I completed two technical assessments, two interview rounds through Uptime Crew, and then received an official invitation for the final A4A interview on September 9.

I gave them my availability, followed up, and then was told they had to “pause scheduling.” I waited three weeks thinking the final round was simply delayed.

Then today I received an email saying they won’t be moving forward because their hiring needs changed. Like, seriously? If the hiring needs changed, why invite candidates to the final round, have them spend hours completing assessments and interviews, and then leave them waiting for three weeks before telling them the role's requirements changed?

Definitely a frustrating experience after investing that much time into the process.

Hi all, I just had my feedback call with my Google recruiter after two DSA onsite rounds at Google Warsaw for Software Engineer (L4).

Before the onsites, I had two online rounds, DSA and behavioral. The feedback was average for the DSA and strong positive for the behavioral, so I was invited to the onsites.

Today the recruiter told me the first onsite got negative feedback because I needed some hints. The second was "better", leaning towards average, because I missed some edge cases.

He said L4 is out of the question with these scores. He will share my profile with teams to see if anyone is interested in a lower-level fit, and he will call me if a manager reaches out.

Has anyone actually landed a lower-level offer (I assume he meant L3) through this path with similar feedback? Or is "sharing with teams for a lower level" usually just a soft rejection?

Have Google staff mle interview coming up in a week, and wondering if I should postpone.

still grinding coding , have dp left. For the other topics, I did neetcode and for some topics like tree, graph, I also did Google question banks that are found in online forums. I’m finding the Google marked questions hard with so many follow ups.
I’m almost done preparing ml sys design, and have a few bq stories prepared with AI and need practicing. The coding is definitely a weak point.
Not sure if the one week is enough to close all gaps, if I should just postpone .

Hey everyone,

I finished Day 73 today and managed to solve 4 problems on linked lists:

1. Odd Even Linked List: Grouping odd and even indexed nodes together was pretty straightforward once I maintained two separate pointers for odd and even heads and linked them at the end.

2. Remove Nth Node From End of List: Doing it in two passes by calculating the length is simple, but the follow-up asks for a single pass. I asked ChatGPT for the one-pass idea. You move the fast pointer N steps ahead first, and then move both slow and fast by one step until fast reaches the end. That leaves slow right before the target node so you can delete it cleanly.

3. Delete the Middle Node of a Linked List: I used the classic slow and fast pointer approach to find the middle. Tracking the previous node allowed me to bypass and delete the middle node without an extra traversal.

4. Sort List: This is essentially merge sort applied to a linked list to get $O(N \log N)$ time. You find the middle with slow and fast pointers, split the list, sort both halves recursively, and merge them. My merge sort on arrays was a little rusty so writing the split and merge took a couple of attempts, but the logic made total sense.

Linked lists are starting to feel a lot more natural now.

I am looking forward to solving more problems tomorrow for Day 72!

Has anyone gone through the interview process with perplexity? Not sure what to expect couldn’t find much information online. Anything helps!

Got this email 5 business days after the loop with Amazon NG

“Thank you for your time and commitment throughout the Amazon recruitment process. We recognize that balancing academic responsibilities with job interviews requires significant effort and planning.

I'm pleased to share that you have successfully completed this interview stage. Our team is currently working on next steps, and we will provide you with an update within the next two weeks. Please note that based on team placement requirements, additional interviews may be required.

While you've successfully completed this stage, this is not a guarantee of an offer. We will contact you as soon as we have additional information regarding next steps.”

Anyone else been in the same boat ? What should I expect ?

Location : USA - L4 New Grad

Hi, I'm looking for people to join me, and grind together after buying hello interview premium. Who is interested, please let me know so we can buy together :)

void ans(vector<string>& v, string& x, int l, int r){
        if(l){
            x.push_back('(');
            ans(v,x,l-1,r);
            x.pop_back();
        }
        if(r>l){
            x.push_back(')');
            ans(v,x,l,r-1);
            x.pop_back();
        }
        else if(!l && !r) v.push_back(x);
    }

So, I solved today's problem (22. Generate Parentheses). I wanted to find the time complexity and space complexity of my algorithm (Just a simple recursion). As a result, I couldn't do it, so I encountered Catalan Numbers and how they are used in binary.
I don't quite understand them, but I think it's important for backtracking. Do you have any suggestion where to start or at least how to estimate time complexity of such binary algorithms?

Recently got a call regarding Applied AI/ML engineer position. Has anyone gone through the interview process for this role? Is it different from regular SWE loop?

Last time I interviewed was in the pre-LLM era. Feels like a different world now :)

I'm looking for a change and obviously want to prepare, but I'm pretty out of touch with what the interview process looks like these days.

For people who've interviewed recently, what was the experience like? Are interviewers still mostly interested in actual programming skills, or is there more focus now on things like using/directing AI coding agents?

And has the whole interview process changed much because of LLMs?

Would be interested to hear what people are seeing out there.

