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Associate System Engineer

IBM
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6 rounds | 5 Coding problems

Interview preparation journey

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Journey
I was selected by IBM for the role of Associate System Engineer. The selection process consisted of six rounds: the first two were virtual assessments, and the remaining four were in-person assessments. The entire process took approximately 15 days, from the initial assessment to the final result.
Application story
The college placement cell shared that IBM would be visiting our campus for the role of Associate System Engineer (ASE). To apply, we needed to register by filling out a form on their portal, followed by completing a Google form. After two days, they sent the virtual coding assessment link to the shortlisted candidates. Four to five days later, they sent the communication assessment link to the selected candidates from the first round. Then, they called all the shortlisted candidates from the second round for physical assessments. The results of each round were declared on campus, except for the final round, which was announced via email the following day.
Why selected/rejected for the role?
I was selected for this role due to my solid IT foundation, practical experience gained from internships and projects, and strong performance in the assessments. My leadership skills and ability to work well in teams also played a key role in my selection.
Preparation
Duration: 2 months
Topics: Data Structures, OOPS, DBMS, Computer Networking, Operating System
Tip
Tip

Tip 1: Practice medium-level questions on coding platforms.
Tip 2: Be familiar with your final year project.
Tip 3: Be confident during the interview.

Application process
Where: Campus
Eligibility: Above 6 CGPA and passing out year should be 2025 (Salary package: 4 LPA)
Resume Tip
Resume tip

Tip 1: Include at least two projects on your resume, each using a different tech stack.
Tip 2: Don't fake anything on your resume.

Interview rounds

01
Round
Medium
Online Coding Test
Duration45 minutes
Interview date23 Nov 2024
Coding problem1

The first round consisted of one medium coding question, which we had to solve in 45 minutes. Each candidate received a different question, with a total of 3 to 4 questions in all. Each candidate was assigned one of these questions.

1. RNA or DNA

Easy
0/40

Given a binary string 'S' of length 'N', determine if it represents a DNA or RNA sequence and decode its nucleotides.


The first 3 characters of 'S' indicate the type: "000" for DNA and "111" for RNA. The remaining characters, in sets of 3, represent nucleotides.


The mapping for nucleotides is as follows:

"001" -> 'A'

"010" -> 'C'

"011" -> 'G'

"100" -> 'T' (only in DNA)

"101" -> 'U' (only in RNA)


Return a string in the format "TYPE: SEQUENCE", where TYPE is "DNA" or "RNA" and SEQUENCE is the decoded string of nucleotides.


For Example :
Let 'N' = 12, 'S' = "000001010011".
The first 3 characters "000" indicate DNA.
The subsequent 3-character sets are "001", "010", and "011".
"001" maps to 'A', "010" maps to 'C', and "011" maps to 'G' in DNA.
Therefore, the answer is "DNA: ACG".
Try solving now
02
Round
Easy
Assignment
Duration20 minutes
Interview date25 Nov 2024
Coding problem1

1. Communication Skills Assessment

The communication assessment round took place on the SHL platform and consisted of 5 to 6 sections:

Reading a given sentence.
Listening and speaking.
Listening to an error statement and speaking the corrected sentence.
Arranging an unjumbled sentence and speaking it.
Speaking for 45 seconds on a given topic.

Problem approach

Tip 1: Be confident.
Tip 2: Speak the words clearly.
Tip 3: Give this assessment in a quiet space.

03
Round
Easy
Online Coding Test
Duration45 minutes
Interview date2 Dec 2024
Coding problem1

1. Search Pattern (KMP - Algorithm)

Moderate
25m average time
85% success
0/80
Asked in companies
IBMAdobeAmazon

You’re given two strings, 'text' of length 'n' and 'pattern' of length 'm', consisting of lowercase characters.


Find all the occurrences of the string ‘pattern’ in ‘text’.


For each occurrence, print the index from where it starts in the string ‘text’ (1 - indexed).


Example:
Input: ‘text’ = “cxyzghxyzvjkxyz” and ‘pattern’ = “xyz”

Output: Occurrences = [2, 7, 13]

Explanation: The pattern ‘pattern’ = “xyz” appears at 3 positions in ‘text’.
Problem approach

We need to match the pattern in the given sentence and return the index.

Try solving now
04
Round
Easy
Assignment
Duration25 minutes
Interview date2 Dec 2024
Coding problem1

1. STAR Method Approach

In the English written assessment, we were given 5 questions, and we had to write our approach to how we could achieve each one using the STAR method:

Situation – Describe the context or background of the situation.
Task – Explain the specific task or challenge you faced.
Action – Outline the steps you took to address the task or challenge.
Result – Share the outcome or result of your actions.

05
Round
Easy
Group Discussion
Duration10 to 15 minutes
Interview date2 Dec 2024
Coding problem1

For the group discussion (GD), we were given the topic "Impact of Startups."

1. Effective Discussion Strategy

I approached the group discussion by actively listening to others and structuring my points around key aspects like economic growth and innovation. I contributed constructively while engaging with others' viewpoints to keep the discussion dynamic.

06
Round
Easy
Face to Face
Duration50 minutes
Interview date3 Dec 2024
Coding problem0

The round consisted of both the Technical Round (TR) and the HR Round. The interviewer first introduced himself and then asked for my introduction. Following that, a series of questions were asked, including:

Questions about my final year project (15 to 20 minutes).
Discussion about an individual project (10 to 15 minutes).
Questions related to DBMS, OS, OOPs, and CN.
A puzzle-related question.
"Why IBM?"
"What do you know about IBM?"
Questions about any other interests or skills apart from what's mentioned in my resume.

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 the purpose of the return keyword?

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