SQL
SQL interviews are the backbone of your data career journey, but it can be frustrating to figure out what goes into a good preparation strategy.
And one of the challenging areas that hopeful candidates wrestle with is understanding the different interview formats across top tech companies. When every company has its unique approach, how do you know what to prioritize in your preparation?
Join us, and we'll clear away the confusion with company-specific SQL interview questions and real coding challenges. You'll be well on your way to mastering SQL interviews that add real value to your career.
What's Inside This Guide
Select a company
Choose a company to explore their specific SQL interview questions and process.
The Google Interview Process
Understanding what to expect at each step helps you prepare effectively and increase your chances of success.
Resume Screen
Recruiters scan resumes in under 30 seconds for keywords like query writing, data analysis, A/B testing. If shortlisted, expect a 25' minute non-technical call covering your background, motivation, and fit. Some candidates receive a short pre-screen questionnaire, especially without a referral.
Technical Phone Screen
A 45' minute Google Meet session using a shared code editor. After a brief intro, you'll solve coding or data problems in Python or R, explain your logic, and write test cases. Expect regression, statistics, and basic ML questions for mid-to-senior roles.
Virtual Onsite (Full Loop)
Four to five 45-minute interviews covering coding, statistics, product sense, and behavior. Expect SQL, A/B testing, experiment design, and data simulation problems. Behavioral rounds explore collaboration and impact. Some candidates face a split structure-technical earlier, business and behavioral later.
Hiring Committee & Offer
Interview feedback, resume, and scores form a packet reviewed by a hiring committee. Team matching can take weeks. Once approved, your level and compensation are finalized during calibration and executive review, determining your final offer.
Featured Interview Question
Practice with a real question asked at Google.
Top 3 Users
Asked by Google - Aug 2025
Let’s say you work at a file-hosting website. You have information on user’s daily downloads in the download_facts table
Use the window function RANK to display the top three users by downloads each day. Order your data by date, and then by daily_rank
Example:
Input:
download_facts table
| Column | Type |
|---|---|
user_id |
INTEGER |
date |
DATE |
downloads |
INTEGER |
Output:
| Column | Type |
|---|---|
daily_rank |
INTEGER |
user_id |
INTEGER |
date |
DATE |
downloads |
INTEGER |
More Google SQL Questions
| Question | Difficulty | Ask Chance | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Top Three Salaries | Medium | Very High | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Given the Note: The output should include the full name of the employee in one column, the department name, and the salary. The output should be sorted by department name in ascending order and salary in descending order. Example: Input:
Output:
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Avg Friend Requests By Age Group | Medium | Very High | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Duplicate Rows | Medium | Very High | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Identifying User Sessions | Medium | Very High | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Daily Logins | Easy | Very High | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
800+ more questions with detailed answer frameworks inside the guide.
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