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

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4 rounds | 7 Coding problems

Interview preparation journey

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Preparation
Duration: 3 months
Topics: Data Structures, System Design, Algorithms, Operating Systems, Database Management Systems, OOPs, Computer Networks
Tip
Tip

Tip 1 : Always focus on the basics of the Data Structures
Tip 2 : Practice System Design very well
Tip 3 : Take Practice Contests on weekly basis for time constraints

Application process
Where: Campus
Eligibility: Above 7 CGPA
Resume Tip
Resume tip

Tip 1 : Mention at least 2 projects with thorough knowledge 
Tip 2 : Keep the Resume one page only with no false information

Interview rounds

01
Round
Medium
Online Coding Interview
Duration120 minutes
Interview date12 Aug 2021
Coding problem2

Timing was 3PM to 5 PM
There were 4 coding questions based on Dynamic Programming , Graphs, Mathematical analysis , Trie data structure. I only remember 2 of them.

1. Weighted Job Scheduling

Moderate
15m average time
85% success
0/80
Asked in companies
AmazonIntuitPhonePe

You are given 'N' jobs with their start time 'Start', end time 'End' and profit 'Profit'. You need to tell the maximum profit you can obtain by performing these jobs such that no two jobs overlap.

Note:
The start time of one job can be equal to the end time of another.
Try solving now

2. BFS in Graph

Easy
10m average time
90% success
0/40
Asked in companies
Morgan StanleySamsung R&D InstituteRubrik, Inc.

Given an adjacency list representation of a directed graph with ‘n’ vertices and ‘m’ edges. Your task is to return a list consisting of Breadth-First Traversal (BFS) starting from vertex 0.


In this traversal, one can move from vertex 'u' to vertex 'v' only if there is an edge from 'u' to 'v'. The BFS traversal should include all nodes directly or indirectly connected to vertex 0.


Note:
The traversal should proceed from left to right according to the input adjacency list.


Example:
Adjacency list: { {1,2,3},{4}, {5}, {},{},{}}

The interpretation of this adjacency list is as follows:
Vertex 0 has directed edges towards vertices 1, 2, and 3.
Vertex 1 has a directed edge towards vertex 4.
Vertex 2 has a directed edge towards vertex 5.
Vertices 3, 4, and 5 have no outgoing edges.

We can also see this in the diagram below.

BFS traversal: 0 1 2 3 4 5

example

Try solving now
02
Round
Easy
Face to Face
Duration60 minutes
Interview date16 Mar 2022
Coding problem2

The interviewer was very soft spoken and helpful. There were in total 2 questions of easy-medium difficulty based on DP, Sorting . It was around 11 AM timing.

1. Knight Probability in Chessboard

Moderate
20m average time
80% success
0/80
Asked in companies
Goldman SachsPhonePeAmazon

You are given an N x N chessboard and a knight. On a chessboard, the knight can supposedly move in 8 different positions from its original position i.e. if the knight is originally at (i,j) then it can move to (i + 2, j + 1), (i + 2, j - 1), (i - 2, j + 1), (i - 2, j - 1), (i + 1, j + 2), (i + 1, j - 2), (i - 1, j + 2), (i - 1, j - 2).

The rows and columns are 0 indexed, so the top-left square is (0, 0), and the bottom-right square is (N - 1, N - 1).

chessboard

(X is the Knight’s current position, O is the position Knight can visit in 1 move)

You have to make K such moves from the initial position of the knight and tell the probability of the knight being within the boundaries of the chessboard i.e you have to consider all possibilities of K moves and determine the probability that after these moves the knight will remain within the chess grid.

Note:

Print output up to 6 decimal places.
Problem approach

It was a classic DP recursive problem with conditional probability. Nothing much of thought process.

Try solving now

2. Merge Sort

Easy
15m average time
85% success
0/40
Asked in companies
BarclaysOracleHCL Technologies

Given a sequence of numbers ‘ARR’. Your task is to return a sorted sequence of ‘ARR’ in non-descending order with help of the merge sort algorithm.

Example :

Merge Sort Algorithm -

Merge sort is a Divide and Conquer based Algorithm. It divides the input array into two-parts, until the size of the input array is not ‘1’. In the return part, it will merge two sorted arrays a return a whole merged sorted array.

subsequence

The above illustrates shows how merge sort works.
Note :
It is compulsory to use the ‘Merge Sort’ algorithm.
Try solving now
03
Round
Medium
Face to Face
Duration60 minutes
Interview date17 Mar 2022
Coding problem2

The round had 1 DS and Algo problem and 1 system Design question based on building any management portal.

1. Snake and Ladder

Moderate
30m average time
60% success
0/80
Asked in companies
MeeshoVisaMicrosoft

You have been given a Snake and Ladder Board with 'N' rows and 'N' columns with the numbers written from 1 to (N*N) starting from the bottom left of the board, and alternating direction each row.

For example

For a (6 x 6) board, the numbers are written as follows:

6*6 Board

You start from square 1 of the board (which is always in the last row and first column). On each square say 'X', you can throw a dice which can have six outcomes and you have total control over the outcome of dice throw and you want to find out the minimum number of throws required to reach the last cell.
Some of the squares contain Snakes and Ladders, and these are possibilities of a throw at square 'X':
You choose a destination square 'S' with number 'X+1', 'X+2', 'X+3', 'X+4', 'X+5', or 'X+6', provided this number is <= N*N.
If 'S' has a snake or ladder, you move to the destination of that snake or ladder.  Otherwise, you move to S.
A board square on row 'i' and column 'j' has a "Snake or Ladder" if board[i][j] != -1. The destination of that snake or ladder is board[i][j].
Note :
You can only take a snake or ladder at most once per move: if the destination to a snake or ladder is the start of another snake or ladder, you do not continue moving - you have to ignore the snake or ladder present on that square.

For example, if the board is:
-1 1 -1
-1 -1 9
-1 4 -1
Let's say on the first move your destination square is 2  [at row 2, column 1], then you finish your first move at 4 [at row 1, column 2] because you do not continue moving to 9 [at row 0, column 0] by taking the ladder from 4.

A square can also have a Snake or Ladder which will end at the same cell.
For example, if the board is:
-1 3 -1
-1 5 -1
-1 -1 9
Here we can see Snake/Ladder on square 5 [at row 1, column 1] will end on the same square 5.
Problem approach

I tried converting the board to graph and then thinking of standard graph problems

Try solving now

2. System Design Question

Design Netflix.

04
Round
Easy
HR Round
Duration30 minutes
Interview date17 Mar 2022
Coding problem1

It was more of Hiring Manager round where he asked about my skills , my projects and how could i be valuable to firm. It was quit easy going round

1. Basic HR Questions

What can you provide to the firm?

Tell me about your projects and the technologies you are aware about.

Problem approach

Tip 1 : Try conveying whatever you think
Tip 2 : Be your true self and don't fake.
 

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 remove whitespace from the start of a string?

Choose another skill to practice
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