How was your interview experience as an associate software engineer at IBM?

Data Science, AI and ML
#1

Following is the interview experience of a candidate appearing for the role of an associate software engineer. The interview is chronological.

Round 1

We had a Cognitive Aptitude Test for the first round. These cognitive tests included a variety of puzzles and much mental math. It puts a strain on one’s analytical abilities.

One of the most important puzzles was how fast you could do the math. So the problem begins with an expression on the screen, followed by balloons rising to the screen, each of which may contain a value or an expression. Before the bubbles pop, you will need to quickly compute the value of the expression and see which other expressions match the expression in the bubbles (within 1-2 mins).

The subsequent puzzles were figuring out how to get from one location to another with the fewest sticks possible.

Round 2

After completing the first round, we were to administer a Psychometric Test.

So, this is not a real test, and there are no correct or incorrect answers here.

You will be given 50 questions to answer, which are entirely personal.

So, for example, a question might ask, “Do my friends think I am creative?” There would be two options: Strongly Agree and Strongly Disagree.

We must place the marker on the line that is closest to the correct answer.

However, this test is challenging since it truly checks your consistency because you will be asked the same questions, but they will be phrased differently in the latter sections of the tests.

So, if you mark the same questions differently, it is a red flag.

Round 3

After passing the Psychometric examinations, you must pass a Coding and Verbal Test.

You will have 1 Easy to Medium level issue and 5 MCQs relating to Object-Oriented programming in the Coding test.

Strings, Arrays, Vectors, Graphs, Maps, Trees, and Linked Lists are all data structures that must be understood.

Interview Round

We were asked general Data Structures and Algorithms questions and projects linked to our resumes and personal inquiries during the interviews.

Depending on how well one fared in the initial interview, two to two further rounds would be done.