Recently, I had the opportunity to interview with BlackRock for a technical role. The process consisted of two rounds – one technical and one managerial. Here’s a quick summary of my experience:

Round 1: Technical Interview

This round was focused on data structures, algorithms, and problem-solving. Some of the key questions I faced included:

• Linked List: I was asked to implement and explain core operations and edge cases.
• Spiral Matrix: A coding problem where I had to print a matrix in spiral order.
• Binary Tree: Questions on traversal techniques and problem-solving using recursion and iteration.
• SQL: Queries involving JOIN, GROUP BY, and handling real-time database scenarios.
• Puzzles (from GeeksforGeeks): A couple of logic-based puzzles to test problem-solving skills and clarity of thought.

Overall, the interviewer was friendly and encouraged me to explain my thought process clearly.

Round 2: Managerial Interview

This was more of a techno-managerial discussion. The interviewer asked about:

• My approach to solving problems when stuck.
• How I would prioritize tasks in a high-pressure environment.
• Some scenario-based problem-solving involving teamwork and deadlines.
• A few follow-up questions on the coding round (like edge cases in linked list operations).

The focus was on communication, clarity, and decision-making rather than just coding.

Takeaways

• Be thorough with data structures (Linked List, Trees, Matrices) and SQL basics.
• Practice coding on platforms like LeetCode and GFG for puzzles and common problems.
• Managerial rounds test your soft skills, ownership, and mindset just as much as your technical knowledge.

Overall, it was a great learning experience, and I found the interviewers very approachable and insightful.

How to join two tables without using the JOIN keyword?