Katkat

real interview stories, told over a cup of tea ♡

Interview Experiences

3935 interview stories from candidates at 857 companies: how each round went, what was asked and how it ended. Every company page links to practice questions in the same style.

3935
Experiences
857
Companies
532
Offers

3935 results

  • A Disorganized Onsite Hiring EventWalmart Labs · Software Engineer · Onsite · Jul 2026

    Actually, this is just me venting... First, the onsite is called a "hiring event," and there were about a dozen people there. After checking in, we even had to walk back to the car to put up the parking permit — pretty chaotic. The hiring manager for the BQ round was 15 minutes late! If they hadn't shown up soon, I was ready to pack up and leave. The conversation itself was pretty mediocre — not…

  • A Down-to-the-Wire Coding Round and “Design ChatGPT”OpenAI · Software Engineer · Onsite · Jul 2026

    These were all questions I'd already seen before, and I still feel like I did so poorly — why can't I even execute cleanly on questions I already know... The coding round was GPU Credits II. I asked the interviewer a few clarifying questions, but he kept telling me to just go look for the answer myself in the test cases. I explained a brute-force approach, and the interviewer said he didn't fully…

  • A Feature-Flag Evaluation Engine, Then Rejected After a ‘Great Chat’Cresta · Software Engineer · Onsite · Jul 2026
    Rejected

    I used Claude to help organize this write-up. The interviewer kept saying he really enjoyed our conversation, and then rejected me anyway. Problem background: you're given three JSON files and asked to implement a feature-flag evaluation engine that maps every user to a final boolean value (on/off) for every flag. Input files: flags.json — definitions for 7 flags user.json — 10,000 users expected…

  • A Hard Interval Problem I Blanked On in the Phone ScreenWalmart Labs · Software Engineer · Technical Screen · Jul 2026
    Rejected

    The interview had two interviewers who came on together. They said they were hiring for different teams, so both of them figured they'd sit in and take a look. The original problem turned out to be an exact match for one I recognized by name, word for word — but I had actually never gone through and solved it myself before. My approach wasn't too far off: try to store the interval information, th…

  • A healthcare data Software Engineer Interview Experience: A clear fit check and basic programming questionsA healthcare data · Software Engineer · HR Screen · Jul 2026

    I started with a recruiter conversation that felt more like a fit check than an interrogation. We discussed my interests and projects, the technologies I knew, and how I preferred to work. I also got the usual personality and behavioral questions about collaboration, teamwork, and how I behaved with colleagues. After that, the process stayed straightforward. There was a technical side, but it did…

  • A healthcare data Software Engineer interview: client-facing technical discussionA healthcare data · Software Engineer · Technical Screen · Jul 2026

    My interview followed a classic sequence: two technical-style rounds, a manager round, and an HR touchpoint. The first technical discussion focused on my core skills and what I could actually do, with enough fundamentals to judge whether my background matched the role. The second round was more advanced and realistic. I spoke with someone closer to a client setting, and they went deeper technical…

  • A healthcare data Software Engineer interview: graduate assessment logisticsA healthcare data · Software Engineer · Other · Jul 2026

    I attended a graduate assessment center, but the logistics felt poorly handled from the beginning. I was told to arrive early for a late start, and when I arrived no one was at the front desk, so I waited without guidance. At the introduction, I learned it was supposed to start later than I had been told and was meant to include a peer session. The people who appeared for that session were mostly…

  • A healthcare technology Business Analyst interview: absent interviewersA healthcare technology · Business Analyst · Online Assessment · Jul 2026

    I passed an online technical test and expected the live interview to proceed normally. Instead, when I joined the scheduled online meeting, no interviewer appeared. I waited about half an hour before the system automatically moved me to the next day. The same thing happened the next day: I logged in and again there was no interviewer. It was unsettling because I could not tell what they were look…

  • A healthcare technology Software Engineer interview: screening, coding, and campus pathA healthcare technology · Software Engineer · Online Assessment · Jul 2026

    My process felt relatively easy and structured. It moved from an online screen to a communication round, then a coding round and final assessment, followed by a final interview. In at least one path, I also experienced an on-campus setup with an aptitude screen followed by a technical process that included SQL and coding questions. Across both paths, the difficulty stayed manageable, and the ques…

  • A LeetCode-Easy Tree Path Question With No C++ TriviaHudson River Trading · Software Engineer · Intern · Technical Screen · Jul 2026
    In progress

