Bloomberg

Role: SWE Fresher

College: Not Specified

Interview Date: June 2022 (Application)

Interview Type: Full-Time (New Grad)

Result: Selected

Difficulty: Medium

Rounds: 4 rounds (1 Phone, 3 Virtual Onsite)

Topics Asked: Data Structures, Algorithms, System Design, Behavioral, Project Discussion, Object-Oriented Design

Experience:

The candidate applied to Bloomberg in June 2022 for a new grad position and was contacted by HR for a phone interview, followed by virtual on-site rounds.

Phone Interview: This round started with introductions and included two classic coding questions: "Meeting Rooms II" and a variation of "LRU Cache." The interviewer emphasized explaining the thought process and steps before coding, rather than debugging.

Round 1 (DSA / Coding): Two interviewers were present. The round began with introductions, followed by HR-style questions such as "Why do you want to join Bloomberg?" and questions related to teamwork. A project the candidate had worked on was discussed for about 20 minutes. The coding challenge on Hackerrank was a variation of "Invalid Transactions," with mid-interview changes and "what if" scenarios posed by the interviewers. The experience was collaborative, and a satisfactory solution was reached.

Round 2 (System Design): This round featured an interviewer who openly asked if the candidate had prior system design experience, which they hadn't, as it's uncommon for freshers. The task was to design an e-commerce website similar to Amazon. The interviewer and candidate collaborated, bouncing ideas off each other, making it a "10/10 experience."

Round 3 (HR / Managerial): This round involved two interviewers: a recruiter/HR professional and a senior engineer. It included classic HR questions, and the senior engineer delved into technical aspects, primarily focusing on a project the candidate had worked on. The candidate felt they performed "okay" in this round.

Overall Experience: The candidate described it as one of the best interview experiences, highlighting the friendly and collaborative nature of the interviewers and clear communication. An offer for a role in Pune was extended three days after the virtual on-site interviews.