Bank Of America interview experience Real time questions & tips from candidates to crack your interview

SDE - 1

Bank Of America
upvote
share-icon
3 rounds | 16 Coding problems

Interview preparation journey

expand-icon
Preparation
Duration: 4 months
Topics: Object Oriented Programming, Data structure and Algorithms, Database management, System, Operating System, Data Communication and networks
Tip
Tip

Tip 1 : Solve and answer the questions with a calm mind.
Tip 2 : You should know each and every word of your Resume.(Go through your resume before siting for interview).
Tip 3 : Prepare yourself for the question "Tell me about yourself" (Know yourself before any interview)

Application process
Where: Campus
Eligibility: Above 7.5 CGPA , Only for CS and IT branch
Resume Tip
Resume tip

Tip 1 : Follow chronological resume format
Tip 2 : Include only the most relevant information and put the most important information first

Interview rounds

01
Round
Medium
Online Coding Interview
Duration90 minutes
Interview date3 Dec 2020
Coding problem2

This was the first round of Bank of America Recruitment. It was conducted on Hirevue Platform. The timing of the Test was 90 minutes . There were some precautions that we needed to take care off before sitting for the test like Good internet connectivity , Formal dress code. It was completely web proctored test where all the video, audio and screen is recorded.
There were 5 questions in the test. 3 questions of video recordings and 2 questions of Coding.
1) Describe about your education and work experience
---> This was the first question, we were given 30 seconds to prepare for the answer and there were a button to start video and we were given 3 minutes to answer the question. 

2) Why you are a best fit for this role?
---> This was also a video Question where we were given 30 sec to prepare and 3 minutes to answer

3) This was the coding Question.
Question - Write a program that , given an integer N , sums all the whole numbers from 1 through N(both inclusive) . Do not include in your sum any of the intermediate values ( 1 and N inclusive) that are divisible by 5 or 7.
Test Input - 10
Expected output - 33

4) This was also coding question related to strings
Question - Given a string s , little Johny defined the beauty of the string as the sum of the beauty of the letters in it. The beauty of each letter is an integer between 1 to 26, inclusive , and no two letters have the same beauty.  Johny does not care about whether the letters are uppercase or lowercase , so that does not affect the beauty of letter.

Test input - ABbCcc
Expected output - 152

5) Describe what approach you followed in 2nd coding question.
---> it was a video question in which we needed to define our approach for the above coding question.

1. Multiples of 2 and 3

Easy
15m average time
80% success
0/40
Asked in company
Bank Of America

Ninja is bored with his previous game of numbers, so now he is playing with divisors.

He is given 'N' numbers, and his task is to return the sum of all numbers which is divisible by 2 or 3.

Let the number given to him be - 1, 2, 3, 5, 6. As 2, 3, and 6 is divisible by either 2 or 3 we return 2 + 3 + 6 = 11.

Problem approach

I followed brute force approach to solve this question.

Step 1 : Iterate the array

Step 2 : Check the condition if each iteration integer is completely divisible by 2 or 3 or not. If divisible add to sum

Step 3 : Print total sum,.

Try solving now

2. Beautiful String

Easy
18m average time
70% success
0/40
Asked in companies
MicrosoftIntuitAdobe

Ninja has been given a binary string ‘STR’ containing either ‘0’ or ‘1’. A binary string is called beautiful if it contains alternating 0s and 1s.

For Example:‘0101’, ‘1010’, ‘101’, ‘010’ are beautiful strings.

He wants to make ‘STR’ beautiful by performing some operations on it. In one operation, Ninja can convert ‘0’ into ‘1’ or vice versa.

Your task is to determine the minimum number of operations Ninja should perform to make ‘STR’ beautiful.

For Example :
Minimum operations to make ‘STR’ ‘0010’ beautiful is ‘1’. In one operation, we can convert ‘0’ at index ‘0’ (0-based indexing) to ‘1’. The ‘STR’ now becomes ‘1010’ which is a beautiful string. 
Problem approach

Initially I found this difficult. But finally I did it.
Step 1 : Take an array of length 26 to count the frequency of each alphabet.
Step 2 : Take a variable answer and initialize it to 0.
Step 3 : Sort the frequency array
Step 4 : Iterate loop from i=25 to i>=0 && freq[i]>0 , i--
Step 5 : Calculate the sum
answer+=(freq[i] * (i+1));
Step 6 : Print the answer.

Try solving now
02
Round
Medium
Video Call
Duration70 minutes
Interview date8 Dec 2020
Coding problem4

I got mail on 7th December at 10:30 pm about the next round which was to be held on next day at 9:40 am .
I got the link of 1st round at 9:30 am on 8th December. It was on Cisco Webex platform . This way of technical interview round was very unique for me because we only have to open video on webex and there we were given a line number to call by phone. We need to give answer on phone and video is on through webex.
My interview started by 9:45 am . First of all interviewer asked very famous question of Interview i.e.
"Tell me about yourself"
I have given proper answer of this question including my achievements , internships and education.
The interviewer was very friendly . He kept motivating me till end of interview. He took me to the right approach in many questions.

