ZS

Role: Software Engineer

College: Not Specified

Interview Date: Not Specified

Interview Type: On-Campus, Full-Time

Result: Selected

Difficulty: Medium

Rounds: 4 rounds

Topics Asked: Coding (AP/GP/Fibonacci-style sequence, Grid DP variant, Middle of linked list, Longest palindromic substring, First non-repeating character in a string, String compression), MCQs (JavaScript, OOPs, SQL), OOP concepts (4 pillars), DSA, SQL (joins, aggregate functions, schema design), DBMS concepts, System Design (DB design for Asia Cup), Puzzles (Two cubes make a calendar), Behavioral (hobbies, motivations), Projects.

Experience:

The interview process for the Software Engineer role at ZS Associates consisted of 4 rounds: an online assessment (OA), a communication assessment, and two interview rounds. The final outcome for the candidate was selection.

Round 1 (Online Assessment - OA): This round was 60 minutes long and included both coding problems and MCQs.

• Section 1 (Coding, 2 problems, medium): The first problem involved the implementation of AP/GP/Fibonacci-style sequence logic. The second problem was a Grid DP variant, similar to the Minimum Path Sum problem but modified to find the maximum path sum.
• Section 2: 6 MCQs on JavaScript.
• Section 3: 6 OOPs MCQs.
• Section 4: 6 SQL MCQs.

Round 2 (Communication Assessment): A short assessment was conducted to evaluate reading, writing, and spoken English, focusing on basic comprehension and expression.

Round 3 (Technical Interview 1): This was a 1-hour interview primarily focused on OOP, DSA, and SQL. The interviewer began with a discussion on the four pillars of OOP, then moved to the candidate's project experience.

• DSA (3 questions): The candidate was asked to solve three DSA questions optimally: "Middle of the linked list," "Longest palindromic substring," and "First non-repeating character in a string."
• SQL: Two questions involving joins and aggregate functions were asked. The candidate solved both but encountered difficulty with one optimal variant.

Round 4 (Technical + Behavioral Interview 2): This round was a mix of technical design, SQL, and behavioral questions.

• The SQL query from the previous round was revisited.
• Discussions included hobbies and motivations.
• DB design: The candidate was asked to design an end-to-end database schema for the Asia Cup and write multiple queries based on it, followed by a good discussion on DBMS concepts and trade-offs.
• Puzzle: The "Two cubes make a calendar" puzzle was presented, which the candidate solved with one hint.

The interviewer's feedback was positive. Tips for success included a strong grasp of DSA (practicing edge cases and optimal time/space), solid DBMS & SQL fundamentals (joins, aggregates, schema design), good understanding of OOP concepts, and thorough knowledge of one's resume, being ready to discuss any listed project or technology.