DarwinBo

Role: Internship

College: Not Specified (Campus placement)

Interview Date: July 12, 2023

Interview Type: Campus placement, Internship (leading to PPO opportunity)

Result: Not Explicitly Stated (Mentions 4 out of 10 get internships, 1 out of 4 gets PPO)

Difficulty: Medium to Hard

Rounds: 2 Coding Rounds, followed by Interview for internship, then another interview round for PPO

Topics Asked: Aptitude, SQL, OS, Java, JavaScript, Divisors problem (Clue: Prime numbers), Last occurrence of a number in array, Corona and stones problem, Series sum, Graph question (modification of NQueens)

Experience:

This experience describes the Darwinbox campus placement process for an internship opportunity.

Round 1:

• MCQs: Around 20 MCQs, each worth 5 marks, covering topics like aptitude, SQL, OS, Java, and JavaScript.
• Coding Problems (3 questions):
  1. Given an integer 'd', find 'y' such that it has at least 4 divisors, and the difference between divisors is at least 'd' (Clue: Prime numbers).
  2. Last occurrence of a number in an array (described as a normal linear search type).
  3. "Corona and stones problem": Given a point where corona starts, it can spread to adjacent locations. The candidate is given stones and 5 chances. If a stone is placed, corona cannot spread. After 5 attempts, corona spreads. The task is to block the corona to a minimum area using 5 stones, returning the minimum number of stones required.

Round 2:

• Consisted of 2 to 3 coding questions, ranging from medium to hard difficulty.
• Specific questions mentioned briefly by a friend:
  1. Given some series, print its sum.
  2. A graph question, possibly a modification of NQueens.

Interview Rounds: After the coding rounds, candidates proceeded to an interview for the internship. It was noted that this was specifically for an internship, not a direct PPO (Pre-Placement Offer). After the internship, another interview round would be conducted for PPO selection.

The candidate mentioned that out of 490 students in Round 1, 49 were selected for Round 2, 10 went for the interview, and typically 4 would get the internship. Out of those 4 interns, only 1 would secure a PPO. The PPO package of 16-18 LPA CTC was mentioned as potentially misleading, with the actual FTE (Full-Time Equivalent) CTC being around 10 LPA at maximum.