1. Alternate Print

Easy
10m average time
90% success
0/40
Asked in companies
UberBank Of AmericaMAQ Software

You have two strings “A” and “B”. Your task is to print these two strings in an alternative fashion according to indices i.e. first character of “A”, the first character of “B”, the second character of “A”, the second character of “B” and so on.

Note:
If all characters of one string are printed and some characters of other string are remaining, then you have to print the remaining characters of the other string at the end of the resulting string.
Follow Up :
Can you solve the problem in O(N) time complexity and O(1) space complexity?
For Example:
A = “abc” B = “fdh” then answer will be afbdch.
Problem approach

I followed brute force approach
Step 1 : Take a result string
Step 2 : One by one append characters of both given strings in alternate style.
Step 3 : Iterate loop from i=0 to i<s1.length || i<s2.length
Step 4 : Choose ith character of the first string it exists
result+=s1[i];
Step 5 : Choose ith character of the second string if it exists
result+=s2[i];
Step 6 : End loop
Step 7 : Print the result

Try solving now

2. Operating System

Have you worked on Linux OS?

Tell me some commands in Linux. Which commands are used to create a file and write in it? (Learn)

If we want to print top 10 lines from a file which command will we use? 

If we want to print last 10 line of file which command will we use? 

Which command is used to get ip address of pc? . 

What is the difference between physical address and logical address? (Learn)
If we are given a file with 1000 lines and we want to print lines from 600-700 which command will we use?
What is Process and process scheduling? (Learn)

What is deadlock?  (Learn)

What are necessary conditions for deadlock? (Learn)

Problem approach

Tip 1 : I generally prefer last minute notes from geeks for geek for quick revision . it covers most of the topics.
Tip 2 : Refer generally asked questions in interviews for particular subject.
Tip 3 : Make notes for the main subject topics for last revision.

3. OOPS Questions

He asked me about my topic of interest.
I said OOPS ,
He asked me what is class and object, relation between class and object. (Learn)
What is Inheritance and types of Inheritance. along with example of inheritance. (Learn)
What are access specifier in OOPS? (Learn)
What is default access specifier of class?
What is the difference between class and structure? (Learn)
What is garbage collection? (Learn)
Different storage mediums in C++.
What is copy constructor? (Learn)

Problem approach

Tip 1 : Go through the main features of OOPS Encapsulation , Inheritance etc
Tip 2 : Practice examples of each feature
Tip 3 : Read E Balaguruswamy for better understanding of OOPs

4. Puzzle

1) You are at the side of a river. You are given a 3-litre jug and a 5-litre jug. Both the jugs are initially empty. The jugs don’t have markings to allow measuring smaller quantities. You have to use the jugs to measure 4 litres of water. Determine the minimum no of operations to be performed to obtain 4 litres of water in one of the jugs.

2) You have a birthday cake and have to cut it into 8 equal pieces by making 3 cuts only. How do you do it?

Problem approach

Tip 1 : Go through commonly asked puzzle questions from interview experiences
Tip 2 : Practice more puzzles online

03
Round
Hard
Video Call
Duration63 minutes
Interview date8 Dec 2020
Coding problem10

I got call from HR at 1:43 Pm , she asked me to prepare 2nd round of interview at 2:00 Pm . She sent me the link . I was waiting for next round when she again called me that my interview had shifted from 2 to 3:30 PM . 
I started my next round of interview with the same procedure i.e. the video is on through webex and the audio is through call on bridge line number.
This was Technical + HR both round. I were asked technical as well as HR related Questions
Again the interviewer was very friendly . He treated me very well and help me out in many questions.
I got a great experience from this interview. Overall It was a good learning for me.

1. Puzzle

1) If we toss 1 coin three times one by one then what will the probability of getting heads all the time.
2) How you will implement this through coding?

Problem approach

Tip 1 : Do practice these some generally asked Mathematics concepts
Tip 2 : Keep revising things.

2. Fourth Largest Element in the Array

Easy
20m average time
0/40
Asked in companies
Bank Of AmericaMicrosoftMaersk

You are given an array consisting of 'N' integers. You have to find the fourth largest element present in the array.

If there is no such number present in the array, then print the minimum value of an integer which is -2147483648.

Follow Up:
Try solving this problem in O(N) time complexity.
Problem approach

Practise algorithms and coding.

Try solving now

3. Merge Sort

Easy
15m average time
85% success
0/40
Asked in companies
Media.netHewlett Packard EnterpriseIBM

Given a sequence of numbers ‘ARR’. Your task is to return a sorted sequence of ‘ARR’ in non-descending order with help of the merge sort algorithm.