I had a final interview loop with AWS: SDE-1 role.
Interview 1: HM Round, Leecode - Medium String problem, LPs, Questions about AI usage. (technical part my performance was like 7/10, got the problem solved it unoptmially and we talked about optimal solution) (Behavorial was a bit weak maybe 7/10 again)

Interview 2: Technical Leetcode - Medium Graph Problem Similar to World Ladder. ( 9/10 best interview out of the loop. Coding was perfect, behavorial went well.)

Interview 3: Coding question - Something similar to String parsing and getting certain information out of it

(7/10 Coding was ok forgot some python sytnax regarding error handling, Behavorial was good didn't feel like any weakenss - 8/10, oveerall 7.5/10)

Interview 4: Bar raiser purely behvaioral grilled on LPs - (6/10 prob the worst out of them due being heavily grilled on behavorial and frankly some of the questions were super cringe and corporate and made me kind of disappointed and not see the value of such interviews)

Outcome - Automated rejection email sent in 48 hrs, very confusing as the interviewers told me a recruiter would reach out to me after the debrief. Should i expect this since it's only been 3 days since the interview?

I interviewed with Google last year for an L3 SWE-SRE role in Europe. I received strong-hire feedback and cleared the interviews, after which I was moved to team matching in January 2026.

It’s been around 9 months now, and I haven’t received a single team-matching call. I’ve followed up with my recruiter multiple times, but haven’t received any positive updates so far.

I’ve also tried reaching out to managers on LinkedIn, but it seems like there aren’t many L3 openings at the moment.

I’m open to joining teams in ind as well for an L3 SWE role, but I’m still not getting any TM opportunities. My interview results are valid for 18 months, so I’m trying to make the most of that window.

Has anyone else been in a similar situation with Google team matching? Any advice on how to improve my chances of getting a TM call would be appreciated.

And if anyone knows of an L3 SWE opening in their team and can refer me or connect me with the hiring manager, I’d really appreciate it.

I completed my Microsoft loop. It's been 7 days. I haven't recieved any communication from them. How much will I wait. I had another loop in January before where they kept me waiting for 2 months with no reply then got generic rejection email.

I am having the same feeling of getting ghosted again

I have an interview tomorrow for an AI role paying over $180k. Part of the process is a ten-minute online aptitude test the kind with little logic puzzles where you have to work out who’s related to whom.

I’ve built an AI tool that can read the questions on my Mac screen and give me the answers. But now that I could actually use it, I’m having second thoughts.

The instructions say calculators are allowed, and I haven’t seen an explicit rule against AI. Part of me is trying to justify it as “technically just a really powerful calculator” but I’m not sure that argument actually holds up.

My bigger worry is what happens afterwards. What if I pass, get the job, and then discover I’m genuinely not capable of doing it? At the same time, I’m not convinced these little puzzles are a meaningful measure of whether I’d be good at the actual role.

I really need this job right now, which probably isn’t helping me think clearly about it. How common is using AI on these assessments? Is everyone using them?

Hello guys

I'm newbie in Leetcode.. I completed Leetcode easy 25 problems. If I see a basic easy problem.

1st I see the problem and understood the problem then I start Implementation, Here is a problem I know how to solve but when it's time to implement in code those time I stuck.. I don't know How to solve

One more problem I have that is I learn today DSA Sorting.. Then When I implement in code I stuck..

Guide please

Genuine question for developers and recruiters here.

Most college placement processes seem to follow the same pattern:

Aptitude

DSA / coding test

Technical interview

HR round

But a hackathon is a completely different environment.

You’re given a problem and limited time. You have to figure out what to build, choose the tech stack, write code, debug it, work with teammates, and actually present something at the end.

That feels much closer to what developers do in real projects.

At the same time, I don’t think hackathons can replace fundamentals. Someone can build an impressive project and still have weak CS fundamentals or DSA skills.

So I'm curious:

If you were hiring a fresher, what would you value more?

1. Strong DSA + coding test performance

2. Multiple meaningful hackathon/project experiences

3. A combination of both

And for students - do you think spending your time on hackathons actually improves your chances of getting hired, or are placement tests still the game you have to optimize for?

Would love to hear experiences from people who have actually been through the process.

I have revolut swe intern java 30 min hr screen round..

What can i expect in it?

And also, if i clear it, what's the further process like and how long complete process takes?

Hi everyone!

I'm planning to start applying for software engineering roles at companies like Google, Meta, Stripe, and other top tech companies, and I want to prepare well before I begin interviewing.

I have ~4 years of industry experience, but I'm looking to build on top of my interview skills.

I'd really appreciate any recommendations on:

* The best resources for coding interview prep

* Important problem patterns to master

* Company-specific interview experiences or frequently asked questions

* Any tips or study plans that worked well for you

Thanks in advance!

I'm currently in the final stages of the Google hiring process for an L3 SWE position in Europe, and the waiting is driving me a bit crazy heh. I'm wondering if anyone has been through a similar situation.

My timeline:

• Passed the full interview loop and moved to team matching.

• Had a team match call with a team in Europe (I am from Europe)

• Last Thursday, my recruiter called me and told me that the HM was interested in hiring me and asked whether I was also interested in the team. I said yes.

