RingCentral

Role: SDE-1

College: Not Specified (On-Campus)

Interview Date: December 2, 2021

Interview Type: On-Campus

Result: Accepted

Difficulty: Medium to High

Rounds: 3 rounds (Online Assessment, Interview Round 1, Interview Round 2)

Topics Asked: Data Structures (Graphs, Trees, Stack), Algorithms (Dynamic Programming), OOPs (4 pillars, Polymorphism, Virtual Functions, struct vs class), CS Fundamentals (Operating System, DBMS, Object-Oriented Programming), Web Development (NodeJS, REST APIs, Middlewares, how a website works internally), Databases (MongoDB vs MySQL, scalability), Resume and project discussions.

Experience:

This candidate was selected for the SDE-1 role at RingCentral through an on-campus drive. Out of 243 applicants, 108 were shortlisted for the online assessment based on resumes, projects, and internships. Following the online assessment, 20 students were shortlisted for interviews, with an additional 10 on a waitlist. The entire process included an online test and two interview rounds, both of which were elimination rounds.

Online Test:

The online test was conducted on the HackerRank platform and was proctored. It consisted of 2 coding questions and 11 MCQs. Both coding questions were dynamic programming-based and of medium to high difficulty. MCQs covered Output-Based questions and CS Fundamentals such as Operating System, DBMS, and Object-Oriented Programming.

Interview Round 1:

This round lasted 1.5 hours and was held virtually via Google Meet due to Covid-19. The interviewer started with "Tell me about yourself," emphasizing a smart and to-the-point answer. The interview then shifted to OOPs, covering:

• The four pillars of OOPs.
• What polymorphism is and its types.
• What virtual functions are, why they are used, and how they are stored in memory (including coding virtual functions).

The interviewer also asked about the two coding questions from the online test to verify the credibility of the answers. The candidate was asked about their knowledge of Graphs, Trees, and Stack data structures, and a medium-level question based on a stack was given (Graphs were not explored in depth).

Interview Round 2:

This round also lasted 1.5 hours. The candidate was asked to introduce themselves, mentioning skills, projects, internships, and CPI. Based on the mention of web development projects using NodeJS and REST APIs, the interviewer delved into:

• What NodeJS is.
• What REST APIs are.
• What middlewares are.
• How a website works internally.
• What MongoDB is and why use it instead of MySQL.
• Which type of MongoDB database to prefer and why.
• How to increase scalability.

Tips from the candidate included being confident, not hesitating to ask doubts, always trying to provide a solution (even if not optimized), being strong with the resume, and always having questions for the interviewer.