GeeksforGeeks interview experience Real time questions & tips from candidates to crack your interview
SDE - 1
GeeksforGeeks
3 rounds | 8 Coding
problems
Selected Interview preparation journey
Journey
I started my journey in coding by learning a basic programming language like C and some theoretical concepts and then I learned data structures in my college but not practiced it well and started focusing on GATE Exam after one year due to personal issues I have to left my GATE preparation and started again focusing on coding and I started writing code in python and practiced DSA and during in between I switched to C++ for solving problems. Till now I am doing questions randomly without focusing on the platform and along with I learned web development and made some good projects. And I finally became consistent in my last year and decided on only two platforms to code (i.e GFG and Leetcode ) along with revised core subjects and started looking for off-campus opportunities as I was from a Tier-3 college. At this time, I cracked some service-based companies but all are extending the date of joining.
Application story
I got this opportunity off-campus. I applied for this role via LinkedIn and after one month I got a call from HR the whole process took just one week.
Why selected/rejected for the role?
I was not a pro neither in development or coding. But I have maintained a great balance in both skills in my resume also my desire to learn. I think this makes me a fit candidate for SDE-1. In GFG, they focus on skills, and language of communication was never a barrier.
Preparation
Duration: 3 months
Topics: Data Structures and Algorithms, Database Management Systems, OOPs, Computer Networks, Web Development
Tip 1 : Being consistent is the key. Practice DSA questions daily and revised core concepts weekly
Tip 2 : I personally recommend you Coding Ninjas and Geeks For Geeks for interview preparation.
Tip 3 : Be an active user of job platforms and started appearing in mock or real interviews for confidence without thinking about the level of your preparation
Application process
Where: Linkedin
Eligibility:
Tip 1 : Make a one-page resume and add skills in which you are confident
Tip 2 : Mention at least two good projects and links to coding platforms
Tip 3 : Must read interview experiences before any interview
Interview rounds
01
Round
Medium
Online Coding Test
Duration60 minutes
Interview date24 Aug 2023
Coding problem3
This was the DSA round. The interviewer asked 3 questions which are of medium level and asked upto optimal solution
1. Top View
Moderate
42m average time
61% success
0/80
Asked in companies
Given a binary tree. Print the Top View of Binary Tree. Print the nodes from left to right order.
Example:
Input:
Output: 2 35 2 10 2
Problem approach
Step 1 : Figure out how the tree will look after traversal and got the point that I have to do something like vertical order traversal
Step 2 : I do a level order traversal so that the topmost node at a horizontal node is visited before any other node of the same horizontal distance below it.
Step 3 : Hashing is used to check whether a node at a given horizontal distance is seen.
Step 4 : I explained the whole approach and code
2. Ways to Arrange Balls
Hard
40m average time
50% success
0/120
Asked in companies
Given ‘a’ balls of type ‘A’, ‘b’ balls of type ‘B’ and ‘c’ balls of type ‘C’. You need to find the total number of ways to arrange the balls in a straight line such that adjacent balls are of different types.
In other words, find the total ways to arrange the given balls in such a way that no two balls of the same type are adjacent.
For Example :
Suppose we have 2 balls of type ‘A’, 1 ball of type ‘B’ and 1 ball of type ‘C’, following are the ways to arrange them in the required fashion.
ABCA
ABAC
ACBA
ACAB
BACA
CABA
Hence, there is a total of six ways.
Problem approach
Step 1 : Initially I read the problem and start thinking about two pointer approach
Step 2 : But after a few minutes I got to the point where I can treat balls as numbers (i.e 0, 1, 2) then I remembered the DNF algorithm
Step 3 : So I took three-pointers i.e low, high, and mid, and write code keeping in mind I save to store red -> white -> blue and applied DNF algo
3. Increasing Path In Matrix
Moderate
25m average time
75% success
0/80
Asked in companies
A graph problem-
Given N X N matrix filled with 1, 0, 2, 3. Find whether there is a path possible from source to destination, traversing through blank cells only. You can traverse up, down, right, and left.
A value of cell 1 means Source.
A value of cell 2 means Destination.
A value of cell 3 means a Blank cell.
A value of cell 0 means Blank Wall.
Problem approach
Step 1 : He just asked for an approach to this question so I told him like that
Consider each cell as a node and each boundary between any two adjacent cells be an edge. so the total number of Nodes is N * N. So the idea is to do a breadth-first search from the starting cell till the ending cell is found.
Step 2 : Then he asked for time complexity
02
Round
Easy
Video Call
Duration40 minutes
Interview date25 Aug 2022
Coding problem2
It was a complete Database Round.
1. DBMS Question
Asked for 2-3 SQL Queries
Query 1: Related to join of tables
Query 2: Normalize the Resultant table of Query 1 and asked for some theoretical questions regardings Normalization, Acid Properties, etc.
Problem approach
Tip 1 : Practice SQL queries
Tip 2 : Grasp theoretical concepts also
2. DBMS Question
Asked for Schema Design of LinkedIn
Problem approach
Tip 1 : Practice the design of the schema
Tip 2 : Well understanding of the keys in schema
03
Round
Hard
Face to Face
Duration40 minutes
Interview date29 Aug 2022
Coding problem3
Asked for almost everything that I mentioned in my resume
1. Rotate Linked List
Moderate
25m average time
65% success
0/80
Asked in companies
You are given a linked list having ‘n’ nodes and an integer ‘k’.
You have to rotate the linked list to the right by ‘k’ positions .
Example :
Input: linked list = [1 2 3 4] , k = 2
Output: 3 4 1 2
Explanation:
We have to rotate the given linked list to the right 2 times. After rotating it to the right once it becomes 4->1->2->3. After rotating it to the right again, it becomes 3->4->1->2.
Problem approach
1)Create a function for a single rotation
2)Take care of some edge cases
3)Simply make the value of k smaller: to avoid the repeated effect of rotation (k=k%n)
4)Since the function singleRotate() will rotate the list one time only so to rotate it k times call the function under a while loop which will be operated k-times
5)Return the head of the list
2. DBMS Questions
Schema Design for Instagram post
3. DBMS Question
Asked about web development theoretical concepts some remembered questions like ----
Q1: You have given n no. of articles and you have to change the color of the title in an alternate fashion in CSS
Q2: What happens when we hit google.com in browser?
Problem approach
Tip 1 : Well revised your skills and made some projects hands-on
Tip 2 : Read the standard interview question
Here's your problem of the day 
Solving this problem will increase your chance to get selected in this company
Skill covered: Programming
Which SQL keyword removes duplicate records from a result set?
Choose another skill to practice
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