Paytm (One97 Communications Limited) interview experience Real time questions & tips from candidates to crack your interview

SDE - 1

Paytm (One97 Communications Limited)
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4 rounds | 7 Coding problems

Interview preparation journey

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Journey
Before applying for this role, I was working as a front-end developer in one startup company. After my office hours, I learned about new technologies and worked on the fundamentals of Javascript. I also made some projects that helped me enhance my resume. Then I got the confidence and started applying for job posts.
Application story
I saw a post on Linkedin about Paytm interested in hiring experienced candidates for SDE-1 post, I considered it as a great opportunity for myself. I mailed the HR that I wanted to be the part of the the selection process and attached my resume. After two days, I got mailed back that your resume is selected and you will be having your interview rounds from now.
Why selected/rejected for the role?
I was selected because I had proper understanding of all the tech skills required for my role. I was also able to communicate my thoughts properly to the interviewer whenever i was in doubt or unsure about some topic.
Preparation
Duration: 1 month
Topics: JavaScript,React.js,Java,Node.js,DS & Algo,
Tip
Tip

Tip 1 : Be strong at your basics.
Tip 2 : Don't hesitate to ask questions to interviewer.
Tip 3 : Prepare good for DS & Algo as most companies have a separate round for it.

Application process
Where: Linkedin
Eligibility: I applied for Frontend role so Javascript was needed.
Resume Tip
Resume tip

Tip 1: If possible make 1 page resume
Tip 2: Don't put too many things. Keep it simple. If you're a fresher and have good projects, do put them before your academic section.
Tip 3: Be ready to explain everything you have in your resume.

Interview rounds

01
Round
Medium
Face to Face
Duration45 minutes
Interview date17 Aug 2019
Coding problem2

I applied thorough LinkedIn and got a call from HR for the interview.
I went to their Noida Office.
First round was mainly focused on Javascript fundamentals.
Interviewer was also friendly.

1. Javascript Questions

Main questions that were asked were based on callbacks, promises, Closures, Event loop.
Some output guessing questions :
1. Difference between let, var, const
2. ES6 features
3. Hoisting
4. Rest, spread operator and other basic concepts of JavaScript

Problem approach

Tip 1: You just need to be strong in your fundamentals
Tip 2: If you're applying for a specific role like Frontend in my case then any projects in the frontend technology will give you some experience. So do try to make projects if you're learning some new language.

2. Project Questions

Questions related to my project were asked.
I had made a carpool app as my internship project in React Native, Node.js and Mongo DB.
So mainly questions were from them.
1. SQL vs NoSQL
2. Event loop
3. Synchronous vs Asynchronous

 

Problem approach

Tip 1: Go through everything you have in your resume.
Tip 2: Mention only those projects for which you're really comfortable talking about.

02
Round
Medium
Face to Face
Duration1 hour
Interview date17 Aug 2019
Coding problem3

Second round was after 15 minutes of the first round. The focus of this round was DS & Algorithms.

1. Find subarray with given sum

Moderate
15m average time
85% success
0/80
Asked in companies
IBMBig BasketTata Consultancy Services (TCS)

Given an array ARR of N integers and an integer S. The task is to find whether there exists a subarray(positive length) of the given array such that the sum of elements of the subarray equals to S or not. If any subarray is found, return the start and end index (0 based index) of the subarray. Otherwise, consider both the START and END indexes as -1.

Note:

If two or more such subarrays exist, return any subarray.

For Example: If the given array is [1,2,3,4] and the value of S is equal to 7. Then there are two possible subarrays having sums equal to S are [1,2,3] and [3,4].

Problem approach

I solved it using simple approach of O(n2) complexity. Interviewer didn't asked me for the efficient approach, as he looked satisfied and moved to the question.

Try solving now

2. Minimum number of platforms required

Moderate
30m average time
70% success
0/80
Asked in companies
AtlassianSwiggyMicrosoft

You have been given two arrays, 'AT' and 'DT', representing the arrival and departure times of all trains that reach a railway station.

Your task is to find the minimum number of platforms required for the railway station so that no train needs to wait.

Note :
1. Every train will depart on the same day and the departure time will always be greater than the arrival time. For example, A train with arrival time 2240 and departure time 1930 is not possible.

2. Time will be given in 24H format and colons will be omitted for convenience. For example, 9:05AM will be given as "905", or 9:10PM will be given as "2110".

3. Also, there will be no leading zeroes in the given times. For example, 12:10AM will be given as “10” and not as “0010”.
Problem approach

I was able to solve half of it, and the interviewer shifted to next problem.
As I applied for the Frontend role so interviews were not that dependant on DS.

Try solving now

3. Javascript Basics and Redux

He asked me some output questions which were based on JavaScript fundamentals like hoisting, arrow function etc.
Some questions were from Redux. At that time I didn't have any experience in Redux so I told him the same.

Problem approach

Tip 1: While solving questions do ask questions you have.
Tip 2: Try to make a two way conversation, wherein you are explaining and asking questions side by side.

03
Round
Easy
Face to Face
Duration30 minutes
Interview date17 Aug 2019
Coding problem1

1. Managerial Round

He asked me some JavaScript questions again and also told me about the work culture of his team. It was more like an open discussion with some tech questions

Problem approach

Tip : Be open to discuss any questions related to the technologies or work you're going to have if you get selected.

04
Round
Easy
Face to Face
Duration15 minutes
Interview date17 Aug 2019
Coding problem1

1. HR Round

Some general HR questions.
1. Why paytm
2. Expected salary
3. Last drawn salary ( if applicable )

Problem approach

Tip 1: Ask questions related to salary openly. Negotiate properly ( if applicable ) ( As in my case I was a fresher so they have fixes CTC for that )
Tip 2: Ask their Employee policies and benefits.

Here's your problem of the day

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

Skill covered: Programming

How do you create a function in JavaScript?

Choose another skill to practice
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