I completed the phone screen. The interviewer appeared to be recently out of school. As requested, I began by describing my experience.

I was given a coding problem, as consistent "code monkey" skills are evidently the top requirement. I solved the problem with the best possible space and time complexity, addressed edge cases, and thoroughly tested my solution. I also answered follow-up questions in detail (refer to the "Interview Question" section for specifics).

Furthermore, I actively engaged the interviewer by explaining my thought process and seeking his agreement on my approach before proceeding. After the interview, I confirmed the accuracy of my solution, including for the follow-up questions. The interviewer seemed pleased with my work and, in a way that was almost convincing, suggested I should seriously consider the company. Despite this, I subsequently received a rejection.

I was perplexed and couldn't understand what else I could have done differently. Throughout my career, I've interviewed candidates and undergone numerous interviews with major companies, excelling in them. The primary metrics I perceive are:

• Experience
• Code quality (clarity, documentation, syntax)
• Problem-solving skills
• Proper implementation with best space/time complexity analysis
• Thorough testing approach
• Knowledge of follow-up/additional questions
• Interest in the position/company
• General communication skills

Assessing all these accurately within a 45-60 minute timeframe is practically impossible, yet this is what these companies offer. However, I know I left little to no room for error on my part. Therefore, my assessment is that this company is not genuinely hiring, or is hiring very little. They appear to be going through the motions, which is not uncommon.

Do not waste your time with this company. Like many others in its league, it's a waste of time. They create the impression they are hiring. Simply review the feedback from numerous other candidates here. Many performed well or adequately and still received a surprising rejection.

The job application process is arduous. It involves searching for the right company, the right position, navigating recruiter processes, and preparing extensively for phone interviews on all the metrics I mentioned. It requires taking time away from work or studies to prepare and interview, and then performing exceptionally well, as if wearing a Superman cape, to advance to the in-person stage. This entire cycle then repeats multiple times for the in-person interviews.

Now, imagine if all this effort was merely for show and the company wasn't truly hiring. Hence, I consider it a waste of my time and effort and stand by my statement.

Given a string value for the top-level directory as input to your function and helper functions to get files/directories in a given directory (that you need to define, not code), write a function to return a list of all duplicate files in the file system. For example:

// Helper functions (need to be defined by you) public List getFiles(String directoryPath); // Returns all files directly under this directory public List getDirectories(String directoryPath); // Returns all directories directly under this directory public String getFileContent(String filePath); // Returns the content of a file

// Write this function (Interviewer just cared about this) public List findDuplicates(String rootDirectory) { ... ... }