Synthesized from 39 candidate submissions for ALL.
Paytm's hiring process is highly structured, typically involving an initial online assessment (OA) on platforms like HackerRank, followed by a series of technical rounds that balance DSA problem-solving with domain-specific architecture discussions. Candidates should be prepared for a mix of coding challenges, low-level and high-level system design, and deep dives into their past projects and core language fundamentals (especially Java).
The candidate went through three rounds: an online assessment, two technical rounds (including system design). They were unable to proceed further but found the experience valuable. The feedback highlighted the importance of interactive discussions, especially in system design rounds.
Online Hackerrank (3 coding questions): 1. Check if subsequence of a string is substring of another string 2. Maximum even sum subsequence 3. Lexicographically smallest string after removing duplicates 6 MCQs based on DSA
The candidate underwent an online assessment on Hackerrank consisting of 3 coding questions and 6 MCQs based on DSA.
Check if subsequence of a string is substring of another string
Maximum even sum subsequence
Lexicographically smallest string after removing duplicates
6 MCQs based on DSA
The round started with a basic introduction and discussion about the candidate's recent project and responsibilities. The interviewer asked two coding questions: one on finding the minimum number of days for rotten fruits, and another on deleting a node from a linked list where no other pointer is given. The candidate explained the approach, pseudo-code, and dry run for the first question. For the second, they discussed the tricky linked list problem. The round also included a system design question on BookMyShow, where the candidate initially made a mistake by jumping into explaining without clarifying requirements. The interviewer guided the discussion and asked cross-questions based on the design presented.
Find the minimum number of days for rotten fruits
Solve the tricky linked list question: delete a node from a linked list where no other pointer is given (e.g., 1->2->3->4->5, remove node 3)
Design BookMyShow
The interviewer was friendly and started with basic introductions. The candidate discussed their latest projects and work. The main focus was on designing Uber, where the candidate actively engaged in discussions, asked for validations, and iteratively added services and components to the design. The round lasted around 30 minutes.
Design Uber
The candidate cleared all rounds (OA, Technical Round 1, and Technical Round 2) and received an offer for the SDE-1 (Backend) role at Paytm in December 2024. The candidate accepted the offer despite concerns about compensation and layoff reviews.
Hackerrank test with 3 or 4 Easy to Medium problems on DSA. All problems were solved, and the candidate passed to the next round.
Conducted on Hackerrank platform with 3 or 4 Easy to Medium DSA problems. All problems were solved, and the candidate advanced to the next round.
Focused on DSA and DBMS. Two mid-level DSA problems were discussed: one required writing code on a Google Doc after explaining the approach, and the other was a DP problem where the candidate explained both recursive and DP solutions. DBMS questions included ACID properties and indexing.
Focused on Low-Level Design (LLD). The candidate was asked to design a Hotel Invoice Notification System, including identifying entity classes, interfaces, and other necessary classes.
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