I applied through a recruiter. The process took 2 days. I interviewed at Capital One in Jan 2022
Interview
Recruiter contacted me and asked me to apply for the position. Passed a codesignal test and was invited for the power day.
Round 1 Technical : Asked to solve a leetcode question. He told me to write the code in any language I want and when I wrote the code, he mentioned he did not understand C++ language . He goes on asking me questions about the code and do not understand what I am trying to convey.
Round 2 Techincal: System design of a smart meter in an apartment. Very unprofessional, came in 15 mins late, connected through a mobile and wasted time and ultimately after 20 mins he connected through a laptop. Brags about how all their projects have moved to cloud. Asks me if I have experience working with AWS , and I answered I am aware of it, but have not used it much. Asks me about front end when I have applied for a backend position. Makes cutting sarcastic remarks such as all their developers are AWS certified and have knowledge on front end . I ask him a simple question why they selected AWS and not any other cloud services and he could not come with an acceptable answer.
Round 3 Case Interview : A business scenario and discussing the pros and cons of using a product and some interpretation of the code. Won’t give me one minute to think, kept saying “speak through your thought process” a hundred times . This interviewer also talks about cloud.
Round 4 Behavioural : Reads from a paper and asks 3 questions.
Overall, they are very obsessed with cloud and AWS. I would suggest that they do a thorough resume screen before they invite people for the power day and waste everyone’s time.
Also, they want you to understand the question, think about it, write the code, also keep talking in the background . I am not sure how you can do all that.
The worst part is the recruiter calling you to tell you that you have been rejected when an email would have been sufficient
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
1. Smart meter design
2. 2 numbers from an array whose sum is closest to 0
Expecting a challenging experience, I found the interview at Capital One to be intense, particularly during the system design section. The question on designing a rate limiter with a token bucket algorithm took me by surprise; mid-way through the problem, I realized it was very similar to a drill I’d practiced on prachub.com just days earlier. The technical rounds included several DSA questions, and the interviewers were thorough but supportive. Ultimately, I received an offer and happily accepted, feeling well-prepared despite the pressure.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
Design a rate limiter using a token bucket algorithm and discuss how it would handle bursty traffic and distributed deployments.
Recruiter screening to begin with. Then, technical discussion about java, spring boot, design pattern, small coding tasks and followed by design assessment for distributed systems. Finally, managerial round for the team fit
Scheduled a call with recruiter. Recruiter didnt show up for the screening call and cancelled it 5 mins after the scheduled time. Dropped a follow up email and got no response. After a week, I got an email from the recruiter stating I am selected for the next round i.e Assessment. Sent me an email with the assessment description but no link. When I sent a follow up email asking for the link, I got ghosted again. It was a bad experience. Felt like she is toying with me. Why ghost an applicant repetitively? Unprofessional recruiter who doesn't respect an applicant's time or efforts!