Interview Experience - Deutsche Bank

Deutsche Bank visited our campus to hire Summer Interns for tech-analyst roles. The basic shortlist criteria required a CGPA of 4/10 or greater.

Round 1: Coding Round

The first round was a 2.5-hour coding test with two questions and 20 multiple-choice questions. The coding problems were:

1. A slightly modified version of the Trapping Rainwater problem. If I had solved it before, it would have been easy; otherwise, it was a medium-difficulty problem.
2. An easy mathematical problem based on Binary Search, which could also be solved with brute force.

The MCQs were medium to hard difficulty, covering Database Management Systems, Computer Networks, Time Complexities, and Graphs. Out of 200 students, 40 were shortlisted for Round 2.

Round 2: Technical Interview

This round had some irony. Many students before me were asked relatively easy questions on topics like BSTs, Linked Lists, Arrays, and some math puzzles. However, when it was my turn, I was immediately hit with a backtracking question: Find all subsets of array. I also faced a question on finding the Inorder successor in a Binary Tree, which I answered correctly. The interviewer then delved into OOPS concepts, asking about types of inheritance, a brief explanation of each, and the usefulness of inheritance. Finally, I was given a mathematical puzzle, for which I provided a satisfactory solution, though not the best one. I felt a bit low after this round, as I perceived others had performed better. To my surprise, I received a call informing me that I was the first person to be shortlisted for the HR round!

Round 3: HR Interview

The HR interviewers were incredibly friendly. I arrived two minutes late, so I apologized and waited for permission before sitting down. The interviewer's first statement was, "Your resume was one of the most unique that I have come across in my career." I was thrilled, as I had indeed curated a diverse resume with projects in Android and Front-End Development, startup internships, and roles in both my institute's E-Cell and Dance Club. It later became clear that my unique resume played a significant role in my HR round shortlisting, despite my less-than-stellar technical performance. The interviewer asked me about my projects, my motivations behind them, and how they stood out. I did my best to explain them simply. She also asked why I chose Kotlin over Java for Android Development—a question I had prepared for exhaustively! I articulated my points as succinctly as possible. Next, she inquired about my ability to bond with people from different cultures. I explained that I focus on knowledge rather than background, citing challenges I'd worked on with developers globally. Finally, she posed a situation-based question: "What would you choose from? Protecting the security of your company, or leaving it and saving the life of someone?" Having read many interview experiences, I knew this type of question tests composure and critical thinking rather than a single "right" answer. My response was, "I would call/shout for someone to look into either of those. Also, I would make it a point to install a system that would save my work and encrypt it at a button's click." She seemed satisfied. When asked if I had any questions, I inquired about areas for improvement in my profile. She laughed and said, "The comments will keep coming. You are just getting started!" I left the interview feeling very positive. After four hours of intense pressure, the results were declared. Out of 16 finalists, 8 of us were offered a Summer Internship at Deutsche Bank, India.