Online Assessment (90 minutes)
Platform: HackerRank
- 15 MCQs on core Computer Science fundamentals
- 2 coding questions based on strings
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Shortlisting Criteria
- Shortlist was based on the Online Assessment score and CGPA.
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Technical Interview 1
Duration: 1 hour
Started with “Tell me about yourself.”
CS Fundamentals:
OS:
- What is virtual memory?
- Explain the concept of thrashing.
- CPU scheduling algorithms.
- CN:
- Explain how DHCP works.
- DBMS:
- Provided two tables and asked queries based on joins and subqueries.
- OOPS and programming languages :
- Explain the pillars of OOP.
- What is a friend function and its application?
- What is the volatile keyword?
- How to create a thread?
- Exception handling.
- Difference between structure and class.
- What is a dangling pointer, associated issues, and how to handle it?
Project Discussion:
Discussion based on my project work.
Data Structures & Algorithms (DSA):
- Mirror image of a complete binary tree.
- Reverse nodes in k-group (asked to write code and dry run on given test cases).
Final Question:
Do you have any questions for me?
This is an opportunity to show your curiosity and understanding of the company's work. Asking about any terms you came across during company research can be beneficial.
Technical Interview 2
Duration: 1.5 hours
The interviewer went through my resume and explained the structure of the interview:
DSA problem
Project discussion
System Design
SQL queries
DSA Problem:
- Longest Increasing Subsequence: I explained the brute force and memoization approaches. The interviewer asked for a dry run, recursive tree, and DP table.
Project Discussion:
- Explained overall functionality and tech stack.
System Design Problem:
- Shorten URL service: The focus was more on schema, scaling, and database design rather than how the URL is shortened. Discussed schema design, scaling through partitioning, horizontal/vertical scaling, rate limiting. and CAP theorem.
SQL Queries:
- The interviewer drew a tree representing an organizational hierarchy (e.g., manager and employee) and asked multiple queries based on it.
Both interviews were held on the same day, and the results were communicated within a week. At our time, no HR round was conducted.