Interview Question for Amazon » Object Oriented Design » Software Engineer / Developer

I have interviewed with numerous other companies besides amazon so far and I have always been stumped by OO design questions like design a parking lot,design and code an elevator,design a deck of cards,chessboard etc.Though some of these are well known and answers exist..I would like to know how to approach such questions..could someone please direct me to a good source or book to learn the nuances of such design questions and how to design efficient classes?

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Posted by code.dragon on July 10, 2009

Interview Question for Amazon » Hash Table » Analyst

What is Dynamic Hashing and write code to implement it.

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Posted by Murugan on July 08, 2009

Interview Question for Amazon » Brain Teasers » Software Engineer / Developer

Given a function randfive() that generates a number between 1 to 5, with uniform probability. Use this to write a function randseven() which generates a number with uniform probability between 1 to 7.

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Posted by optimus on July 07, 2009

Interview Question for Amazon » Arrays » Software Engineer / Developer

Given an int array and an int value. Find all pairs in array that add up to value.

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Posted by optimus on July 07, 2009

Interview Question for Amazon » C++ » Software Engineer / Developer

What is the difference between using Assignment operator and Copy Constructor?

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Posted by optimus on July 07, 2009

Interview Question for Bloomberg LP » Database » Software Engineer / Developer

Given the below table:

{{{LEDGER
ID VARCHAR(11) PRI
Month VARCHAR(2)
Year VARCHAR(4)
Amount REAL
}}}

Compose the query that will output the report in the following format:

{{{
Year 1980 1981 1982 ...................2009
Jan $$ $$
Feb
Mar
..
.
.
.
Oct
Nov
Dec
}}}
Where $ if the total Amount for a given Month

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Posted by Anonymous on July 03, 2009

Interview Question for Goldman Sachs » Algorithm » Software Engineer / Developer

Given the Function F(N) = F(N-1) + F(N-2), write an efficient implementation. What is the run time?

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Posted by Anonymous on June 30, 2009

Interview Question for Goldman Sachs » Algorithm » Software Engineer / Developer

A computer has three registers, A, B and R. It has only three instructions:

A->R : Load R with A

B->R : Load R with B

A-R->A : Subtract R from A and store the result in A

Using these instructions how can you do the follwoing?

B->A : Load A with B

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Posted by Anonymous on June 30, 2009

Interview Question for Qualcomm » String Manipulation » Software Engineer / Developer

Write the strstr function, using of any system string fucntions such as strlen was prevented

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Posted by BayE on June 28, 2009

Interview Question for Amazon » Bit Manipulation » Software Engineer / Developer

Given an 8 bits, give the range of integers it can cover.

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Posted by optimus on June 26, 2009

Interview Question for Amazon » Large Scale Computing » Software Engineer / Developer

Given a large list of size n(value of n is order of billions) containing x,y,z co-ordinates of stars in space, and a small array of size m(order of 100-150) with earth as the origin, compute efficiently m-closest stars to earth.

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Posted by optimus on June 26, 2009

Interview Question for Amazon » Arrays » Software Engineer / Developer

Given an array of size n, you have n-1 integers in the array, and one of the n elements is a duplicate, find an efficient method of finding the duplicate.

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Posted by optimus on June 26, 2009

Interview Question for Amazon » Database » Software Engineer / Developer

How will u find the highest and second highest salary in each group using a single SQL query ?

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Posted by Ankit on June 24, 2009

Interview Question for Amazon » Linked List » Software Engineer / Developer

Sort a linked list using bubble sort.

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Posted by Ankit on June 24, 2009

Interview Question for Amazon » String Manipulation » Software Engineer / Developer

Given a sample string, say
String s = "This is a test string "
The idea is to remove or squueze all the extra spaces to a single space. Condition: The process should permanently change the string and not simply print the string character by character by ignoring extra spaces.

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Posted by Ankit on June 24, 2009

Daily Question: Microsoft » Coding » Software Engineer / Developer

write code to implement itoa()

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Posted by Chandan on March 17, 2009

Daily Question: Adobe » Coding Algorithm » Software Engineer / Developer

Write a function to add two numbers, without using any arithmetic operator. Even the ++ in for statement is not allowed

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Posted by Anonymous on March 15, 2009

Daily Question: IBM » Algorithm » Software Engineer / Developer

Write a Java program to check whether any two elements in an array add to a constant C or not. Implement the program with least complexity O(n).

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Posted by rajtaresh on March 14, 2009

Daily Question: Citrix Online » General Questions and Comments » Software Engineer / Developer

When contacted the 2nd recruiter, she told me the position might be filled but I can still interview in a week. A little akward.

