Airtel

Role: SDE (Software Development Engineer)

College: Not Specified

Interview Date: 23 Jul, 2025

Interview Type: On-Campus

Result: Not Specified

Difficulty: Medium

Rounds: 3 rounds

Topics Asked: Aptitude, Technical MCQs, Coding (Variation of frequency sort, MaxHeap problem), DSA (BST, DFS, BFS, Linked List, Tree Traversals), OS (Compiler vs Interpreter, Process Scheduling, Deadlock), DBMS (ACID properties, SQL queries), OOPs (Abstraction, Polymorphism, Inheritance), Puzzles (Ant collision puzzle)

Experience:

The process began with an Online Assessment on AMCAT, comprising three sections: Aptitude (16 questions), Technical (14 questions), and Coding (2 questions). The coding questions included a variation of frequency sort (which was challenging due to an old C++ compiler version) and a maximization problem solved using a maxHeap.

Round 1: Technical (1 hour 10 mins)
This round focused on core computer science subjects. The interviewer started with "Tell me about yourself." Questions covered the difference between a compiler and an interpreter, BST, DFS, and BFS traversals. There was a detailed discussion on Linked Lists, Tree Traversals, OS concepts like process scheduling and deadlock, DBMS concepts (ACID properties, SQL queries), and OOPs principles (Abstraction, Polymorphism, Inheritance). The interviewer was friendly.

Round 2: Technical (30 Mins)
This round was described as quite random for many candidates, often involving puzzles. The candidate was asked a puzzle related to ants colliding on a stick. The interviewer was interested in the thought process and ability to backtrack to a solution rather than finding all outcomes. Projects were also discussed with some candidates in this round.

Round 3: HR (15 mins)
The HR round started with general questions like "How was your day?" and "Where are you right now?". The interviewer delved into the candidate's background, upbringing, and future education plans. Questions like "What are your expectations from this company?" were asked, followed by a discussion on Airtel's work culture and performance criteria. The candidate emphasized the importance of being confident and calm, discussing the problem and approach before coding, and having stories ready for HR questions.