I keep coming back to this, wondering whether it's effective or not. It feels like an SAT, or really any other form of academic standardized testing, except not so objective.
"Here's a list of things to know, go study it, then come in and solve problems with it in an artificial environment so that we may grade you". So you cram in preparation, and then if you don't pass the test, you plan to retake it in a year.
I'd think the best and brightest would be the ones whose working knowledge, without cramming, allows for innovative, interesting, clever solutions. Even better if you can get away from the artificial feeling of interviews, into a "here's an actual, and unsolved, problem, let's figure out how to solve it together so I can see how you tick", rather than "here's a fake question, one with a well known, posted on the internet, solution, that if you ever faced in real life you'd solve in 5 minutes of Googling and move on, and which I expect you to recognize as a (X) problem, and regurgitate the solution from the selected readings". (That said, one or two stages of the interview seemed like they ~might~ be that).
Maybe the intent isn't really to hire the best and brightest (that's hard to test for), but really the people who want to work at Google the most; are you willing to devote hours to the mere possibility?
"Here's a list of things to know, go study it, then come in and solve problems with it in an artificial environment so that we may grade you". So you cram in preparation, and then if you don't pass the test, you plan to retake it in a year.
I'd think the best and brightest would be the ones whose working knowledge, without cramming, allows for innovative, interesting, clever solutions. Even better if you can get away from the artificial feeling of interviews, into a "here's an actual, and unsolved, problem, let's figure out how to solve it together so I can see how you tick", rather than "here's a fake question, one with a well known, posted on the internet, solution, that if you ever faced in real life you'd solve in 5 minutes of Googling and move on, and which I expect you to recognize as a (X) problem, and regurgitate the solution from the selected readings". (That said, one or two stages of the interview seemed like they ~might~ be that).
Maybe the intent isn't really to hire the best and brightest (that's hard to test for), but really the people who want to work at Google the most; are you willing to devote hours to the mere possibility?