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Posted by Jack on March 12, 2009

Daily Question: Microsoft » Algorithm » Software Engineer / Developer

Which (one or more) of the following numbers can't be represented accurately in binary?

0.1, 319, 63.5, 1/16, 1.32, 5.390625

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Posted by AlgoFreak on February 17, 2009

Daily Question: Microsoft » Algorithm » Software Engineer / Developer

Which (one or more) of the following numbers can't be represented accurately in binary?

0.1, 319, 63.5, 1/16, 1.32, 5.390625

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Posted by AlgoFreak on February 16, 2009

Daily Question: Microsoft » Software Engineer / Developer

There are two linked lists which converge at one point. Return the 1st node at which they converge

{{{[__]-->[__]-->[__]-->
[__]-->[__]
[__]-->
}}}
Hope my diagram is understandable

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Posted by Anonymous on February 11, 2009

Daily Question: MarketRX » Database » Software Engineer / Developer

Interviewer> If we have a table containing Emp_ID,Emp_Name and Dept_ID(Primary key) and another table having Emp_Name and Dept_ID (foreign key), how would u find the number of employees in each dept?

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Posted by Karthik Srinivasan on January 27, 2009

Daily Question: Amazon » Arrays

Given 1) an int[] array and 2) an int value, how do i find out which two elements in the array add up to the value given? What is the speed of your algorithm? Can it be done faster?

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Posted by Zefram Cochrane on January 16, 2009

Daily Question: Bloomberg LP » C » Financial Software Developer

int x;
function()=x;

Is it legal or illegal code?Why?

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Posted by Anonymous on January 15, 2009

New! Affiliate Program for CareerCup

Good news bloggers and website owners! CareerCup has just launched its new affiliate program. CareerCup's affiliate programs allows website owners to post a link / ad for CareerCup's interview guide and, in return, collect some of the revenue from any sale. Best of all, it's super-easy to use!

CareerCup @ Facebook

CareerCup now has a facebook page! Join our facebook group and help us spread the word!

http://www.facebook.com/pages/CareerCup-Better-Interviews-Better-Careers/35268686145

Thanks!
Gayle

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Posted by Gayle Laakmann on October 19, 2008

Top 150 Interview Questions

CareerCup has just launched a new ebook (pdf) with the Top 150 Interview Questions. For just $15, you can get the top 150 questions, broken down by topic and sorted by difficulty. Use this book ASAP to zero in on what questions will trip you up!

Buy now! See http://www.careercup.com/book

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Posted by Gayle Laakmann on October 18, 2008

Picking the Right Companies

I've been working (working: v. to write one or two sentences with the intention of finishing it up later that day, or the next day, or...) for a while on a post about how to pick which companies to apply to. Jon Pincus, my former manager from Microsoft, has done a better job that I would have, so I'll just let him take it from here...

Jon Pincus: "You probably won’t be able to get your dream job in your next job; what you want is something that’s noticeably closer than where you are now, and makes it a lot more likely that the following job has even more of the dream job characteristics."



Or, if you're one of those people who want to go to a big company and are just trying to come up with names, Google Sets can actually be useful here. If you put in Google, Microsoft and Apple, it'll return related terms such as Intel, Sun, Yahoo and Blackberry. It's not a perfect list, but it's a start!

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Posted by None on June 19, 2008

Preparing Effective Resumes

When I was in high school, a teacher returned an essay of mine with the following written on the top of the paper: "Know your audience." The task was to write a persuasive essay on any topic of our choosing. I just so happened to pick a topic on which the teacher had extensive knowledge and strong feelings. I hadn't been thinking about this at the time I chose the topic, but he was right - I should have known this wasn't a good topic. Lesson learned.

Writing a resume is no different. Tailor what you're writing to the specific company and position.



Resume Cosmetics

• Avoid the Text Blob: Employers don't read your resume - they glance at it for, oh, 10 - 15 seconds. You can't absorb key points from a large blob of text, so bullet your accomplishments instead. Write short, concise sentences. Craft your resume such that a quick glance is enough to say "wow".
• Use a Template: Do *not* just type everything into Microsoft Word - format your resume nicely by using a template. Microsoft Word has lots of built in resume tables - use one, or make your resume.
• Pages: if you're a recent college graduate (last few years), your resume should probably be one page. Can't get it all in one page? Trim it down to the most important stuff. This is actually a *good* thing to do, because the best stuff will stand out more.
• Formatting Tip: Electronic copies: if you create a good format in Micosoft Word, your resume probably uses tables. You may have noticed that table borders show up when you view them in Word but not when you print them out. And guess how many people will view your resume? That's right - on Word. So, you'll want to *really* hide your table borders. Here's how: instead of setting the borders to invisible (invisible on paper, but visible electronic), set them to visible but white. They'll be truly invisible then.
  
