Phone Screens (part 5)

In part 1 of this series on phone screens, I talked about how phone screens fit into the programming interview process and defined the three types of phone screens that it’s possible to receive during first round interviews. In part 2, I presented a flow diagram which illustrated the many different ways that companies can conduct phone screens. In parts 3, 4 and 5, I’m going to give specific examples from my technical interview experience on how certain companies perform their first round phone screens.

Google

I had two phone screen opportunities with Google. The first one occurred during the semester before I graduated. I was contacted by a Google recruiter about a software engineering position in Mountain View, California. Initially, the recruiter wanted to set up an appointment to speak with me on the phone but since my schedule was hectic she sent me the information in an e-mail. The e-mail contained advice on how to prepare for the interview and some links to recent Google projects (I’ll go into more detail about what she said in the e-mail when I talk about my Google interview experience). Next, she scheduled me to have a technical phone screen with a Google software engineer. In the interview, I was asked three coding / algorithm type questions. The first question was of low difficulty, the second question was of medium difficulty, and the last question was of high difficulty. I was unable to pass the interview and did not advance in the interview process.

My second phone screen opportunity with Google occurred three months after my initial opportunity. I was contacted by a recruiter about an Adsense Embedded Tools Specialist position. I had a short non evaluated interview with the recruiter and then was scheduled for an engineer interview. In the engineer interview, I was asked questions about my software development history and resume, and was also asked questions pertaining to my experience with Adsense. I passed the interview and was set up with a second engineering interview where I was asked one easy coding question. I did well on this interview and was invited to interview on-site.

Lockheed Martin

On three different occasions during my technical interview experience, I was invited to recent college graduate interview events with Lockheed Martin (I talk about one of my Lockheed Martin interview experiences in this post). One of the invitations was for an office that was local to me, while the other two were out of state. On each occasion, I wasn’t given any phone screens and only spoke with a recruiter to confirm logistical information. It seems as though Lockheed Martin is not afraid to bring candidates on-site without screening them first.

Microsoft

The only phone screen I had with Microsoft was for the Microsoft Scholarship Program (I talk about the phone screen extensively in this post). I had one phone screen with a recruiter before being invited to interview on-site. What was unique about this particular interview was that it was the only instance throughout my technical interview experience where I was asked technical questions by a recruiter. Despite this, you shouldn’t expect to be asked technical questions in a recruiter interview.

Network Appliance

I had one phone screen experience with Network Appliance. I was contacted via e-mail by a recruiter who scheduled me to interview with an engineer for a software development position in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina. The interview lasted forty-five minutes and was conducted on speaker phone with multiple participants. I was asked resume questions and behavioral questions, and was also asked questions pertaining to my experience with / passion for writing data storage software. I didn’t pass the interview.

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