Interviewed for a Backend Intern role at ByteDance (Singapore) from September to October 2022. The entire process took approximately one month.

First and foremost, I would like to commend the HR department for their helpfulness, responsiveness, and efficiency in moving me through the interview stages. They provided feedback on average within three days after each interview.

The interview process for the Backend Engineer Intern role was as follows:

1. Online Assessment (OA)

• Held on HackerRank with a two-hour time limit.
• Included two multiple-choice questions and three Data Structures and Algorithms (DSA) style questions.
• The multiple-choice questions assessed fundamentals in programming methodology and language knowledge (Java, in my case) and were relatively straightforward.
• The DSA questions ranged in difficulty from easier medium to harder medium, comparable to LeetCode difficulty.

1. Technical Interview with a Senior Software Engineer (SWE)

• Delved deeply into my resume, asking questions about almost every section to verify my understanding. This likely served to identify candidates who overstated their experience.
• A medium-difficulty (on the harder side) DSA coding question was presented. I identified the optimal solution within five minutes but encountered some implementation challenges. Fortunately, the interviewer was patient and provided hints.
• I believe I passed this interview despite the hiccups due to my solid performance on the resume-based technical questions and quick identification of the optimal solution.

1. Interview with the Hiring Manager (Technical Lead)

• Introduced the team's responsibilities.
• Asked technical questions related to Linux and bash, computer networks, Spring Boot (as it was on my resume), and Java.
• A medium-level DSA question was posed. I arrived at the optimal time complexity solution within five minutes. Implementation this time was smooth, though the initial version of my code could have been further refactored and optimized, a point the manager hinted at.

1. Interview with HR

• Asked general questions such as "Why do you want to work at ByteDance?" and "Introduce yourself."
• Inquired if I had any questions.

Advice (Bonus):

• Thoroughly master your computer science fundamentals, particularly covering core modules from your first and second years. Avoid merely memorizing potential questions, as you may encounter diverse topics. Ensure you understand the technologies listed on your resume to a reasonable degree, including the rationale for their use and their underlying mechanisms.

Already mentioned above in the interview process portion.