  
• Filename: A lot of people send me resumes named liked "Resume.doc", and they get lost. If you don't want your resume to be lost, put your name in the filename (eg, "John Smith Resume - April 2006.doc"). I *highly* recommend that you save it on your computer with such a filename this way you won't forget to send it with the proper name.

Resume Content:

• Accomplishments, not Responsibilities: Employers want to know not just what you were assigned to do, but what you actually accomplished. For example, saying something like "Reduced time to perform X by 75% by optimizing Y" looks much more impressive than "Responsible for optimizing X." List your accomplishments over your responsibilities, and be specific.
• Projects: Employers want to see practical experience - that means internships and projects (this is especially true for Software Engineering positions). Yes, have a specific section on your resume for projects - 3 to 4 projects is ideal, whether they're class project or personal projects. If they're personal projects, say so! It shows passion and motivation.

  
  

• Kill the Fluff: I have never once said "oooh... this person claims to have great team working skills. Let's hire them!" Maybe I'm wrong here, but I don't think employers believe fluff stuff just because it's on a resume.
  
  
• For US Positions: Please don't list your age, marital status, gender, etc. I see this a lot with international applicants. In the US, it is illegal to use those as factors in a hiring decision. We don't want those on your resume.

Resume Wording & Proofing

• Bullets: Bullet each item for a job - you don't need to write complete sentences. Use action words.
• Spelling & Grammar: Once you've done all this, make sure to check for spelling mistakes, grammatical mistakes and typos. Get as many people as possible to read over your resume and tell them to be picky. This is especially important for non-Native English speakers. Many companies will, unfortunately, toss your resume for a simple spelling mistake.
• Personal Information: This should be obvious, but double check that your phone number, address and email address are correct. Don't list your cell phone unless you are ok with receiving calls on it.

  
  

Resume Customization:

I've said that you need to customize your resume based on the position, so I'll explain a little bit about what I'd do for each company. But first, a short summary of the various things I could include:

• Microsoft Software Engineering Internships: 2001, 2002, 2003
• Apple Software Engineering Internship: 2004
• Google Software Engineering: 2005 - Present
  
  
• TAing in College, including being Head TA
• Webdesign / webprogramming for a small company in Philadelphia before going to Google
  
  
• Creating a course in college and teaching it
• Teaching at University of Washington while working at Google
• Planning a lot of large social events with 200+ people (see http://www.theseattleantifreeze.com)
  
  
• 3 or 4 "meaty" projects in college
• CareerCup (a website for technical job applications)

Software Engineer (anywhere): I'd want to show off the technical problems I've done, as well as show myself to have good initiative. So, I would emphasize the technical work I've done at Google, Microsoft and Apple (big names = prestige). I'd drop the webdesign work - doesn't add much given the other jobs. I'd talk a bit about CareerCup, since that shows independent work. I wouldn't talk much about teaching or event planning, but I'd given them a brief mention.

Program Manager: I'd want to show off some technical stuff, but I also need to show good planning skills, design work, initiative. Google/Microsoft/Apple would have some stuff, but I wouldn't go into as much technical detail. I'd talk more about CareerCup (initiative, ability to drive a project). Planning large social events would be somewhat important too (shows leadership). Teaching at UW and Penn would be good to talk about as well because it shows communication skills and leadership.



Board Position for Theater: I recently applied for a board position for the young professionals group of a Seattle theater. I talked a bit about Google, Microsoft and Apple, but dropped a lot of the technical details. I talked a bunch about event planning, because they would want me to help plan events. I talked more about the various websites I maintain, because, who knows, maybe they would want me to help out with their website. I talked about creating a course at Penn and UW (initiative, communication skills, etc).



I never once exaggerated what I did - I simply cut details or elaborate depending on how important something is.



Resumes for Software Engineers:

I'll talk specifically about this since I see tons of Software Engineering resumes.

• A company like Google or Amazon, which does a lot of server / web work, will be most interested in projects you've done relating to the web or to scalable systems. Microsoft, however, might be more interested in client-side work. Again - customize!
• Languages (Foreign & Programming): Many employers will expect you to actually be able to *use* the languages you list on your resume - that means if you list French, you should be able to speak french. If you list C++, you should be able to write in C++ - and they might just test you on it. A good thing to do is to list your languages like this:

  
       Proficient with: Java, C++
  
       Previously worked with: C, C#, Javascript, HTML
  
  Oh, and this is just a pet peeve of mine that has to be said: if you've worked with C++ and C#, don't list them as "C++/C#". Yes, their names sound similar but the languages aren't. The same goes for Java/JavaScript

• GPA: If your GPA isn't on your resume, the assumption is that it's below a 3.0. So, if you have a 3.2, list it! You can list either your in-major GPA or your total GPA, or both. Feel free to list which ever one's higher. Also, many universities have a policy that you can round your GPA to the nearest tenth. Check with your school, but if so, you should round that 3.67 to a 3.7. Every little bit helps, right?
  
