Kotak Mahindra

# Interview Experience – Business Intelligence / Data & Software Engineering Role Interview Process:** 2 Rounds Round 1:** Technical Interview Round 2:** Technical + HR (Planned) Final Result:** Not Selected ## Round 1 – Technical Interview (Approx. 50 Minutes) The first round was a fairly conversational technical interview. The interviewer was friendly and focused on checking my understanding of concepts rather than expecting textbook definitions. I was often asked to explain technical concepts in simple, layman-friendly language. Topics covered:** *Introduction and background:** Self-introduction, academic background, and resume discussion. *Project discussion:** Questions about the networking components used in my project, including TCP vs. UDP and the OSI model. *Computer Networks:** Networking fundamentals and the concepts used in my project. *OOPs:** Basic object-oriented programming concepts. *SQL:** Basic SQL questions. *Resume-based questions:** Discussion of projects, technologies, and other details mentioned on my resume. The interview lasted almost 50 minutes. Overall, it went well, and the interviewer seemed more interested in understanding my conceptual clarity and ability to explain things simply. ## Round 2 – Technical Interview (Tech Lead) The second round was initially expected to include both HR and technical discussions. However, I was interviewed by a technical lead overseeing multiple teams, and the discussion became much more technical and in-depth. Topics covered:** *SQL:** Questions ranging from basic concepts to more advanced query-writing problems. Finding the second-highest salary. Finding the 20th-highest salary. Writing month-wise transaction aggregation queries for the last six months. Joins and handling `NULL` values. *DSA:** Coding and problem-solving questions. *OOPs:** Deeper questions about object-oriented programming concepts. *Memory management:** Shallow copy vs. deep copy and garbage collection. *Operating Systems:** OS fundamentals and conceptual questions. *Concurrency and execution:** Multithreading vs. multiprocessing, synchronous vs. asynchronous execution, and thread-related concepts. I was able to answer some of the questions, including DSA and basic SQL, but struggled with the more advanced SQL queries. The interviewer also explored several core CS concepts in greater depth than I had initially expected. ## Final Outcome and Takeaways Unfortunately, I was not selected after the second round. My biggest takeaway from this experience is that having good projects, web development knowledge, and strong core fundamentals is important, but interviewers may also expect considerable depth in SQL and other CS subjects, even when the role appears to have a broader HR or technical discussion format. Key preparation advice for future candidates:** Practise SQL beyond basic queries, especially joins, subqueries, aggregate functions, window functions, Nth-highest salary problems, and date-based aggregations. Prepare your projects thoroughly, including the underlying concepts and the reasons behind your technology choices. Revise OOPs, OS, and Computer Networks in depth, not just definitions. Practise explaining technical concepts in simple language, as interviewers may test conceptual clarity rather than memorized answers. Do not underestimate the technical depth of a second round, particularly when interviewing with a technical lead. Although the outcome was disappointing, the experience helped me identify the areas I need to improve for future interviews.