I had an interview opportunity at Rupicard for an SE-1 position. I hold a B.Tech degree from a Tier 1 NIT and have 14 months of experience as an SDE1 at a startup.

Round 1: UI Design & Functionality Implementation

In this round, I was tasked with designing a calculator based on a given UI. My goal was to replicate the design as accurately as possible. After completing the design, I was then asked to implement its core functionality. The interviewer closely questioned me on specific behaviors, such as ensuring that when an operator (like +, -, *) is added, only the next value should be displayed, and the previous value should be hidden. I also had to make sure that only one value was visible during the input process.

Round 2: HM Round

This round was with the hiring manager and focused heavily on frontend concepts, particularly React and JavaScript. I was asked a series of questions:

1. I had to explain different React hooks that I had used in my projects.
2. The interviewer asked me to articulate the difference between useEffect and useLayoutEffect.
3. I was questioned on what debouncing and throttling are, and when one would typically use them.
4. I needed to explain React's change detection mechanics.
5. The concepts of shallow copy and deep copy were discussed.
6. I had to explain the differences between var, let, and const in JavaScript.
7. I was asked to explain pass by value and pass by reference specifically in JavaScript.
8. Finally, I was given several console log code snippets and asked to debug them and explain their outputs.

Feedback

I received a rejection after the final round. The feedback indicated that I lacked sufficient working experience in React.js. Additionally, I made some JavaScript syntax errors during the interview, which was likely due to not working with it consistently.