But everyone knew C++. I’ve read about this before. This combined with my own experience now leads me to believe that C++ isn’t optional for any Google applicant. Not because you need to use it to work there. I have no direct experience of this. But because of “interviewer lottery”. Some at Google (it seems) do nothing but C++. You might be interviewed by one of these people.
Not true one bit. I don't know a lick of C++ and never encountered it in my interviews there.
In fact, the questions I was asked there could have been easily answered in any language, as they were language-neutral and heavily on the side of pure algorithms.
Your experience may have been thrown off by having C++ on your resume, assuming you do.