ZOMATO | SDE1 | GURGAON | FEB/2022 [REJECT]

Online Coding Round

For the initial screening, an online coding round was not required. My selection for interviews was based purely on my CV. Shortly after, the recruiter called me to schedule the first technical screening round.

Technical Round 1 - 1 Interviewer [1.5 hours]

This round commenced with my introduction, followed by an in-depth discussion about my CV. The interviewer focused heavily on my Angular experience, asking questions such as:

• What is Angular, and how does it differ from server-side technologies like PHP/JSP?
• How are components rendered in Angular?
• What is the sequence of events when a REST call is made from an Angular application?

The conversation then shifted to core computer science fundamentals, specifically comparing Java and C++:

• What are the key differences between Java and C++?
• How does Java achieve platform independence?
• I was also questioned about my understanding of threads.

A significant portion of this round, almost an hour, was dedicated to Data Structures and Algorithms:

• I had to explain the differences between a general Binary Tree and a Binary Search Tree (BST).
• I discussed insertion, traversal, and modification operations within a BST.
• A specific task was to explain the logic for deletion in a BST and then write the corresponding code in Google Docs.
• I explained the internal working principles of HashMaps.
• We discussed practical applications and uses of both BSTs and HashMaps.
• I was asked to justify when one might choose a BST over a HashMap.
• Finally, we covered the time complexities for various operations across all discussed data structures.

The round concluded with a system fundamentals question: "What happens when you type a URL into a browser and hit enter?" I noticed the interviewer frequently probed with 'how' and 'why' for my answers and code, which limited the total number of questions covered. Honestly, I didn't think I performed well in this round, so I was quite surprised to receive a call for Round 2. The feedback I later received indicated that my DSA and problem-solving skills were positive, but my CS fundamentals were a weakness.

TechnoManagerial Round - 1 Interviewer [1 hour]

This round began with standard behavioral questions:

• Tell me about yourself.
• Why am I looking for a job switch, and what are my long-term life goals?
• We also discussed my current team and the specific project I was involved in.

A substantial part of the round involved a detailed discussion of a project architecture I had designed in my current role. I was asked to illustrate and explain it using Google Docs and a whiteboard.

Next, I was given a coding problem: I had to reverse a Linked List, implementing solutions using both recursion and iteration. I also had to discuss the space and time complexities of each approach and write the code in Google Docs.

The interviewer then moved on to database concepts, leading into an open-ended system design question:

• Design a Database Schema for an E-commerce Website. The interviewer intentionally provided no constraints, wanting to observe my problem-solving approach.
• I was expected to design tables covering various scenarios, including ordering products, managing clients with multiple delivery locations, handling sellers, tracking orders, registering products (considering multiple sellers for the same product), managing inventory, facilitating product searches, creating shopping carts with diverse products (potentially from different sellers), and maintaining order statuses, among other considerations.
• Throughout this design process, I had to vocalize my thought process, identify potential bottlenecks, and explain how I would address them.