apple | SDE | Interview Experience
Interview Date: Not specified
Result: Not specified
Difficulty: Not specified
Interview Process
The interview process consisted of multiple rounds. The first round was a phone screen focused on the resume, where the candidate was given an algorithm question to rotate a 2D array by 90 degrees.
The second round was with the hiring manager, primarily behavioral questions related to the payment industry. The candidate felt they did not perform well, which seemed to affect the interviewer’s enthusiasm.
In the third round, a Chinese female interviewer conducted a deep dive into the candidate’s resume and projects, asking for an object-oriented design of an algorithm to check for duplicate transactions, using Java 17. The candidate was unfamiliar with the record keyword, and their solution was not satisfactory.
The final round involved an interviewer with significant experience in the payment industry, who asked many questions about payment knowledge. The candidate answered poorly, and another algorithm question on the maximum subarray sum was repeated. The interviewer also asked the candidate to reverse a string using Streams, which the candidate could not complete. The interviewer’s attitude was perceived as dismissive, as they did not allow the candidate to ask questions at the end.
Technical Questions
- Rotate Image (Array, Math)
- Maximum Subarray (Array, Dynamic Programming, Divide and Conquer)
- Design Algorithm for Duplicate Transactions (System Design, Stream Processing, HashMap)
- Reverse String (String, Stream Processing)
Tips & Insights
The candidate noted that the recruiter mentioned they were actively hiring and would provide results within a week, but after two weeks with no news, they felt it was unlikely they would receive an offer and decided to move on.