Bureau Veritas interview experience Real time questions & tips from candidates to crack your interview

SDE - 1

Bureau Veritas

2 rounds | 4 Coding problems

Akshat Shah

Fresher | Sep 2024

Rejected

Interview preparation journey

Journey

I began preparing for the SDE 1 role at Bureau Veritas with a structured approach, focusing on strengthening both my technical and problem-solving skills. I revised core concepts in data structures, algorithms, and object-oriented programming using coding platforms, ensuring I could solve problems efficiently within time constraints. In parallel, I refined my resume and built impactful projects, including a transport clustering system using MongoDB and Flask. This project demonstrated the real-world application of geospatial data and optimization—skills relevant to the role. I also refreshed my knowledge of SQL, Python, and system design fundamentals to be well-prepared for both coding and technical interview rounds. Although I wasn’t selected, the experience provided clarity on my areas for improvement, particularly in system-level thinking and performing under pressure. It was a valuable learning experience, and I now feel better equipped and more confident for future roles in software development.

Application story

I came across the SDE 1 opening at Bureau Veritas during my final year and was immediately interested because of the company’s focus on innovation and technology-driven solutions. I tailored my resume to highlight relevant skills—especially my work with Python, Flask, and database integration from my clustering and transport optimization project. I applied through the campus portal and cleared the resume shortlist. In preparation, I focused on DSA, practiced mock interviews, and revised CS fundamentals such as OOP, DBMS, and OS. Although I gave my best during the process, I wasn’t selected in the final round. Still, the experience provided valuable insights into real-world technical interviews and areas where I need to improve.

Why selected/rejected for the role?

I believe I wasn’t selected because there were candidates who were better prepared or had a stronger alignment with the role at that time. While I had put in sincere effort, certain gaps—possibly in advanced problem-solving, system design clarity, or articulation during interviews—may have influenced the outcome. It was a valuable learning opportunity, and I’m using the experience and feedback to improve for future roles.

Preparation

Duration: 6 Months

Topics: OOP, Operating Systems, Computer Networks, Data Structures and Algorithms

Tip

Tip 1 – Master DSA and Time Management:
Consistently solve problems on arrays, strings, trees, graphs, and dynamic programming. Focus not just on solving problems but on optimizing solutions—practice writing code within 20–30 minutes per problem to simulate interview conditions.

Tip 2 – Project and Resume Alignment:
Build at least one end-to-end project that solves a real-world problem (like your transport clustering system). Highlight the tech stack used, challenges faced, and your specific contributions. This not only demonstrates initiative but also helps you stand out during technical discussions.

Application process

Where: Campus

Eligibility: 6 CGPA (Salary Package: 6 LPA)

Resume tip

Tip 1 – Quantify Your Impact:
Instead of just describing what you did, show the impact. For example:
"Reduced route overlap by 30% in a transport clustering system using MongoDB and Flask."
This gives recruiters a clear reason to pay attention.

Tip 2 – Prioritize Relevant Skills and Projects:
Place technical skills (like Python, SQL, Flask, DSA) and key projects at the top. Use bullet points to highlight your role, tools used, and outcomes. Keep it concise—one page maximum, focused on what aligns with the SDE profile.

Interview rounds

Round

Easy

Online Coding Interview

Duration60 minutes

Interview date20 Sep 2024

Coding problem2

1. First non repeating character

Easy

15m average time

80% success

0/40

Asked in companies

Ninja is now bored with numbers and is now playing with characters but hates when he gets repeated characters. Ninja is provided a string, and he wants to return the first unique character in the string.The string will contain characters only from the English alphabet set, i.e., ('A' - 'Z') and ('a' - 'z'). If there is no non-repeating character, print the first character of the string. If there is no non-repeating character, return the first character of the string.

Problem approach

Step 1: Understand the Problem
You're given a string. You need to find the index of the first character that appears only once in the string. If there’s no such character, return -1.

Step 2: Count Character Frequencies
Iterate through each character in the string and count how many times it appears. You can use a dictionary or hash map for this.

Step 3: Identify the First Unique Character
Go through the string again, in the same order, and check each character’s count.
As soon as you find a character with a count of 1, that’s your answer—return its index.

Step 4: Return -1 if None Found
If no character with a count of 1 is found, return -1.

Try solving now

2. Operating System

Which of the following is not a valid scheduling algorithm in operating systems?

A) First Come First Serve (FCFS)
B) Round Robin (RR)
C) Shortest Job Next (SJN)
D) Load Balancing Scheduling (LBS)8

Round

Medium

Face to Face

Duration60 minutes

Interview date26 Sep 2024

Coding problem2

1. Anagram Pairs

Moderate

30m average time

60% success

0/80

Asked in companies

You are given two strings 'str1' and 'str1'.

You have to tell whether these strings form an anagram pair or not.

The strings form an anagram pair if the letters of one string can be rearranged to form another string.

Pre-requisites:

Anagrams are defined as words or names that can be formed by rearranging the letters of another word. Such as "spar" can be formed by rearranging letters of "rasp". Hence, "spar" and "rasp" are anagrams.

Other examples include:

'triangle' and 'integral'
'listen' and 'silent'

Note:

Since it is a binary problem, there is no partial marking. Marks will only be awarded if you get all the test cases correct.

Problem approach

Step 1: Check if the lengths of both strings are equal. If not, they can't be anagrams—return False.

Step 2: Count the frequency of each character in both strings.

Step 3: Compare both frequency maps.
If they match exactly, return True; otherwise, return False.

Try solving now

2. Operating System

Consider a system with 4 processes and the following allocation and maximum resource requirement tables. The system has 10 instances of a single resource type.

Process Allocated Maximum
P1 1 4
P2 2 3
P3 3 6
P4 1 5

Question:
Is the system in a safe state? If yes, give one possible safe sequence.