Salesforce

Role: SDE Intern

College: Not Specified

Interview Date: 2024

Interview Type: On-Campus

Result: Rejected

Difficulty: Medium-Hard

Rounds: 1 Online Assessment + 2 Interview Rounds (Technical, HR)

Topics Asked: Data Structures and Algorithms (Binary Search, Sorting, Greedy, Queue Implementation), Frontend (React, SPA), System Design (Project), Behavioral

Experience:

The candidate applied for an SDE Intern position through an on-campus drive.

Online Assessment (HackerRank):
Consisted of three DSA questions:
1. A simple binary search on the answer type of problem.
2. An easy sorting problem.
3. A medium-hard problem requiring a combination of greedy algorithms and implementation skills.
15 participants were shortlisted for interviews.

Technical Round:
Conducted via Google Meet despite being called for an offline interview. After a standard introduction, the interviewer unexpectedly shifted to frontend-related questions, asking "How is React different from other frameworks?" and "What is a Single Page Application (SPA)?" The candidate struggled with these. Next, a code pair link was provided for a problem to implement a task scheduler algorithm, which involved queue implementation. The candidate found this difficult.

HR Round:
This round was smoother. The HR interviewer asked the candidate to explain one of their projects on a whiteboard, discussing its system design and team member work distribution. The candidate requested feedback and was advised to be more concise and clearer in explanations. The candidate was ultimately not selected, attributing the rejection to their performance in the first technical round, specifically with the frontend questions and the queue implementation task.