Quality Engineer

I was contacted by a recruiter for an undisclosed position dealing with Quality and Test. I had been referred to him by a colleague. I had an initial phone screen with the recruiter. Phone interview with Director of group. Then onsite interview with several (I believe 5) senior members of the group including the hiring manager.

This was the third on-site interview I had with Google. This role was actually the best fit, though I lacked experience in a few areas that were critical for the role. I wish this could have been weeded out earlier in the process, as it should be obvious that I did not have everything they needed on my resume.

The nature of the role was briefly touched upon, though the specifics of the product were barely mentioned as an NDA was required for me to interview.

Common themes in the interview process:
1) they take notes on their laptop during the interview.
2) they will let you "hang out to dry", if you are going down the wrong path, they won't tell you. Asking for clarity in a question seems like a "pain" for them to explain.
3) recruiter responsiveness varies. (I have interfaced with great as well as horrible recruiters)
4) having an employee referral helps dramatically. You at least stand a chance at getting a phone interview. The rest is on you though.