  

------------------

As a point of reference, here's my resume: Gayle Laakmann - Resume 2004. Give yourself 15 seconds to look and the resume and then put it away. What was your impression of it? Did you get a good feel for my past experience? My resume is certainly not perfect (for one, it's too crowded, and quite out of date). I could probably trim it down a bit. That should give you a good start though.



The most important thing to remember is that all you get to show off your years and years of experience is about 15 seconds. Can you tell the employer enough in 15 seconds to make them pick up the phone and call?

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Posted by None on June 19, 2008

Building Up Your Raw Skills

Technology is a somewhat unique field - in my completely biased opinion - in that your raw skills are tangible and testable. That is to say, in an interview, there's typically less emphasis on "fluff" and more emphasis on what you can actually do.

So, how do you build these raw skills?



Regardless of what position you're looking for, if you want to know how to get there, you should ask someone in the field. Think about where you want to be in the next few years. Find a person who is right now where you want to be and ask them (ask them what?) If you don't know anyone offhand, well, that's what Google is for. Find someone and email them. People are pretty willing to help - if you only ask!



That brings me to the specifics. I've been a software engineer at Google for the last two years, so people ask me pretty frequently how they can get a job at Google. The number one thing that I think is missing from applicants is real project experience.



If you're in school, you should study hard and all that good stuff. But, that's not enough. You need project experience - companies want to see what you can actually code. By the time you've graduated, aim to get at least three major software development projects under your belt. Here are a few ideas as to how to get those projects:

• Many schools offer the ability to do an independent study. Think of an application that you want to build, pitch it to a professor, and maybe you can get credit for it by doing as an independent study.



• Talk to professors that you know - or even ones that you don't - and ask them if you can help them out with research. If you want to be a software engineer, focus specifically on the projects where you'll be writing code in a language like C++ or Java (as opposed to, say, MatLab).



• Check out the code to an open source project and build it. Take some time to learn the project architecture, then start coding. Start with fixing a few bugs, and then move into real feature work.



• Enroll in courses which have large projects. Yeah, they're hard, but no pain no gain, right?





If you're not in school right now, you might be able to enroll in courses at a local university. But if not, you can still do projects on your own. Start with something small - like a Google Maps mashup listing your favorite restaurants - and go from there.



You'll learn a lot from coding on your own, but the benefits go beyond that - simply the fact that you did coding on your own rather than for work / school shows the passion and dedication that every company wants to see.

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Posted by None on June 19, 2008

How to Get Your Dream Job

Every few weeks, I get an email from someone asking if I can get them a job at their favorite tech company. Sometimes I can get this process started for them, sometimes I can’t, but either way, the process of getting a job is about far more than just submitting your resume.

So, here it is: getting a job in ten not-always-easy steps. Over the next few weeks or so, I’m going to write about each one of these in more detail.



(1) Build Raw Skills



Think a few years out about what position you’d like. What do you need to do to get there?



(2) Prepare a *good* resume



Great experience isn’t enough. You need to show this in your resume. Remember – a resume is not a timeline of everything you’ve done; it’s a proof of your skills.



(3) Picking the right companies

To list just a few things to think about: company size, company culture, the role of someone in your position, how long the company has been around, what the company actually does, growth of the company, location, etc.



(4) Prepare a cover letter



This is a company’s first introduction to you, so make it perfect.



(5) Apply!



Getting your foot in the door at a company isn’t always easy, but there are a few tricks I’ve learned...



(6) Preparing for the interview

Know what to expect and prepare accordingly. If you’re reading CareerCup, you’re probably off to a great start.



(7) Interview



This is what it all comes down, and there’s a lot you can do to shape the outcome.



(8) Negotiate



You can negotiate (almost) any offer – even if they say it’s "non-negotiable"



(9) Make a decision

If you have several offers, you’re in a great spot. How do you pick the one that’s right for you?



(10) Accepting & Denying



Accepting an offer is easy, but don’t forget – it’s important that you decline the offer the right way too.





Stay tuned – I’ll elaborate on each one of these in the upcoming weeks.

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Posted by None on June 19, 2008