ION interview experience Real time questions & tips from candidates to crack your interview
SDE - 1
ION
6 rounds | 3 Coding
problems
Selected Interview preparation journey
Preparation
Duration: 4 months
Topics: Data Structures, OOPS, Algorithms, Core Java, Multithreading, SQL, Design Patterns
Tip 1 : When learning data structures, focus on the core concepts rather than the number of problems solved.
Tip 2 : When learning the in-built data structures of a language (Java in my case), research and learn how it works internally rather than just the pre-defined functions.
Tip 3 : Multithreading and design patterns are very underrated but crucial topics once you start building market-ready products, thus you must focus on it.
Application process
Where: Other
Eligibility: B.tech graduate, min 1 year of professional development experience, well versed with Core Java
Tip 1 : Never mention any skill set you are not well versed with. Over mentioning and under performing can lead to a sure rejection. Be true to yourself and the interviewer.
Tip 2 : Try to limit your resume to one page if you are a 0-3 years experience candidate.
Tip 3 : Always explain your projects/experience in bullet points and not in big paragraphs.
Interview rounds
01
Round
Easy
Telephonic
Duration10 Minutes
Interview date21 Oct 2021
Coding problem0
It was a pre-screening telephonic round done by the recruiter where he had a set of MCQ based questions. The level of questions was easy, mostly based on data structures. There were roughly 20 MCQ questions and I answered nearly 18 of them.
02
Round
Medium
Online Coding Interview
Duration60 Minutes
Interview date2 Nov 2021
Coding problem2
It was a one hour long test with 10 MCQs related to core java and two coding questions. It happened during day time and wasn't a proctored exam.
1. Reverse Words In A String
Easy
10m average time
90% success
0/40
Asked in companies
You are given a string 'str' of length 'N'.
Your task is to reverse the original string word by word.
There can be multiple spaces between two words and there can be leading or trailing spaces but in the output reversed string you need to put a single space between two words, and your reversed string should not contain leading or trailing spaces.
Example :
If the given input string is "Welcome to Coding Ninjas", then you should return "Ninjas Coding to Welcome" as the reversed string has only a single space between two words and there is no leading or trailing space.
Problem approach
Step 1 : Iterate and mirror each word in the string.
Step 2 : Mirror the whole string
2. Longest Subarray Zero Sum
Moderate
18m average time
85% success
0/80
Asked in companies
Given an array arr of length N consisting of positive and negative integers, return the length of the longest subarray whose sum is zero.
Problem approach
Step 1: Create a variable (sum), length (max_len), and a hash map (hm) to store the sum-index pair as a key-value pair.
Step 2: Traverse the input array and For every index, update the value of sum = sum + array[i].
Step 3: Check every index, if the current sum is present in the hash map or not.
Step 4: If present, update the value of max_len to a maximum difference of two indices (current index and index in the hash-map) and max_len.
Else, put the value (sum) in the hash map, with the index as a key-value pair.
Step 5: Print the maximum length (max_len)
03
Round
Medium
Video Call
Duration60 Minutes
Interview date16 Nov 2021
Coding problem1
It was a one hour long face to face interview on video call and the primary focus was on problem solving and Core Java. I was asked about the in built Java data structures, Multithreading and a bit about the project in my previous organization.
1. Nth Fibonacci Number
Easy
0/40
Asked in companies
The n-th term of Fibonacci series F(n), where F(n) is a function, is calculated using the following formula -
F(n) = F(n - 1) + F(n - 2),
Where, F(1) = 1, F(2) = 1
Provided 'n' you have to find out the n-th Fibonacci Number. Handle edges cases like when 'n' = 1 or 'n' = 2 by using conditionals like if else and return what's expected.
"Indexing is start from 1"
Example :
Input: 6
Output: 8
Explanation: The number is ‘6’ so we have to find the “6th” Fibonacci number.
So by using the given formula of the Fibonacci series, we get the series:
[ 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21]
So the “6th” element is “8” hence we get the output.
Problem approach
Step 1 : I first used the direct recursive implementation of mathematical recurrence relation f(n) = f(n-1) + f(n-2).
Step 2 : The interviewer asked me to optimize the solution.
Step 3 : Then, I used dynamic programming to avoid the repeated work done in method 1 by storing the Fibonacci numbers calculated so far.
04
Round
Medium
Video Call
Duration45 Minutes
Interview date22 Nov 2021
Coding problem0
In this round, 80% of the interview was based on my previous projects - both personal and professional. I didn't have major personal projects, so the main focus was on the project I worked on in my previous organization including the technical knowledge, domain and functionalities. There were some questions on agile development and scrum framework as well.
05
Round
Easy
Video Call
Duration30 Minutes
Interview date26 Nov 2021
Coding problem0
This was more of a behavioral round. The interviewer asked me questions related to team work, coordination in the team, managing a team, meeting deadlines, handling clients and more. He gave me a few situations and I had to answer accordingly.
06
Round
Easy
Video Call
Duration30 Minutes
Interview date6 Dec 2021
Coding problem0
This was the final round with the director of the company and was more of a managerial round wherein he asked me questions about my goals and aspirations and further tried to get my mindset. It was a very interactive round wherein I cleared some of my doubts as well like onsite opportunities, internal mobility and more.
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Skill covered: Programming
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