    Fresh C++ SWE (Intern) first-round interview report Last week I had my first round for the C++ SWE (intern) position, a 1-hour Zoom coding interview. We spent a few minutes at the start briefly chatting about background, then moved into the problem. The question: given a binary tree where each node has an integer value, and a target, determine whether there's a path from root to leaf where the su…

  • A Log-Matching Question That Fed Into a Trust ScoreAffirm · Software Engineer · Technical Screen · Jul 2026
    In progress

    Affirm phone screen — should be for an SDE2 role. The interviewer started with casual mutual introductions for about 10-15 minutes (didn't feel like it needed to take that long, but she kept talking and I didn't want to interrupt). The question was about two days of logs — find users who show up in both days and have loan type >= 2. The second part was to calculate a trust score. I finished writi…

  • A Low-Energy Hiring Manager Round Worth AvoidingFigma · Data Scientist · Onsite · Jul 2026

    Sharing my interview experience with Figma DS for the HM round — overall it was really bad. This is the only company where I finished the interview and immediately wanted to warn everyone else away from it. They started by asking about my background and introducing the role. The HM seemed really low energy, like they were just going through the motions. They asked about a project and my work back…

  • A Recipe-Management OA With Brutal Corner CasesAirbnb · Software Engineer · Online Assessment · Jul 2026
    Rejected

    Fresh off the OA, just did it. I'm saying I definitely failed because I only passed two levels. I wrote level 3 but a few test cases wouldn't pass, and I never even got to see level 4. The problem itself isn't hard, but there are a ton of corner cases, and you need every single test case to pass before you can move on to the next level. I also feel like this is a brand new question bank, because…

  • A Robot Navigating a Laser-Covered GridRoblox · Software Engineer · Online Assessment · Jul 2026

    The interview experience was good overall, and the interviewer was very friendly. This time I got a classic grid graph search/simulation question. The problem statement was quite long and needed careful reading. The original question follows: Problem description: Imagine a board of size numRows × numColumns with some lasers on it. These lasers are located in the two-dimensional array laserCoordin…

  • A Segmented-Array OA Problem That Even ChatGPT Couldn't SolveAmazon · Software Engineer · Online Assessment · Jul 2026
    Rejected

    I got Amazon's OA and started it one day right after waking up from a nap. I wasn't in a good state though, and I ended up getting a rejection. Question 1 Coding, 40 minutes. I wrote one version and only passed 4 cases — the other hidden cases threw some memory errors. It wasn't until after it ended that I realized there must have been a space constraint, which is why I was getting those memory-r…

  • A Single CodeSignal OA Question With Five Escalating Follow-upsInstacart · Software Engineer · Online Assessment · Jul 2026
    In progress

    The first step was an OA on CodeSignal. There was a lot of identity verification along the way — anti-cheating checks. It was one question with multiple follow-ups, getting progressively harder. The OA email said you didn't need to finish everything, and honestly I don't think it's possible to finish it all — 90 minutes, 5 parts. The problem gave you template code. Implement account creation: cre…

  • A Streaming Step-Hierarchy Design ProblemAi2 · Software Engineer · Senior+ · Technical Screen · Jul 2026

    The question gives a set of StepProgressEvents, where each event contains: The same step_id can receive multiple updates — for example first running, then later done — and events can also arrive out of order. Each step can have child steps, and in the end you need to maintain and output the current latest step hierarchy, for example: Also, after the initial batch of events is processed, the syste…

  • A Tic-Tac-Toe Sequence-Counting Problem in the Coding RoundDecagon · AI Engineer · Technical Screen · Jul 2026

    I recently interviewed for Decagon's AI Engineer role, first round (the coding round), and got a question that doesn't have an exact match on LeetCode, so I wanted to share it. Problem Two players take turns placing marks on a 3x3 board, X goes first, then O, alternating. A game is the entire sequence of moves from an empty board to the end of the game. The game ends immediately as soon as one si…

  • A Two-Part Log Parsing and Query Screen QuestionKikoff · Software Engineer · Technical Screen · Jul 2026

    Log Parsing, split into two parts. Problem Overview Part 1 You need to build a tool that parses and queries a set of server logs. The input is a list of log lines as strings (List[str]), which get parsed for use by the rest of the tool. Part 1: Parse and Filter Implement a function that reads logs coming from different services and parses them into structured objects. Things to watch out for: The…

  • A Watcher-and-Players Puzzle in the Technical ScreenHudson River Trading · Software Engineer · Technical Screen · Jul 2026

