How to Prepare for Google Kickstart 2021-a CodeJam Competition?

How to Prepare for Google Kickstart 2021-a CodeJam Competition?
How to Prepare for Google Kickstart 2021-a CodeJam Competition?

Introduction

This is a competition organised around the world mostly for the Asia Pacific region to test the problem-solving abilities, data structures, and algorithms of a participant.

Organised by Google is quite renowned for a high level of problem difficulty but also with a lot of interesting problems to learn from.

This is also considered a hiring challenge by Google. It consists of 6 online rounds of algorithmic quizzes designed by Google engineers. Out of these rounds, the top participants are invited to google for further rounds of hiring.

Eligibility Criteria for Google Kickstart 2021

  • Generally, anyone who is older than 16 years of age at the time of registration is eligible to participate although you have to be 18 years or older to be contacted by a Google recruiter for subsequent rounds of interviews.
  • Moreover, it prohibits users from Crimea, Iran, North Korea, Quebec, Syria from participating in the competition.
  • All of these communications are maintained by Google through email and website.

Exam Pattern of Google Kickstart 2021

There will be several rounds each of 3 hours of algorithmic challenges throughout the year at separate times.


  • Each round does not need qualifications from previous rounds.
  • Each round consists of 4-5 problems to be solved.
  • The round schedules are given on the official site and registration is valid till 14th November.
  • You can get a detailed timeline and registration information via the link.

Previously Asked Questions in Google Kickstart 2021

Past problems are very useful in preparing for this exam. Those questions are based on some important topics I will be mentioning some important topics for this:

  • Number Theory
    • This includes basic number theory problems even starting from GCD, LCM, modulo operations, Fermat’s theorem, etc.
    • You can also follow some number theory problems from Coding Ninjas Course for learning in-depth about these concepts.
  • Greedy Algorithm
  • Binary Search
  • Dynamic Programming
  • Divide and Conquer
  • Hash tables, maps
  • Trees, BST, BIT, Trie
  • Bit masking algorithms
  • String matching algorithms like KMP, Rabin Karp, etc.
  • Graph algorithms like DFS, BFS, Dijkstra, Floyd Warshall, MST, etc.

You can refer to Coding Ninjas courses for the best in-depth explanations for understanding these concepts.

Prerequisites for Google Kickstart 2021

This includes strong skills in data structures and algorithms. Most of the problems will include:

Any popular language can be used for this as Google provides supports for Java, CPP, C, Python, Golang, JavaScript, etc, and many more.

Get a Head start on Summer with a programming checklist by Coding Ninjas 2021.

How To Register For Google Kickstart 2021?

Just go to the kickstart page and register yourself for the google kickstart.

Need help with the Google Kickstart Exams, join our free trials courses to practice exam problems at Codestudio only.

Preparation Tips

Start with learning data structure and algorithm and keep practicing in various other platforms like CodeStudio, CodeChef, GFG, Codeforces, CodeJam, etc. which will help to improve problem-solving skills and get you habituated with online coding IDEs. Brush up some really important algorithms like greedy, dynamic programming, divide and conquer, shortest distance graphs, etc.

Get familiar with asymptotic time complexity notations. This will help you to analyse your current problem complexity and if that is slow then you have to think of a different or optimised algorithm.

It is always advised to practice past years’ kickstart competition which will help to get you an idea of types of problems. Personally, I will suggest aiming within 100 in the first few APAC tests which will improve your chances for interview shortlisting for Google.

The Ultimate Guide to crack the interview of Product-based companies by CodeStudio.

Frequently Asked Questions

How is the score calculated in the contest?

Your score for a problem consists of a point total and a penalty time. The penalty time is partly determined by the number of penalty attempts. For every successful passes of verdict then for each such passes you get one score. There are no partial credits for passing some of the test cases.

What are the benefits of Google kickstart?

Google hires a lot of candidates from Google kickstart and there is always a recognition for top performers.

What Operating System should I use?

You can use any operating system you are comfortable in. You will require the latest version of google chrome or any modern browser and good internet connection to compete.

Do I have to follow any particular order for solving the problems?

No, you can start with any problem, your scores will depend on the number of submissions, test cases passed and penalty submission.

How does Kick Start handle whitespace in output files?

Any amount of non-line-break whitespace (defined as spaces and tabs) is treated as a single space. We also ignore leading and trailing whitespace on each line.

How do I get Google Summer Code 2021?

For 2021, the applications are now closed. However, you can look at the accepted proposals and try again in 2022.

Is Google Summer of Code paid?

Yes, stipend is offered for selected individuals for Google Summer of Code.

How do I get Google Summer of Code?

First you need to be good with development after which you need to apply in an organisation with your project proposal.

Is Google Summer of Code worth it?

Yes indeed! The amount of experience you gain while being a participant in the google summer code is truly irreplaceable.

Is Google Summer of Code for beginners?

Anyone and everyone who is good at coding and development and has a knack to contribute to open source is welcome to Google Summer of Code.

Is Google Summer of Code hard?

Google Summer of Code isn’t hard, rather it is competitive.

How do I practice coding interviews?

To practice for coding interviews, you can visit code studio and practice questions from coding interviews from top companies like google, amazon, facebook etc.

What do I need to know for a coding interview?

You need to know basic coding fundamentals and data structures and algorithms.

Key Takeaways

Well, no matter how difficult it may appear but it is always a good idea to participate in all competitions, this will not only increase the experience but also provides a better learning opportunity and compete with all participants around the world.

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Hope this article helps an aspiring developer and programmer to participate and prepare for Google kickstart.

By Aniruddha Guin

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