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

Software Developer Intern

YAHOO

4 rounds | 6 Coding problems

SucharithaV

Fresher | Nov 2025

Selected

Interview preparation journey

Journey

At first, as an undergraduate student, I primarily focused on developing my technical skills, especially in frontend development. I started with the fundamentals and gradually moved towards the MERN stack using online resources. I worked on small frontend projects and later contributed to open-source projects and academic team projects, which helped me gain strong practical knowledge. This phase took place during my 3-1 semester. Later, when my placement journey began, I realized that Data Structures and Algorithms play a major role in interviews. Since I was already in the middle of my 3-1 semester, I started learning DSA from scratch using popular resources like Take You Forward, Apna College, and GeeksforGeeks. I spent 1–3 hours daily practicing problems on platforms like Coding Ninjas (Code 360). I focused on solving important DSA patterns repeatedly to understand the concepts clearly, while also revising core CS fundamentals, completing frontend certifications, and updating my resume. Participating in weekly and biweekly contests helped me improve my problem-solving speed and time management. This consistent preparation allowed me to learn from my mistakes and improve each time.

Application story

The Yahoo opportunity was conducted through on-campus recruitment, where a Software Development Internship was offered to B.Tech students and a full-time opportunity was offered to M.Tech students. The application process began with a Google Form shared by the Yahoo recruitment team through the college placement cell. After the application deadline, resumes were shortlisted based on eligibility and profile alignment. Shortlisted candidates were then informed and moved forward to the hiring process.

Why selected/rejected for the role?

A major reason for my selection was my strong focus on Data Structures and Algorithms. In the initial rounds, clearly solving DSA problems and explaining the correct approach played an important role. Along with DSA, my resume, technical projects, and understanding of core subjects added value and helped me perform well in the final stages.

Preparation

Duration: 10 Months

Topics: Data Structures: Strings, Arrays, Linked Lists, Stacks and Queues, Recursion, Backtracking, Dynamic Programming, Graphs, Trees (basic patterns) Core Subjects: Java, OOPs, DBMS, Operating Systems, Computer Networks

Tip

Tip 1: Always understand the problem clearly first, then try to solve at least half of it on your own. This helps build logical thinking and confidence in problem-solving.

Tip 2: Practice DSA consistently for 2–3 hours every day. In the beginning, it may feel challenging, but regular practice makes concepts easier and improves speed over time.

Tip 3: Along with DSA, having strong development skills, good knowledge of core CS subjects, contributions to open-source projects, and clear communication creates a strong overall profile and increases your chances of cracking interviews.

Application process

Where: Campus

Eligibility: CGPA 6.5 and above, (Salary Package: 5.5 LPA)

Resume tip

Tip 1: Include real-time projects, relevant certifications, and strong coding profiles on platforms. These demonstrate your practical skills and consistency in learning.

Tip 2: Previous internship experience or open-source contributions add significant value to your resume. Only mention skills you are confident in. If a skill listed in the job description is unfamiliar to you, make sure to understand it well, as being unable to answer questions on it can create a negative impression. Even for team projects listed on your resume, clearly understand your contribution and have a basic understanding of the overall project flow and tech stack.

Interview rounds

Round

Easy

Online Coding Interview

Duration90 minutes

Interview date4 Nov 2025

Coding problem2

The first round was an online assessment conducted in the college computer labs. Candidates were allowed to choose either Java or C++, and the questions were based on the selected language. I chose Java, so all MCQs and coding questions were in Java. The test consisted of MCQs, SQL queries, and coding questions. The difficulty level was medium to hard. The test was conducted during the daytime, from around 11:00 AM to 12:00 PM.

1. Subset Sum

Easy

0/40

Asked in companies

You are given an array 'nums' of ‘n’ integers.

Return all subset sums of 'nums' in a non-decreasing order.

Note:

Here subset sum means sum of all elements of a subset of 'nums'. A subset of 'nums' is an array formed by removing some (possibly zero or all) elements of 'nums'.

For example

Input: 'nums' = [1,2]

Output: 0 1 2 3

Explanation:
Following are the subset sums:
0 (by considering empty subset)
1 
2
1+2 = 3
So, subset sum are [0,1,2,3].

Problem approach

This can be solved using recursion (a brute-force approach). However, I identified it as a DP problem where each element can either be chosen or not chosen (pick / not pick). A 2D array (DP table) is defined to track whether a target sum can be formed using the first n elements, using pick and not-pick choices.

Try solving now

2. Coding Questions

The other two coding questions were of medium difficulty—one based on strings and the other on linked lists. They tested basic operations and problem-solving skills, but I do not recall the exact problem statements.

