Role: Software Development Engineer (Internship & Full-Time Offer)
College: Not Specified (On-Campus)
Interview Date: 2024
Interview Type: On-Campus, Internship & Full-Time
Result: Selected
Difficulty: Medium
Rounds: 4 rounds
Topics Asked: SQL, Aptitude, Data Structures and Algorithms (DSA), Object-Oriented Programming (OOP), Operating Systems (OS), System Design, Behavioral.
Experience:
The recruitment process at Trimble consisted of an online assessment followed by face-to-face interviews for an internship and potential full-time offer.
Round 1: Online Assessment (HackerEarth)
This round included:
- Multiple Choice Questions (MCQs): 8 questions based on SQL and aptitude (both technical and non-technical).
- Aptitude example: "calculate the distance traveled by a bee between two approaching trains."
- Coding Questions: 2 medium-level coding questions.
- "Number of islands"
- "Find the index in a circular array from which prefix sum is always non-negative."
12 students were shortlisted for the face-to-face interview process.
Round 2: First Technical Round
Duration: 1 hour. Topics covered:
- Aptitude: "calculate the distance traveled by a bee between two approaching trains."
- Data Structures and Algorithms (DSA): Candidates were asked to write pseudo code for various problems, including:
- Two Sum Problem
- Least Common Ancestor in a Binary Tree
- Validating a Binary Search Tree
- Finding the middle element of a singly linked list
- Object-Oriented Programming (OOP): Questions included the advantages and disadvantages of OOP, the concept of virtual functions, and the definition of abstraction and abstract classes.
- SQL: A task to write a SQL query to find the department with the maximum number of students.
- Operating Systems (OS): Candidates had to write a Python program with two threads—one printing numbers and the other printing letters—while avoiding deadlocks.
7 candidates were shortlisted for the second technical round.
Round 3: Second Technical Round
This round focused on System Design. The interviewer asked to "Design a Notification System" similar to Swiggy that notifies users about the proximity of their food orders. Candidates were expected to discuss the architecture, components, and technologies involved.
Round 4: HR Interview
All 7 shortlisted candidates attended this round.
- Areas of Interest: Candidates were asked about their specific areas of interest within the company.
- Career Choice: Candidates were expected to articulate why they chose Trimble as their career destination.
- Culture Fit Question: A hypothetical situation was given where the candidate had a disagreement with a coworker who was stubborn about their approach to solving a problem. The question aimed to assess conflict resolution skills.
- Compensation Discussion: The breakdown of the compensation package, including CTC and benefits, was discussed.
- Offer: Candidates were informed about the structure of their employment, which included a six-month internship followed by a full-time offer. 7 students received offers, and the candidate was one of them.