I am currently pursuing an MCA from CMR University. I will share my first interview experience during my undergraduate course BCA.
Everyone has two types of interview fears. One is getting rejected, which is obvious and common among everyone, and the other is how to face the interviewer and his questions. We think we don’t know much, we are not knowledgeable enough to answer the questions. One thing we have to understand is that the interviewer is not here to reject us instead he is here to help us if we perform well and know the basics. Why will he waste his time to come and reject us? So, we should be confident enough in all our skills then.
Technical Hurdles
Talking about my interview experience, I had the same fear that I didn’t know advanced DSA, and that my skills were not enough to answer. I was so nervous and anxious at the start of my interview. I faced a network issue due to which I entered 5 minutes late in the meeting, I even had a problem with my laptop camera. So, I got the fear of rejection.
Supportive Interviewers
Once everything was settled my first interviewer asked about my introduction. I answered in so much hurry, my speed was so fast that they were not able to understand my words. Then they told me to be calm and stable and start again. Their supportive nature brought confidence in me at that time.
Preparation Insights
I was asked what NI does, but I didn’t prepare for that question because I only learned about my interview the day before at around 7 p.m. So, I solely focused on DSA and said, sorry sir, I don’t know. he told me it was okay but next time I should read something about the company before sitting in the interview he also added that “it will not affect my interview performance”. This statement of his increased my confidence at that time. I agreed with them and now whenever I go for an interview I briefly read about the company before the interview.
Tackling Technical Questions
We started with the technical questions, I was asked three mathematical puzzles. The first puzzle was “3 and 5 litres water Jug to measure 4 litres”. The second one was the “dividing the gold bar” puzzle and the last one was the “3 cuts to cut the round cake into 8 equal pieces.” I was able to answer the 1st and 3rd puzzles completely but coming to the 2nd puzzles I wasn’t able to answer completely. Whenever I was providing a solution for the first puzzle they were adding one twist to the puzzle whatever my solution was for the problem, they were removing one element from my solution.
Diving into Discussion
When I was not able to completely answer the 2nd puzzle they asked about my approach to the puzzle like how I am imagining the cake, etc. They liked my approach to the problem and gave me hints to think further with their help I was able to answer it. During that time my whole interview got converted into a discussion.
Assessing DSA Skills and Exploring Software Engineering Concepts
While going forward with the interview I was asked 2 or 3 questions related to DSA, I was given one code also, and I was asked to write the base cases for a problem. I was asked about software engineering concepts like the waterfall model, RAD, etc. we took 2.5 hours to complete the interview.
Reflections and Confidence
Post-interview, I experienced a surge of confidence, irrespective of the outcome. The focus shifted from the fear of rejection to a newfound confidence in my interview abilities.
Feedback and Validation
I got the results after 2 hours and another HM interview was scheduled for 45 mins but it got over in 30 mins. My manager only took that interview and all we discussed about my past internship experience and, the difficulties faced. He also asked about my projects and discussed them in detail.
I hope anyone reading this finds some valuable insights that can help them ace their interviews.
Thanks