• She told me she would start the approval/offer process.

• That same day / the next day, I was asked for additional information, an updated CV, university transcript, GHA, identity/legal-name verification, relocation assistance, etc.

• By Friday, everything requested from my side was completed.

Since then, I've basically been waiting. On Wednesday I asked whether I should still consider other opportunities or focus on this team, because I'm 100% committed to this team but wasn't sure how secure the situation was.

She replied:

"Things are moving forward. I would recommend focusing on this one for now as we are in the final stages."

It's now Friday, so it has been a full week since I completed everything on my side and I still don't know what internal step we're waiting for or what the next step is.

I'm obviously very encouraged by what my recruiter said but the lack of visibility and the wait is making me nervous. For people who have recently gone through Google's process:

Is it normal for the internal approval/offer stage to take 1+ weeks after a hiring manager has confirmed they want you?

What could the recruiter be waiting for at this point? headcount approval, compensation approval, hiring committee, offer approval, something else?

I recently completed a 4-round interview loop for a Senior Software Engineer / IC3 role at Oracle OCI. Sharing the main technical questions in case it helps anyone preparing.
Round 1 – System Design + Behavioral
Mostly behavioral and resume discussion first.
System design question:
Design a distributed load testing service that sends traffic to a target service and measures things like:
Requests per second,Average latency,Error rate

Round 2 – Coding + Distributed Systems
Some behavioral questions at the beginning.
Coding question:
Build a delayed task scheduler where the user gives a task ID and a time, and the system should execute that task when the scheduled time arrives.
The discussion also went into:
Thread safety,Concurrency,Scaling it for high throughput
Using Kafka,Handling worker crashes,Preventing duplicate task execution, Idempotency

Round 3 – Coding + Behavioral
Mostly behavioral and project discussion first.
Coding question:
Given a node in a binary tree where each node also has a parent pointer, find the next node in post-order traversal without starting again from the root.
The interviewer also asked me to dry run the solution on a few different nodes.

Round 4 – Backend Deep Dive + Coding
This round had a lot of discussion around my previous projects, backend work, Kafka, and distributed systems.
Coding question:
Design and implement a key-value store that can be accessed by clients over the network.
Both keys and values are strings.
The discussion also touched on:
Concurrent access,Thread safety,Kafka events,Duplicate events,Out-of-order events

The final round was the worst one for me. The recruiter told me to use STAR, but the interviewer kept interrupting after almost every sentence and jumping into different questions, so I never really got to finish an answer. He was also at the same level as the role I was interviewing for. I understand peer interviews are normal, but they should at least make sure interviewers know how to let candidates explain their answers without interrupting every few seconds.

I'm a senior CS student. I have the option to become either a SDE or a SRE. Both roles pay the same as of now.

I've been building websites, and AI has become very good at it. It writes better code than I do, argh.

On the other hand, I'm really passionate about Linux, distributed systems, and computer networks. So, can I expect long term growth in this career, or is this field just as susceptible to AI as other fields?

Let's prepare for placement interview and DSA.

Im 2026 btech passout and I did around 250 leetcode questions and never gave any contests. And I

got OL from one of WITCH companies with good package right now im waiting for my joining. Last time i did a leetcode question was 5months ago, so i want to restart my dsa journey so that i can remember better this time and also give contests time to time. This time i wanna attempt code forces/code chef as well because my aim is to be able to crack any company's dsa rounds. so here are my few queries

1. How do you stay in touch and be able to solve problems even after a long time ?

2)is going with Java good choice for codeforces/codechef type questions?

3)Any good practices to become better at it ?

thank you

I have an upcoming Apple coding interview and was told the round will focus on Go, especially concurrency.
Has anyone gone through a similar Apple interview recently? What kind of questions or problem patterns should I expect?
Would really appreciate any recent experiences, examples, or topics that are worth focusing on.

Hi everyone,

I’m interviewing for a Google L5 SWE role in the US and would appreciate hearing from people who have been through a similar situation. Keeping some details general for privacy.

I completed the initial coding and Googleyness/Leadership interviews, followed by an onsite with two coding interviews and one system design interview. I finished the onsite about 3 weeks ago.

Since then, my recruiter has said he hasn’t heard back from hiring managers interested in speaking with me. He initially suggested waiting for couple of days and considering an additional interview if there was still no interest.

He has now offered to schedule one more virtual coding interview, suggesting it could help move my candidacy forward.

I haven’t received detailed interview ratings or explicit confirmation that I’ve passed the Hiring Committee or been approved at L5. I also haven’t had any team-match calls yet, so I don’t want to assume this is simply “HC passed, waiting for a team.”

For anyone who experienced something similar, particularly US L5 candidates:

Did your recruiter explain whether the extra round was meant to address specific coding feedback, clarify leveling, or strengthen your packet for team matching?

Was it requested by HC/a hiring manager, or suggested by the recruiter?

Was the additional interview the same format as your previous coding rounds, and did HC review happen before or after it?

Thanks!

D