Interview Experience: Goldman Sachs - Associate Level

Position: Associate Level at Goldman Sachs
Location: Remote/Virtual Interview
Date: November - December 2024

Current Role and Background

Current Position: Software Engineer(Big product based company in fintech domain)
Years of Experience (YoE): 2.4 years
Current Location: Pune

Interview Process and Format

Initial HackerRank Test (November 2024):

The recruiter reached out to me in November and invited me to appear for a HackerRank test. The test comprised two coding questions, both of which were of easy-medium difficulty (comparable to LeetCode). Unfortunately, I do not recall the exact questions but completed the test successfully.

I didn’t hear back until the first week of December, when the HR team informed me that I had cleared the test and scheduled the first round of interviews.

Round 1: Technical Phone Screen (1 hour)

Platform: CoderPad
Format:

1. Data Structures and Algorithms:
   • Problem 1: Find cycle in a circular array.
   • Problem 2: Find the median of two sorted arrays.
2. I began with a brute-force solution for both problems and then optimized my approach. The interviewer appreciated the clarity of my explanations and logical progression.
3. Additional Questions:
   • Core Java concepts.
   • One Spring Boot-related question.

Result: Cleared. The HR informed me that I would proceed to the “Super Day” interviews.

Super Day: 2 Rounds

Round 1: Data Structures and Algorithms (1 hour)

Questions:

1. Koko Eating Bananas: Solved and tested successfully within the allotted time.
2. String Compression Problem:
   • Given a string, replace the largest repeated substring at every point with an asterisk (*). The goal is to obtain a minimal-length string after compression.
   • Example 1:
     • Input: s = "abcabcd"
     • Output: "abc*d" (Reason: Replace the second instance of "abc" with *.)
   • Example 2:
     • Input: s = "aabbaabb"
     • Output: "a*bb*" (Reason: Replace repeated "a" at index 1 and "aabb" at the second instance.)
   • I explained my approach and dry-ran it with multiple examples. However, the interviewer kept questioning edge cases and scenarios. Despite my explanation, I couldn’t implement the code due to time constraints.

Round 2: Technical (Scheduled, but interviewer didn’t join)

HR later informed me that the second round of the Super Day would not proceed.

Result: Rejected. I was informed by HR that I didn’t clear the final round.

Thoughts and Reflections

1. Interview Structure: The interview process was rigorous, with an emphasis on problem-solving skills, clarity of thought, and handling edge cases. The focus on explaining logic before coding was evident.
2. Feedback: While I successfully solved most problems, the inability to implement the second problem during the Super Day’s first round likely contributed to the rejection.
3. Culture: The process felt professional and well-organized, though the lack of feedback on the exact reasons for rejection left some ambiguity.