Total Work Experience: 4.5 years
Career Break: 1.5 years
Previous Company: Google
Education: IIT
Recently, I went through the interview process for a Software Engineer (L3) position at Wayfair. The process included four rounds; I was rejected after the fourth, so I didn't proceed to the fifth.
Interview Date: August 2024
Online Assessment (OA) Round
The OA consisted of 2 coding questions in 60 minutes (1 easy, 1 hard).
Link to the OA question
The first question was challenging. I used BFS but could only get 12/15 test cases correct.
Coding Round
Link to the question: Coupan category
I had seen this problem before, which helped me complete it successfully with all follow-ups. Without prior exposure, I don't think I would have been able to finish it on time.
Low-Level Design (LLD) Round
The problem was bike rental shop question, and I was well-prepared. However, the interview was a bit chaotic. The interviewer was new (conducting their first interview), and a more senior member was shadowing. Unfortunately, the senior member interrupted frequently, creating confusion as they seemed to have different expectations. It felt like I was interviewing with two people who weren't on the same page, which affected my performance.
Make sure to cover key areas like API design, class structure, and database schema.
High-Level Design (HLD) Round
The problem was a mobile check-in system. I struggled with time management and was only able to cover the basic components and requirements.
In an HLD interview, try to touch on as many topics as possible: rate limiting, caching, asynchronous processing, normalization, consistent hashing, LRU cache, analytics, etc.
Verdict: Rejected
Feedback: While I performed well in the coding round, my performance in LLD and HLD was not up to the expectations. Had I done better in any one of these design rounds, I could have cleared the interview.
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Stay curious, keep coding, and enjoy the journey!
