Dell

Role: Software Engineer

College: Catholic University (BS CS)

Interview Date: April 2021

Interview Type: Full-Time

Result: Selected

Difficulty: Medium

Rounds: 4 rounds

Topics Asked: Behavioral, Java OOP questions, System Design (design Spotify), Verbal Algorithm, Simple Algorithms (on word document), Database questions.

Experience:

The candidate, a May 2020 graduate with a BS in CS, applied on Dell's career site and was contacted by a recruiter. The entire interview process took about two weeks, culminating in an offer.

Recruiter Phone Call (30 minutes): This was a casual conversation where the recruiter wanted to learn more about the candidate and their reasons for seeking a new role. Salary requirements were not discussed. The main focus was confirming the candidate's Philadelphia location. A technical phone screen was scheduled afterwards.

Technical Phone Screen (1 hour): An interview with the team's tech lead. It involved behavioral questions, a verbal algorithm question, and Java OOP questions. The interviewer was described as "super cool."

Onsite (3 rounds, each 1 hour):

• Round 1 (Technical): Interviewed with two engineers, including the tech lead again. Topics included system design (design Spotify), a verbal algorithm, and Java OOP questions. The atmosphere was described as casual, with a good "vibe" among all participants.
• Round 2 (Technical): Involved simple algorithms presented on a word document and some database questions.
• Round 3 (Technical): Not explicitly detailed, but implied to be similar in nature to the other technical rounds.