I applied through an employee referral. The process took 6 weeks. I interviewed at IBM (Yorktown Heights, NY) in Jan 2016
Interview
I was referred by my friend who has interned in IBM. Before that I already submitted my CV to their online recruitment system, but I seriously doubt there's any use of it.
There's a 1 hour phone screen with 2 interviewers at the same time. They asked some simple coding and behavioral questions. After that they're interested enough to invite me to on-site interview, but I still have to push them a bit because my other interviews were around the corner and I had to schedule them quick.
I was invited to the IBM Watson office. At IBM almost every employee has a separated office room, so I just met every interviewer at his own office. The interview started early and there're about 8 interviewers (I lost count and they didn't send me the schedule either), each last for 1 hour except the one who took me to lunch, so the entire process is actually quite tiring.
1 week later I sent a follow-up mail to the HR but only got silence. Then after another 2 weeks I sent another follow-up mail to the manager and some interviewers and finally heard from them that I'm no longer considered.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
Almost every interviewer asked me to introduce my background and previous works, and then pick the part he's interested in to go further. Besides that, only 1 interviewer asked me algorithm question, and maybe 2 asked questions about C++ language; all the remaining are general behavioral questions.
There's 1 interview with 2 interviewers from security department. I assume it's some kind of security measure since they obviously have fewer professional background.
Applied through the company portal, completed an online coding assessment, followed by a technical interview covering data structures, algorithms, OOP concepts, and project experience. Concluded with an HR discussion about the role, career goals, availability, and compensation expectations.
## IBM Interview Process
The process began with initial resume shortlisting, followed by competitive **DSA and coding rounds** to test core technical concepts. After clearing those, I cleared two comprehensive interviews with the **Hiring Manager/Tech Expert** and **HR**.
Describe the interview process: The process consisted of three rounds: an initial online assessment focusing on data structures and algorithms, followed by two technical video interviews. The technical rounds were intensive, covering system design, live coding, and deep-dive questions into previous project experience and database optimization.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
Design a scalable URL shortener system and explain how you would handle high read/write throughput.
