Google's software engineer phone screen just changed—and most candidates aren't ready for it.

In this guide, Nikita from Prepfully breaks down Google's new 2026 phone round format: what used to be a single coding interview can now be two separate rounds; one data structures & algorithms (DSA) interview and one behavioral / Googliness interview.

Chapters:
0:00 Intro — What Google's new phone round looks like
0:28 Who this advice comes from (Google EMs & Staff Engineers)
0:55 Phone screen overview
1:25 New format: DSA interview + Behavioral interview
1:50 Technical coding portion
2:20 Behavioral interview
2:45 Tips
4:35 Outro — Mock interviews with Google SWEs & EMs