Google FAANG MCQ · test your interview readiness
Machine learning, system design, coding patterns, and behavioral insights – 15 questions inspired by big tech interviews.
Cracking the FAANG interview: core pillars
FAANG (Facebook/Meta, Amazon, Apple, Netflix, Google) interviews typically test four areas: coding & algorithms, system design, machine learning (for AI roles), and behavioral fit. This MCQ covers fundamental concepts you're likely to encounter, from ML basics to design tradeoffs.
The FAANG mindset
Interviewers look for structured thinking, clarity, and depth. Even MCQ answers require understanding why an option is correct – not just memorization.
Interview glossary – key concepts
System design
High‑level architecture: load balancing, caching, databases, microservices, CAP theorem.
Algorithm patterns
Two pointers, sliding window, BFS/DFS, dynamic programming, union‑find.
ML basics
Bias‑variance tradeoff, overfitting, regularization, gradient descent, evaluation metrics.
Data engineering
ETL, data warehousing, Spark, MapReduce, consistency models.
Behavioral (STAR)
Situation, Task, Action, Result – structured way to answer experience questions.
Tradeoffs
Consistency vs availability (CAP), read‑vs write‑optimization, latency vs throughput.
# Common Python interview snippet: LRU cache (O(1) get/put)
from collections import OrderedDict
class LRUCache:
def __init__(self, capacity):
self.cache = OrderedDict()
self.cap = capacity
def get(self, key):
if key not in self.cache: return -1
self.cache.move_to_end(key)
return self.cache[key]
def put(self, key, value):
if key in self.cache:
self.cache.move_to_end(key)
self.cache[key] = value
if len(self.cache) > self.cap:
self.cache.popitem(last=False)
Common FAANG interview themes
- Explain the CAP theorem and when you'd choose AP over CP.
- Design a URL shortening service (like bit.ly).
- What is the bias‑variance tradeoff? How do you diagnose high bias?
- Implement a thread‑safe singleton in Python.
- Tell me about a time you had to influence without authority (behavioral).
- How would you detect anomalies in real‑time metrics?