Goldman Sachs | Associate | Offer
Anonymous User
49431

Edit: Answering some of the common questions.
Tier-1 college.
3+ YOE.
Associate(SDE 2) role.
Also, I believe it's all luck and persistence. You should be prepared for any questions/situation.
How to tackle any questions?
There are tons of articles regarding it. In addition to these, you should always look at the given constraints or ask the interviewer. This actually helps in deciding on the algorithm.

I'll pen down my interview experience for GS.
In total there were 6 rounds.

Round 1:
Hackerrank Test - 2 questions. time limit - 120 mins.

  1. Unable to recall exact questions, but it had something to reach from cordinate A to B. similar to https://leetcode.com/problems/reaching-points/description/
  2. LIS

After a month or so I got a call for coderpad round.

Round 2: Coderpad round

Two easy coding questions were asked.

After three days, I enquired for the feedback and was told that I've been selected for superday round.

Round 3: DSA

  1. https://leetcode.com/problems/rotting-oranges/description/ - First I asked some generic corner scenarios. Gave an O(nm) solution using bfs.
  2. There were some follow up question on how did I came to bfs solution. I explained him my thought process and how the pattern aligns with the above approach. He was happy with explaination.
  3. https://leetcode.com/problems/kth-largest-element-in-an-array/description/ - First I gave O(n*k) solution which is based on finding the 2nd or 3rd largest element, then I gave an O(nlogn) solution, and then came up with the O(nlogk) solution.

Round 4 : DSA+DB

  1. https://leetcode.com/problems/minimum-number-of-refueling-stops/description/ - This question was actually tricky. First I came up with a greedy approach, which I proved will not work. Then using recursion I found overlapping subproblems, and gave him a dp approach. He said to optimize it. I then implemented a O(n) bfs solution addressing all the bounds.
  2. https://leetcode.com/problems/maximum-xor-of-two-numbers-in-an-array/ - I first gave O(n^2) solution. Later, I came up with a O(n) solution using bit and trie.
  3. one DB question.

Round 5: System Design

  1. In depth resume grill.
  2. design an API. I walked them through all the concepts which are used.
  3. Follow up question, How authorisation and authentication works. I walked them through core concepts and flow.
    Interviewers were happy with my design.

Round 6: Hiring Manager round (30 mins)

In depth resume grill.
some basics question like why gs and all.
some basic behavioral questions.

verdict - I eventually called the hr after 2 days regarding feedback. She said I'm selected and it's a long process in gs so a confirmation will come in a week or so.

I hope this helps all the champs who are working hard!!

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