Snapchat - Phone Interview - Reject

My phone interview experience with Snapchat began with a series of behavioral questions. I was asked to articulate "Why Snap?" and to "Talk about a past mistake," which I addressed to the best of my ability.

Following the behavioral segment, I moved on to the coding portion. The problem presented was akin to the Palindrome Linked List question, with the twist that the ListNode was generic, requiring me to use integers as node values based on the specific question requirements. I clarified the problem statement and then outlined my solution strategy: reverse the second half of the linked list and then compare nodes from the first half with those from the reversed second half. I proceeded to quickly write the code, aiming for cleanliness.

However, during the comparison of node values, I inadvertently used the == operator (e.g., if (node1.val==node2.val) continue;) instead of the appropriate .equals() method or explicitly calling intValue(). This error led to two test cases failing. The interviewer promptly identified the problematic line. I immediately recognized my mistake, explaining that .equals() should be used for comparing objects. The interviewer mentioned that this is a common pitfall for many engineers.

With about ten minutes remaining in the interview, I used the opportunity to ask about Snapchat's culture. Disappointingly, despite following up a week later, I was never officially notified about my rejection.