Trilogy

Role: SDE-1

College: Not Specified

Interview Date: September 2022

Interview Type: On-Campus

Result: Rejected

Difficulty: Hard

Rounds: 5 rounds

Topics Asked: Data Structures, Algorithms, Competitive Programming, Resume Projects, Database (SQL/NoSQL, JWT), Behavioral, Product Pitch.

Experience:

The interview process for the SDE-1 position at Trilogy Innovations consisted of five rounds.

First Round – Online Round (2 hours): This round had 4 coding questions. One question involved dividing an array of length `n` into `k` subarrays, where the cost of a subarray was the square of its sum, and the goal was to find the minimum total cost. Another question was based on segment trees, and a third involved a Disjoint Set Union problem which was not easy to implement. The fourth question was not remembered by the candidate.

Second Round - CCAT (Cognitive Test - 15 minutes): This round was conducted on a Crossover platform and consisted of 50 MCQ questions. The candidate needed to score more than 40 out of 50 to clear this round.

Third Round – Telephonic Interview (Resume Round): The interviewer asked the candidate to explain one of their personal/internship projects. Questions were asked about anything related to the project, including the database used, reasons for choosing that database, differences between SQL and NoSQL, and which is faster. The interviewer also inquired if the candidate had implemented any authorization in their projects and specifically asked about JWT tokens if mentioned in the resume. The candidate was advised to prepare thoroughly about their resume.

Fourth Round - Zoom Call (DSA Round): After introductions, the interviewer asked a coding question: "Given an array `a`, in one move, you can remove as many `a[i]` such that `a[i] < a[i-1]` for all `i >= 0` and `i < n`. You have to find a minimum number of moves so that the array will become non-decreasing." The candidate initially struggled but, with hints, figured out and implemented a short solution on Google Docs.

Fifth Round – Zoom Call (Open-ended Questions): This was a tough round with a very experienced interviewer. The interviewer first asked if the candidate had any questions about the company. Then, questions like "What is something I have built till now which I am very proud of?", "What is my most significant achievement till now?", and "What are my three best qualities which, if he asks my manager of the internship, will tell him and why I think so?" were asked. Finally, a situation was given, and the candidate was asked to pitch a product for the problem and explain why the interviewer should buy it. The candidate felt they would not get through this round and received a rejection the next day.