deshaw | | Interview Experience
Interview Date: Not specified
Result: Not specified
Difficulty: Not specified
Interview Process
The interview process consisted of an initial resume review followed by four brain teaser questions. After this round, I was quickly notified that I would have a video interview the following week. The video interview consisted of three rounds.
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First Round: Focused on probability. I was asked a question involving n students and their scores in two exams (x_i, y_i). The question was about determining the expected number of students who pass if there are no other students j ≠ i such that x_j > x_i and y_j > y_i. There were some variations of this question.
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Second Round: Coding questions, which included printing the Cartesian product and finding the maximum in a sliding window. I struggled with the correct solution to the second question at the time.
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Third Round: This was more open-ended, asking how to form groups of three in a class such that the number of groups where only two students pass is maximized. Overall, this round was quite challenging. After this, I was informed that I could start preparing mentally for a code sample, writing sample, and references.
The final discussion involved predicting how many wins an MLB team would achieve. The interviewers were generally friendly, but they pressed for answers when I struggled to understand what they were looking for. Unfortunately, I did not pass.
Technical Questions
- Probability
- Subsets
- Greedy algorithm
- Predictive analysis
Tips & Insights
- Be prepared for open-ended questions that require critical thinking.
- Practice coding problems thoroughly to avoid getting stuck during the interview.
- Clarify questions with the interviewer if you are unsure about what is being asked.