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

SDE - Intern

Protium
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4 rounds | 5 Coding problems

Interview preparation journey

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Preparation
Duration: 2 months
Topics: Data Structures, Algorithms, DBMS, OS, Computer Networks
Tip
Tip

Tip 1 : Practice DSA Regularly, give contests.
Tip 2 : Study Core Subjects especially DBMS
Tip 3 : Don't give up, believe in yourself

Application process
Where: Other
Eligibility: I was eligible for this job on CN job portal
Resume Tip
Resume tip

Tip 1 : Have some projects on resume and mention why you build that project
Tip 2 : Write only those skills on resume which you know properly.

Interview rounds

01
Round
Easy
Online Coding Interview
Duration75 minutes
Interview date5 Mar 2022
Coding problem1

There were 13 questions. 
Breakup - 10 MCQ related to DSA and core subjects
2 Coding Problem
1 SQL Query Question

1. Count all sub-arrays having sum divisible by k

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

Given an array ‘ARR’ and an integer ‘K’, your task is to find all the count of all sub-arrays whose sum is divisible by the given integer ‘K’.

Note:
If there exists no subarray in the given sequence whose sum is divisible by ‘K’ then simply return ‘0’.
Example:
Suppose the given array is ‘ARR’ = { 5, 0, 2, 3, 1} and ‘K = 5’.
As we can see in below image, there are a total of 6 subarrays that have the total sum divisible by ‘K’
So we return the integer 6.

subsequence

Problem approach

Tip 1 : Read question properly.
Tip 2 : Dry run for sample test case.
Tip 3 : Start with brute force if you don't know the optimal approach.

Try solving now
02
Round
Hard
Face to Face
Duration70 minutes
Interview date9 Mar 2022
Coding problem1

The interview was scheduled on Microsoft teams. The interview started with my introduction and then asked a coding problem related to DP. After that, he asked me questions related to core subjects like DBMS, Operating System, Computer Networks.

1. Maximum Coins

Hard
16m average time
78% success
0/120
Asked in companies
DunzoProtiumGoldman Sachs

You are given a two-dimensional matrix of integers of dimensions N*M, where each cell represents the number of coins in that cell. Alice and Bob have to collect the maximum number of coins. The followings are the conditions to collect coins:

Alice starts from top left corner, i.e., (0, 0) and should reach left bottom corner, i.e., (N-1, 0). Bob starts from top right corner, i.e., (0, M-1) and should reach bottom right corner, i.e., (N-1, M-1).

From a point (i, j), Alice and Bob can move to (i+1, j+1) or (i+1, j-1) or (i+1, j)

They have to collect all the coins that are present at a cell. If Alice has already collected coins of a cell, then Bob gets no coins if goes through that cell again.

For example :
If the matrix is 
0 2 4 1
4 8 3 7
2 3 6 2
9 7 8 3
1 5 9 4

Then answer is 47. As, Alice will collect coins 0+8+3+9+1 = 21 coins. Bob will collect coins 1+7+6+8+4 = 26 coins. Total coins is 21+26 = 47 coins.
Problem approach

I read the problem statement carefully. At first I was not able to understand so I dry run for sample test cases to understand the problem better. After that I explained my approach and code the solution.

Try solving now
03
Round
Medium
Face to Face
Duration50 minutes
Interview date11 Mar 2022
Coding problem2

The round took place on Microsoft teams. The interviewer asked about my introduction and then asked me explain my projects. We discussed things related to my project, SQL vs NoSQL, DBMS, DSA and coding problems. The interviewer was very nice this round felt more of a discussion rather than a test.

1. Binary Tree To BST

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

You have been given a binary tree consisting of ‘N’ nodes where nodes have distinct integer values. Your task is to convert the given Binary Tree to a Binary Search Tree(BST).

Note: The conversion must be done in such a way that keeps the original structure of the Binary Tree.

A binary search tree (BST) is a binary tree data structure which has the following properties.

• The left subtree of a node contains only nodes with data less than the node’s data.
• The right subtree of a node contains only nodes with data greater than the node’s data.
• Both the left and right subtrees must also be binary search trees. 

For Example:

For the given binary tree :

Input

The BST will be:

Ouput

Note: Each node is associated with a unique integer value.
Try solving now

2. Detect Loop in a Linked List

Moderate
15m average time
80% success
0/80
Asked in companies
GrabThalesSterlite Technologies Limited

You are given a Singly Linked List of integers. Return true if it has a cycle, else return false.


A cycle occurs when a node's next points back to a previous node in the list.


Example:
In the given linked list, there is a cycle, hence we return true.

Sample Example 1

Try solving now
04
Round
Easy
Face to Face
Duration30 minutes
Interview date14 Mar 2022
Coding problem1

This was a tech cum managerial round. I was asked to introduce myself. The discussion was about my projects and resume related. I was asked one coding problem in this round.

1. Prime Factorisation

Moderate
50m average time
60% success
0/80
Asked in companies
DirectiIntuitHCL Technologies

You are given an integer 'N'.


You must return the unique prime factors of 'N' in increasing order.


For Example:
For ‘N’ = 10.

Unique prime factors are 2 and 5.

Hence we return {2, 5}.
Try solving now

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 recursion?

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