. Google says that is okay.

Build your example library from the job description

Google's first tip is to cross-reference your resume with the job description and build a library of examples where the two overlap. Copy this grid into a doc, put one line from the job description in each row, and fill in the rest.

Line from the job description	Your example (one line)	Theme it shows	The number	Where it could break under follow-up

Practice advice, not a Google rule: cover every row of the themes table with at least one example, add a spare for the themes the job description stresses, and include a mistake and a disagreement.

If a project has no number, write what changed and how you know. Then time each example out loud, because Google asks for concise narratives.

Write your impact the way Google suggests

Google suggests a simple equation for showing impact with data: "Accomplished [X], as measured by [Y], by doing [Z]." Write one for each example in your library, using your own work:

Accomplished [the result], as measured by [the metric], by doing [what you did].
Accomplished [the change for users or the team], as measured by [how you knew it worked], by doing [the step that was yours].
Accomplished [what improved after a mistake], as measured by [the before and after], by doing [what you did differently].

Use the line as the R in STAR and keep the A long. Google's version of STAR spells A as Activity: "the specific steps you took and the role(s) you played." If you say "we", say which part was yours.

Practice with someone who knows Google's interviews

A mock works when the other person pushes past your first answer. Use this checklist with a Google mentor, a peer or anyone who has interviewed there. For practice across several sessions, see interview coaching.

Share the job description first. Ask them to read it and choose the themes they would test.

Ask for two past questions and one hypothetical that they pick without telling you. Don't let them tell you which themes they picked.

Ask them to keep following up. The point is to find out whether each example holds or breaks under "what exactly did you do?"

Close each answer with a check. Ask which Google theme it showed, and whether another example from your library would have shown it better.

Redo your weakest answer at the end. Use a different example if the first one broke.

Practice with mentors who work at Google

Everyone below lists Google as their current employer on their ADPList profile. Open a profile to see their sessions and book a time.

By role: where to go next

Software engineers
Google may add role-related assessments such as a coding exercise. For behavioral questions, bring a trade-off you made and a technical call you changed your mind on. Talk to Google software engineering mentors and read the system design interview guide.
Product managers
Have examples ready about what you decided to build, what you said no to and how you measured the result. Warm up with a Google PM practice interview or talk to Google product management mentors.
UX designers and researchers
Bring examples where research or design changed a decision, and a disagreement with engineering or product you worked through. Try a Google product design practice interview or a Google UX research practice interview, or talk to Google UX design mentors or other mentors at Google.
Data roles
Pick examples where your analysis changed a decision, and be ready to explain how you measured the result and what you would check next. Mentors at Google can help you pick the strongest ones.

Answers that miss what Google asks for

"I always do X" instead of a real example. Google asks for specific examples. Tell one situation from start to finish.
A long setup that leaves no time for your actions. Google notes you have limited time. Give the situation in two sentences.
A result with no measure. Add the Y from Google's X, Y, Z line, or say what changed.
Starting a hypothetical without stating assumptions. Say what you are assuming and why.
Rushing past the Activity. Google's STAR spells A as the specific steps you took and the role(s) you played, so make that the longest part.
Guessing at an unclear question. Google says rephrasing or asking for clarity is okay, so check what is being asked first.
Leaning on AI or search during the interview. Google says Google Search and AI are not permitted during interviews.

What mentees prepare with Google mentors

Themes that come up in reviews mentees left for mentors who match this page.

Resume review before applying. Making the resume match the role so it gets you to the first interview.
Behavioral answers and stories. Picking the right examples and tightening them so the interviewer can dig in.
Breaking into big tech. Moving in from a startup, another industry or straight from school.
How the process really runs. What each round is looking for, and what happens after the loop.
Referrals and networking. Reaching the right people and asking for a referral the right way.
Levels and offers. Understanding the level you are interviewing for and what to ask at the offer stage.

From mentee reviews

“I'm just starting out my career in UX/UI design and Shivam gave me a lot of valuable tips on how to make it into tech, storytelling, and interview process.”

Mentee review of Shivam Gupta, User Experience Designer

“We had a productive dialogue that explored key topics such as the qualities he seeks in senior designers, effective storytelling techniques for design portfolios, and potential interview questions.”

Mentee review of Carl Sziebert, Head of UX Engineering - Google Cloud Platform

“I started with very little knowledge about interviews and felt quite overwhelmed, but I gained a clear understanding of how to structure my responses and approach interviews with the right mindset.”

Mentee review of Edmur Huq, Product Lead

Warm up with AI interview practice

Rehearse your answers out loud with ADPList's AI interviewer before you meet a mentor.

Try AI interview practice

Frequently asked questions

How do I prepare for a Google behavioral interview?

Start with the job description and build a library of real examples that match it, as Google's own interview prep page suggests. Write each one in STAR form, keep the setup short, and spend most of the time on what you did. Add a number for the impact where you have one, then rehearse out loud and practice answering follow-up questions.

What is Googleyness?

Googleyness is a name some candidates and prep sites use. It does not appear on the two Google pages cited here. Google's interview prep page asks you to be ready to discuss handling ambiguity, working with people and teams, leading and mobilizing others, and using data to show impact. Prepare real examples for each of those.

What questions does Google ask in a behavioral interview?

Google says many of its questions sound like "Tell me about a time when..." or "How would you approach this situation...?" Expect questions on ambiguity, conflict, influencing teammates, driving collaboration and leading others. Interviewers use the same rubrics for every candidate in a role and ask follow-ups, so prepare specific examples rather than general statements about how you always work.

Should I use the STAR method at Google?

Yes. Google's interview prep page suggests the STAR approach to structure your examples, with A standing for Activity: the specific steps you took and the roles you played. Keep the situation brief, because time is limited, and close with the result. Google also suggests showing impact as accomplished X, as measured by Y, by doing Z.

Who decides on a Google offer?

Google says that after your interviews it brings everything from your application and interviews together to review, and that it takes a number of perspectives into account to reach a decision. Interviewers are expected to give structured feedback, so specific examples are easier to assess. If you are the chosen candidate, your recruiter contacts you with the offer.

How can I practice Google behavioral interview questions?

Say each answer out loud against a clock, then try it on someone who will question it. In a mock with someone who works at Google or has been through its interviews, ask for two past questions and one hypothetical you have not seen, with follow-ups on each. Afterwards, decide which examples stay in your library and which you swap out.

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