Degree: Final year Engineering student in Information Technology
University:SGSITS Indore
Overview:
Yesterday, I participated in the interview process conducted by ConsultAdd, which was specifically for CS/IT students. Below, I outline my experience throughout the various rounds of the interview.
Interview Process:
- Initial Coding Test:
- The first round was an online coding test, resembling a pen-and-paper format rather than a traditional IDE.
- Structure:
- Duration: 30 minutes for coding, followed by a 5-minute dry run for each question.
- Questions: There were 2 coding questions categorized as easy to medium.
- Environment: The platform was similar to Notepad, and there was no compiler to run the code. They emphasized that syntax errors were not a concern; they focused on understanding my approach.
- I successfully cleared this round.
- Technical Interview 1:
- Following the online assessment, I attended Technical Interview 1.
- Participants: Out of 100+ students, 54 qualified for this round, with only 12 advancing to the next stage (Technical Interview 2 + HR).
- Timing: The interview process started at 10 AM and concluded at approximately 6 PM. I was the last candidate interviewed, and there were four panels conducting interviews simultaneously. Each interview lasted about 25-30 minutes.
Technical Interview Insights:
- The questions covered a broad range of topics including OOP, DBMS, DSA, SQL, OS, and language-specific queries (Java in my case). No questions were repeated among the 54 students.
Questions Asked:
- Introduction:
- The interview began with a brief introduction.
- Project Discussion:
- I was asked to elaborate on projects mentioned in my resume. Specifically, I explained my role in a group project, the team size, any conflicts encountered, and how I managed dependencies with the backend.
- Data Structures and Algorithms (DSA):
- I received two DSA questions:
- Question 1: Given an n x n matrix filled with zeros and ones, find the maximum size square that can be formed using only 1’s.
- Approach: I proposed two methods. The interviewer found my first recursive approach unsatisfactory and suggested optimizing it. My second approach, using the spiral method, met with approval.
- Question 2: Sort an array of size n containing only the values 1, 2, and 3 in a single pass.
- Approach: I initially suggested four methods, but the interviewer prompted me to solve it using a two-pointer technique.
- SQL Questions:
- I was asked about the databases I have worked with, specifically SQL.
- Question: How would you remove duplicate entries from a database table with constraints on primary keys and not creating a new database?
- I partially answered but was guided to refine my response further, including using aggregation functions.
- Follow-up Questions:
- Difference between DISTINCT and UNIQUE keywords.
- Can tables be created without a primary key? If yes, how?
- Difference between primary key and unique key.
- Object-Oriented Programming (OOP) Questions:
- The interviewer queried about my primary programming language (Java) and asked:
- What is inheritance, and how is it implemented in Java?
- Explain polymorphism and provide examples of method overloading and overriding. I provided implementations and explained the differences between calling methods from parent and child classes.
Conclusion:
Overall, the interview was comprehensive, challenging, and provided an opportunity to showcase my technical knowledge. I received feedback that while my confidence and communication were commendable, I needed to focus on delivering more optimized solutions from the start to the end of my responses. I appreciated the interviewer’s guidance on refining my approach and was encouraged by their positive remarks regarding my performance.
