Goldman Sachs visited VNIT Nagpur during the ongoing placement season (July 2021) offering Full-Time Employment opportunities to final year students and Internships to pre-final year students. The process for Full-Time Employment for the position of Software Engineer was conducted across 4 rounds (1 online assessment+ and 3 Technical interviews).
Round 1 (Online Test): Platform: HackerRank Duration: 2 hours 15 minutes
- This test consisted of 5 sections and it had section-wise time allocation. Switching between sections was allowed.
- The first section comprised 2 basic coding questions and the time allotted was 30 minutes. In the first question, we had to find the minimum changes to build steps in a well. The second question was a slight variation of the Minimum steps by knight problem.
- The second section (25 minutes) had 8 Aptitude Multiple Choice Questions.
- The third section had a single Advanced Coding Question based on graphs wherein we had to use the concept of Articulation Point. We were provided 45 minutes for this.
- The fourth section was subjective. 2 behavioral questions had to be answered within 15 minutes.
- The last section (20 minutes) had 7 Multiple Choice Questions based on DSA, OOPs, CN and OS concepts.
- 26 students were shortlisted for the next round.
Round 2 (Technical Interview): Platform: Zoom and HackerRank Code Pair Duration: 60 minutes
- The interviewer asked me to introduce myself before moving on to the coding question.
- Problem: https://www.geeksforgeeks.org/program-count-occurrence-given-character-string/amp/
- He then asked me to write an SQL query followed by some theoretical questions based on OOPs, OS, etc.
Round 3 (Technical Interview): Platform: Zoom and HackerRank Code Pair Duration: 60 minutes
- After the introduction, the interviewer asked me a few questions about the projects I had mentioned in my resume.
- I was then asked to code 2 questions
- Problem 1: If we have an array of n consecutive integers and given several moves k such that in every movie you can increment any n-1 elements by 1. Find n so that for a given k, the array has all elements of the same value in the end.
- I solved this using the brute force method after which he gave me a hint for the optimal solution. After explaining the approach I was asked to code it and tell the time and space complexities of both approaches.
- Problem 2: https://www.geeksforgeeks.org/given-sorted-dictionary-find-precedence-characters/amp/
- I had solved this question on GEEKS FOR GEEKS, so I explained my approach using graphs, completed the code, and indicated the time and space complexities.
Round 4 (Technical Interview):
Platform: Zoom and HackerRank Code Pair
Duration: 90 minutes
- Once more, the interviewer began by asking me to introduce myself before asking me some questions about my projects.
- She then presented the DSA problems
- Problem 1:https://www.geeksforgeeks.org/minimum-time-required-so-that-all-oranges-become-rotten/amp/ after completing the code, I performed a quick dry run and stated the time and space complexities of the brute force and optimal approaches.
- Problem 2: Given an array of valid words in a language, find if the given string is a valid word i.e. check if it’s present in the list. She further extended this problem by adding that there are some stuck keys on the keyboard due to which some letters might be repeated consecutively in the input string. We have to ignore this and output these words as valid. For example: inputs “dooooogg”, “ddoogggg”, “dooog”, etc. to be returned as valid if “dog” is a valid word.
- I explained the brute force approach and then the optimal approach using tree data structure with time and space complexities. I was only asked to code the tree data structure portion of the answer during the interview.
- I asked a few questions the interviewer about the work culture at the firm.
The interviews came to an end after this. We were instructed to wait for the results because there was no separate HR round. Seven students, including me, were ultimately chosen for the FTE Role!
Tips:
- Make sure you are thorough with DSA and OOPs concepts.
- Think loudly throughout the interview process, even when you are coding. Always highlight the time and space complexities of your approaches.
- Take your time to comprehend the DSA problem and seek clarification by asking questions about it.
- Always exhibit interest in the job at the company by asking the interviewer questions at the conclusion.