I applied through an employee referral. The process took 4 weeks. I interviewed at Google (Mountain View, CA) in May 2013
Interview
Referred in by a friend. Some informal preliminary interviews with members of team. Then in-house recruiter set up a day of 5 interviews on-site in Mountain View (some were with remote members of team via teleconference).
One thing I noticed about the interviews was that they asked questions and just let me do most of the talking. Was much more them collecting information from me and my answers than conversational.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
No questions were really that difficult. Most were just open-ended questions to see how I think through products, markets, analytic skills, market sizing and opportunity. They are looking for race-horses, not specific industry depth. The philosophy is that their PM's should be strong enough to PM for any product internally to Google, and the interview stayed very true to that.
You would have to do a hiring assessment first, then a recruiter screening follows. First round interview with the hiring manager. Majorly product sense and product improvement. The questions were not direct though.
Overall a lot of steps to the interview process. Talked to different people and had opportunities to ask questions. Many different stages which made it a lengthy process overall. Wasn't too bad.
resume screening, a recruiter call, and technical or role-specific interviews. Candidates complete coding, system design, or behavioral rounds. Onsite or virtual panels assess problem-solving, communication, and leadership. Feedback goes to a hiring committee, followed by team matching and final offer discussions.