Example :

Merge Sort Algorithm -

Merge sort is a Divide and Conquer based Algorithm. It divides the input array into two-parts, until the size of the input array is not ‘1’. In the return part, it will merge two sorted arrays a return a whole merged sorted array.

subsequence

The above illustrates shows how merge sort works.
Note :
It is compulsory to use the ‘Merge Sort’ algorithm.
Problem approach

Practise algorithms and coding

Try solving now

4. Quick Sort

Moderate
10m average time
90% success
0/80
Asked in companies
FreshworksSamsung R&D InstituteLenskart

You are given an array of integers. You need to sort the array in ascending order using quick sort.

Quick sort is a divide and conquer algorithm in which we choose a pivot point and partition the array into two parts i.e, left and right. The left part contains the numbers smaller than the pivot element and the right part contains the numbers larger than the pivot element. Then we recursively sort the left and right parts of the array.

Example:

Let the array = [ 4, 2, 1, 5, 3 ]
Let pivot to be the rightmost number.

example

After the 1st level partitioning the array will be { 2, 1, 3, 4, 5 } as 3 was the pivot. After 2nd level partitioning the array will be { 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 } as 1 was the pivot for the left part and 5 was the pivot for the right part. Now our array is sorted and there is no need to divide it again.

Problem approach

Practise algorithms and coding

Try solving now

5. Reverse Linked List

Moderate
15m average time
85% success
0/80
Asked in companies
IBMQuikrMicrosoft

Given a singly linked list of integers. Your task is to return the head of the reversed linked list.

For example:
The given linked list is 1 -> 2 -> 3 -> 4-> NULL. Then the reverse linked list is 4 -> 3 -> 2 -> 1 -> NULL and the head of the reversed linked list will be 4.
Follow Up :
Can you solve this problem in O(N) time and O(1) space complexity?
Problem approach

Print Reverse LinkedList

Try solving now

6. Detect and Remove Loop

Moderate
10m average time
90% success
0/80
Asked in companies
AmazonMicrosoftFreshworks

Given a singly linked list, you have to detect the loop and remove the loop from the linked list, if present. You have to make changes in the given linked list itself and return the updated linked list.

Expected Complexity: Try doing it in O(n) time complexity and O(1) space complexity. Here, n is the number of nodes in the linked list.

Problem approach

Practise algorithms and coding

Try solving now

7. Check Palindrome

Easy
15m average time
80% success
0/40
Asked in companies
Bank Of AmericaOlaPinnacle Works Infotech

Ninja is given an integer ‘N’. Ninja wants to find whether the binary representation of integer ‘N’ is palindrome or not.

A palindrome is a sequence of characters that reads the same backward as forward.

Ninja is busy with his training. Help Ninja in finding out whether the binary representation of ‘N’ is palindrome or not.

Problem approach

Practise data structures and algorithms especially common questions.

Try solving now

8. Find Pairs

Easy
18m average time
75% success
0/40
Asked in companies
Goldman SachsBank Of AmericaGrant Thornton

We are given a sorted doubly-linked list which contains distinct positive integers, and an integer ‘X’. Print all such unique pairs from the given list so that their sum is equal to ‘X’.

Problem approach

Used a hashmap for O(n) appproach

Try solving now

9. DBMS

What is normalization?
What is BCNF?
Types of languages in DBMS
What is DML, DQL ,DDL? Which commands comes under each?
Write a query to find distinct records from a table
Write a query to find duplicate records from a table
You are given two tables Student and Subject with fields student_id , name , class , subject_id , marks and subject id , subject name . How you get the average marks of student subject wise?

Problem approach

Tip 1 : Do practice SQL queries
Tip 2 : Read about Normalization , Serialization and Deadlock
Tip 3 : Practice to reduce table in Normal forms

10. Behavorial Questions

1) Why are the you best fit for this role?
2) Is this your first interview?
3) What are your strengths and weaknesses?
4) if you have given interviews previously for other companies why have you not been selected? What have you missed?

Problem approach

Tip 1 : Give answers honestly.
Tip 2 : Keep calm while giving answers

Here's your problem of the day

Solving this problem will increase your chance to get selected in this company

Skill covered: Programming

What is recursion?

Choose another skill to practice
Similar interview experiences
company logo
SDE - 1
3 rounds | 7 problems
Interviewed by OYO
4657 views
0 comments
0 upvotes
Software Engineer
2 rounds | 4 problems
Interviewed by Bank Of America
3942 views
0 comments
0 upvotes
company logo
SDE - 1
2 rounds | 5 problems
Interviewed by Meesho
6450 views
0 comments
0 upvotes
company logo
SDE - 1
3 rounds | 9 problems
Interviewed by Salesforce
3451 views
0 comments
0 upvotes
Companies with similar interview experiences
company logo
SDE - 1
2 rounds | 3 problems
Interviewed by BNY Mellon
6261 views
3 comments
0 upvotes
company logo
SDE - 1
3 rounds | 6 problems
Interviewed by BNY Mellon
0 views
0 comments
0 upvotes
company logo
SDE - 1
3 rounds | 5 problems
Interviewed by CIS - Cyber Infrastructure
2159 views
0 comments
0 upvotes