Google Summer of Code Interview Questions
& Process
Real candidates share what happened, how many rounds they had,
and how the experience turned out.
Based on 20 interview experiences · FREE TO READ
Which role are you interviewing for?
9 roles · 20 reportsCandidate interview experiences
First-hand accounts from people who interviewed at Google Summer of Code.
Google Summer of Code
Backend Developer
Mid Average Positive experience Accept offer 2 rounds
Interview process
Technical screen Take home
Interview formats
Coding Technical
It was an online assessment with simple coding questions and some SQL queries. The questions were of average difficulty. The coding questions were based on DSA and there were MCQs based on SQL.
Confirmed questions2 questions
- Simple SQL queries and DSA.
- MCQ based on SQL.
Google Summer of Code
Open Source Software Engineer
Mid Average Positive experience Accept offer 1 round
Interview process
Recruiter call
Interview formats
Behavioral
I applied with a detailed proposal and a couple of small PRs to show familiarity with the codebase. I had a ~30–40 minute video call with two mentors focused on project scope, weekly milestones, communication cadence, time-zone availability, and prior OSS work.
Confirmed questions2 questions
- I outlined a timeline with scoped weekly deliverables (MVP parser to integration to tests to docs), each with success criteria (tests passing, demoable feature, docs PR).
- I planned async status updates, a weekly sync, and issue tracking via GitHub Projects.
Google Summer of Code
Mentor
Mid Difficult Neutral experience No offer 2 rounds
Interview process
Technical screen Presentation
Interview formats
Technical Presentation
The mentor role involves completing two evaluations. The first is midway through the coding phase, and the second is after the GSoC contributor finishes their final work. These evaluations assess both the mentor's involvement and how the GSoC contributor performed.
Confirmed questions1 question
- What do you believe the expectations are for Summer of Code?
Google Summer of Code
Sales Associate
Entry Easy Positive experience No offer 2 rounds
Interview process
Recruiter call Technical screen
Interview formats
Technical Coding Behavioral
It was an easy experience overall. They gave good guidance from the start, no issues or surprises. A lot of technical coding questions were asked, focusing on how to solve them when needed, even though they weren't super relevant for the sales associate role.
Confirmed questions3 questions
- Tell me about your strengths.
- Share some highlights of times you failed.
- Describe how you'd approach technical coding problems in specific situations.
Google Summer of Code Interview Questions
Quoted word for word from Google Summer of Code interview reports.
“Can you define what a heap is?”
Read reports →“Were there any pre-GSoC tasks assigned?”
Read reports →“Can you describe your most preferred Google product and explain the reasons behind your preference?”
Read reports →“What do you believe the expectations are for Summer of Code?”
Read reports →“Easy questions about coding?”
Read report →“Could you design an initial version of a system?”
Read report →“Easy questions about technologies?”
Read report →“Share some highlights of times you failed.”
Read report →“What makes you interested in open source?”
Read report →Formats, difficulty and experience
Across all 20 Google Summer of Code interview reports.