Summary
I interviewed for an SDE-2 Frontend role at Hiver, which involved five rounds covering DSA, JavaScript/React, System Design, Hiring Manager, and HR. Despite being verbally selected, I received a rejection email, reportedly because there was only one opening for two selected candidates.
Full Experience
I went through a comprehensive interview process at Hiver for an SDE-2 Frontend role, which consisted of five distinct rounds.
Round 1: Data Structures & Algorithms (DSA)
This round had two questions. One was broadly related to string manipulation. The second, more specific, involved processing an array of strings to find subsets based on desirable character frequencies.
Round 2: JavaScript and React Deep Dive
This round started with a machine coding challenge, which I had to solve in exactly 30 minutes, ensuring all functionalities were implemented. I was given a link to a Google Drive file for the problem. Following that, I was provided a CodeSandbox link with existing code, and my task was to identify and fix an issue within 15 minutes, specifically related to implementing a debounce hook to minimize API calls. The last 15 minutes were a rapid-fire session covering various React concepts like closures, event loop, how React.memo works, and state management strategies, including when to choose one over another. If I couldn't answer a question, the interviewer would quickly move to the next.
Round 3: High-Level Design (HLD)
This round began with 4-5 output-based questions. Afterwards, we moved into an HLD discussion, focusing on designing an Autocomplete system. We discussed everything in depth, including state management and how to store data without using arrays.
Round 4: Hiring Manager
This was a typical hiring manager round. I was asked situation-based questions to assess my ownership skills and check for bias fraction. We also discussed my past projects in depth.
Round 5: HR Discussion
The final round involved more situation-based questions.
After completing all rounds, I was informed by HR that I was selected. However, I later received a rejection email at the time I was expecting an offer letter. When I connected with HR for feedback, I was told that two candidates were selected for the role, but there was only one opening, and they decided to move forward with the other candidate without providing any specific reason. I felt really disappointed, as I had invested about a month in the entire interview process. My advice to anyone considering interviewing with Hiver is to clarify the selection process and number of openings with their HR beforehand.
Interview Questions (4)
You are given an array strings. Each character of the string is a lower case alphabetic character. Your task is to return all the subsets of the array of strings where the string as atLeast the desirableFrequencyOfCharacters.
Example 1:<br/>arrayOfStrings = ["a", "b", "c", "ca", "abc"];<br/><br/>input 1<br/>const desirableFrequencyOfCharacters = {<br/> 'c': 1<br/>}<br/>
Given a CodeSandbox link with existing code, identify and fix an issue within 15 minutes. The task specifically involved writing a debounce hook to minimize API calls.
High-Level Design discussion for an Autocomplete system. This involved an in-depth discussion about state management and alternative data storage methods without using arrays.
Preparation Tips
I spent about a month on the whole interview process, implying general preparation for the specific rounds encountered, though no explicit preparation methods were detailed. My experience suggests that thorough preparation for DSA, JavaScript/React deep dives, and System Design (especially Autocomplete) is crucial. Also, be ready for rapid-fire conceptual questions and behavioral scenarios.