I applied through an employee referral. The process took 2 weeks. I interviewed at IBM (San Francisco, CA) in Dec 2014
Interview
I applied through an employee referral for an entry level software engineer as I am a new BS graduate. I interviewed with IBM tea leaf in SFO after an initial phone interview for about 20 mins. The phone interview was very casual asking questions about your background and some OOP concepts. A week later I was invited onsite scheduled to interview with 6 people - developers, QA and director. Some of my interviewers didn't show up to work and in order to replace them some other random people interviewed me and it was a little disorganized.
Questions were mainly about my background, resume, and projects etc. They grilled me on each and every project/work experience on my resume and asked me questions on how I did whatever I did. I was asked a few technical questions here and there but no extensive whiteboard coding.
Interview questions [5]
Question 1
write pseudo code to add a node to a singly linked list
Applied through the company portal, completed an online coding assessment, followed by a technical interview covering data structures, algorithms, OOP concepts, and project experience. Concluded with an HR discussion about the role, career goals, availability, and compensation expectations.
## IBM Interview Process
The process began with initial resume shortlisting, followed by competitive **DSA and coding rounds** to test core technical concepts. After clearing those, I cleared two comprehensive interviews with the **Hiring Manager/Tech Expert** and **HR**.
Describe the interview process: The process consisted of three rounds: an initial online assessment focusing on data structures and algorithms, followed by two technical video interviews. The technical rounds were intensive, covering system design, live coding, and deep-dive questions into previous project experience and database optimization.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
Design a scalable URL shortener system and explain how you would handle high read/write throughput.