Round 1 – Computer Based Test Interview – 120 mins: The test was conducted on the AMCAT platform which consisted of 5 sections – Aptitude, Logical reasoning, Verbal ability, Technical and Coding. Each section was timed. I felt this section to be of medium difficulty.
The first 3 sections had easy-medium level questions. The coding section had 2 questions to be solved in 60 mins.
- First was a pattern printing question (Refer this for how to solve such questions).
- The second was the standard backtracking problem of mouse and cheese (A variant of Rat in a Maze problem).
- I was able to solve most of the questions in the first 4 sections, and passed all test cases in both the coding problems.
84 students out of 400 were shortlisted for the interview round.
Round 2 – Technical Interview – 20 mins: This round started with my introduction and I was asked 4 puzzles, out of which I was able to answer the third one properly but only attempted the other 3. I wasn’t silent because I didn’t know the solution before for the other 3 puzzles, but tried my best in explaining various approaches to the other 3 puzzles. He considered the thought process more importantly than the solution, hence I got selected for the next round!
The 4 puzzles are:
- Pay an employee using a gold rod of 7 units ?
- Turn on the flashlight
- 3 cuts to cut round cake into 8 equal pieces
- The Burning Rope Problem
Further, 41 students were selected for the HR round.
Round 3-HR Interview – 15 mins: This was my toughest round of all.
- This round again started with my introduction.
- I was told to brief my CV in short. I told my technical skills and explained all my projects in brief.
- Then I was asked why I wanted to join Citi. I explained how I liked finance and technology both, and wanted to lead a team in the company and keep up with other competing fintech companies.
- Finally the interviewer asked if there were any questions for me. I asked about his experience in Citi, and the skills I needed to develop further.
After this round, 10 students were offered the internship and I was one of them!
Additional Tips:
- Don’t write things that you are not sure of, in your CV, as the interviewer may deep dive into that topic.
- Try to put whatever comes to your mind in good language if you don’t know the exact solution to a problem, as they observe your thought process importantly.
- For the HR round, prepare your introduction and common HR questions well before the interview. Mock interviews help a lot! . I realized a lot of mistakes in my introduction and my way of answering too, because of which I was able to give my best in this HR round.
- Be confident and talk to the interviewer as naturally as if he/she is your friend.
All the best!