Round

Easy

Face to Face

Duration30 minutes

Interview date4 Nov 2025

Coding problem2

The interview was conducted during the daytime and took place 2–3 hours after the shortlisting results of the online assessment were announced. Shortlisted candidates were informed on the same day, and all remaining interview rounds were conducted that day as well.

1. Add Two Numbers

Moderate

20m average time

80% success

0/80

Asked in companies

You are given two non-negative numbers 'num1' and 'num2' represented in the form of linked lists.

The digits in the linked lists are stored in reverse order, i.e. starting from least significant digit (LSD) to the most significant digit (MSD), and each of their nodes contains a single digit.

Calculate the sum of the two numbers and return the head of the sum list.

Example :

Input:
'num1' : 1 -> 2 -> 3 -> NULL
'num2' : 4 -> 5 -> 6 -> NULL

Output: 5 -> 7 -> 9 -> NULL

Explanation: 'num1' represents the number 321 and 'num2' represents 654. Their sum is 975.

Problem approach

I used a dummy node to start the result list and maintained a carry variable. I traversed both linked lists together, added the values along with the carry, and created new nodes for the sum digits. Finally, I returned the list formed after the dummy node. I was also asked about the time and space complexities of the approach I followed.

Try solving now

2. Reverse Linked List

Moderate

15m average time

85% success

0/80

Asked in companies

Given a singly linked list of integers. Your task is to return the head of the reversed linked list.

For example:

The given linked list is 1 -> 2 -> 3 -> 4-> NULL. Then the reverse linked list is 4 -> 3 -> 2 -> 1 -> NULL and the head of the reversed linked list will be 4.

Follow Up :

Can you solve this problem in O(N) time and O(1) space complexity?

Problem approach

I initialized three pointers—previous, current, and next—to help reverse the links. Then, I traversed the linked list, updating the next pointer of each node to point to the previous node while moving the pointers accordingly until the end of the linked list, and returned the previous node as the new head.

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Round

Hard

Face to Face

Duration40 minutes

Interview date4 Nov 2025

Coding problem2

Round 2: This round consisted of Data Structures, CS Fundamentals, and React questions.

1. Longest Common Subsequence

Moderate

39m average time

0/80

Asked in companies

Given two strings, 'S' and 'T' with lengths 'M' and 'N', find the length of the 'Longest Common Subsequence'.

For a string 'str'(per se) of length K, the subsequences are the strings containing characters in the same relative order as they are present in 'str,' but not necessarily contiguous. Subsequences contain all the strings of length varying from 0 to K.

Example :

Subsequences of string "abc" are:  ""(empty string), a, b, c, ab, bc, ac, abc.

Problem approach

Brute Force Approach: All possible subsequences of both strings are generated and compared to find the longest common subsequence. This approach is inefficient.

Recursive & Memoization Approach: I then explained a recursive solution that compares characters from both strings step by step. To optimize it, I introduced memoization by storing the results of overlapping subproblems in a DP table. I wrote the code snippets on paper and also explained the time and space complexity to the interviewer.

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2. Remove duplicates from a sorted Doubly Linked List

Easy

0/40

Asked in companies

A doubly-linked list is a data structure that consists of sequentially linked nodes, and the nodes have reference to both the previous and the next nodes in the sequence of nodes.

You are given a sorted doubly linked list of size 'n'.

Remove all the duplicate nodes present in the linked list.

Example :

Input: Linked List: 1 <-> 2 <-> 2 <-> 2 <-> 3

Output: Modified Linked List: 1 <-> 2 <-> 3

Explanation: We will delete the duplicate values ‘2’ present in the linked list.

Problem approach

I first explained the brute-force approach by writing code snippets on paper, where duplicate values are tracked using an extra data structure (a set) to ensure uniqueness. This approach works but uses extra space.
Then, I moved to an optimized approach using pointers, where I traversed the sorted linked list and removed duplicates in place by comparing the current node with the next node, without using extra space.
I was also asked about the time and space complexity of the approaches I followed.

After the DSA problems, I was also asked about React fundamentals, Java exception handling, and operating system basics.

Try solving now

Round

Medium

Face to Face

Duration20 minutes

Interview date4 Nov 2024

Coding problem0

This was the managerial round. It mainly focused on discussing my frontend projects, especially those built using the MERN stack, along with my open-source contributions. I was also asked about my achievements, learning journey, and future plans regarding higher studies. Towards the end, I was given the opportunity to ask questions, where I enquired about Yahoo’s work culture and the kind of projects and teams they work on.