    This is the problem the interviewer described to me verbally during the technical screen, done in a coderpad environment. They also gave an example along with it. There is a game with multiple players. The road starts at position 0 and ends at position L. Each player has a starting position, and players can only move to the right, one unit per second. There is a watcher, starting at position W, i…

  • ABB Software Engineer interview: fundamentals and a difficult final roundABB · Software Engineer · Other · Jul 2026
    Rejected

    The process started with a familiar technical sequence but became a test of both fundamentals and performance under pressure. I faced medium-level data-structures and algorithms questions, plus computer-networks and operating-systems topics with a clear cybersecurity-basics tilt. There was also a group discussion, which made it feel less like a one-shot evaluation and more like an assessment of h…

  • ABB Software Engineer interview: logical test and office meetingABB · Software Engineer · Online Assessment · Jul 2026

    I applied through Workday, was contacted, and chose a time for a recruiter call. That simple portal setup moved quickly into a more demanding process than I had expected, although it seemed well managed. I first took a cognitive or logical test and then had an online Teams round. After that I met people in person at the office, including the department for the role, HR, and possibly other manager…

  • ABB Software Engineer interview: one quick behavioral conversationABB · Software Engineer · Other · Jul 2026
    Offer

    I had one behavioral interview that lasted about half an hour, followed by a short wait while they followed up. Things moved quickly once the interview ended: an offer arrived roughly 15 minutes later. There was plenty of time for questions during the conversation, and I appreciated being able to ask and clarify things. It was a very good experience. The quick, conversational format made it easie…

  • ABB Software Engineer interview: system design with manager and teamABB · Software Engineer · HR Screen · Jul 2026

    My interview path was straightforward: an HR screen, a conversation with the hiring manager, and then a meeting with the team. The second stage was the real technical checkpoint, and it focused much more on system design than deep coding. Once I was there, the structure was clear and there were no surprises about the format. I concentrated on explaining my thinking through the system-design promp…

  • AbbVie Account Executive first interview experienceAbbVie · Account Executive · Jul 2026
    In progress

    My first interview felt good from the beginning. After scheduling, I met one interviewer who was professional and friendly. The discussion was comfortable and easy to follow, communication was clear, and the interview did not feel rushed. It was a straightforward conversation. I did not feel set up for anything tricky, and I left understanding what they were looking for and feeling there was soli…

  • AbbVie Software Engineer interview: academic and project science questionsAbbVie · Software Engineer · Technical Screen · Jul 2026

    Two managers spent most of the interview on my academic background and project work. They asked scientific questions about what I had done during my bachelor's degree and in the projects I had worked on, so the discussion stayed close to my own experience. The questions were specific and technical enough that the difficulty felt high. I could answer them fairly well because they connected to work…

  • ABC Education Software Engineer aptitude and DSA interview experienceABC Education · Software Engineer · Online Assessment · Jul 2026

    The process had three levels: an aptitude and coding test, a technical interview, and an HR interview. I found the aptitude and coding test easy to clear. The technical round focused on basic data structures and algorithms, including sorting, then touched briefly on databases. It was not especially complex. The HR discussion was more about fit than difficulty. The overall atmosphere was relaxed a…

  • ABC Education Software Engineer interview: OS, DBMS, OOP, and DSAABC Education · Software Engineer · Online Assessment · Jul 2026

    I started with an online assessment that combined coding with multiple-choice questions in OS, DBMS, OOP, SQL, and aptitude. Soon after, the first technical round covered my resume and projects, then DSA and broader computer-science fundamentals. I spent most of it explaining my reasoning rather than only stating answers. The next technical round was harder: a deeper coding problem, project follo…

  • ABC Family Software Engineer fundamentals interview experienceABC Family · Software Engineer · Online Assessment · Jul 2026

    My process had three stages: an aptitude and coding test, a technical interview, and an HR interview. The first test felt easy to clear, and moving into the technical round was not overwhelming. Technical questions leaned on data structures and algorithms, especially sorting, with some database concepts. I did not feel they were trying to trick me. They wanted to see whether I understood the fund…

  • ABC Family Software Engineer interview: four coding-heavy roundsABC Family · Software Engineer · Online Assessment · Jul 2026

    I went through four rounds that were coding heavy from the start. The online assessment combined coding with multiple-choice questions on OS, DBMS, OOP, SQL, and aptitude. The first technical interview covered my resume and projects before moving into DSA and core computer-science fundamentals. The next technical round was tougher. I had a more difficult coding problem, deeper questions about my…