Process
First, I had a phone call where the interviewer asked basic Java questions and why I was looking for a switch.
The next phase was the in-person coding challenge. The interview process in this case was a mess. The interviewers told me they didn't even know they were interviewing five minutes earlier. Then they came in without the sheet which I needed to do the coding challenge. They just gave me a basic idea and asked me to solve the problem. I started coding, and when I was almost done, they brought in the requirement sheet. I noticed that they actually had a couple more methods to implement, which they hadn't told me about, and I would have never known. Then I actually ran my code and showed them that my methods actually worked according to their specifications. After that, they asked me a few questions, which I got most of, but may have missed a few. But the feedback I received was that I couldn't even get my code to compile, which is absurd!
Overall, my experience is negative, and if anyone is approached by this company, don't even bother. They give wrong feedback to recruiters, which could negatively impact your career. At least be truthful about the feedback, for God's sake.
Questions
What are optionals, streams, hash maps, etc.?
Was this helpful?
Interview Statistics
The following metrics were computed from 1 interview experience for the HSBC Java Developer role in Toronto, Ontario.
Success Rate
HSBC's interview process for their Java Developer roles in Toronto, Ontario is extremely selective, failing the vast majority of engineers.
Experience Rating
Candidates reported having very negative feelings for HSBC's Java Developer interview process in Toronto, Ontario.
HSBC Work Experiences
- 4.0Great employerJava Developer • Former EmployeeDüsseldorf, GermanyNovember 2, 2025Pros: Great atmosphere, canteen, and helpful colleagues.Cons: I had the feeling there was too much bureaucracy.
- 1.0Legacy Tech, Parking NightmareJava Developer • Current EmployeePune, Maharashtra, IndiaApril 23, 2019Pros: Work from home. No micromanagement. Good for politicians, smart, talkative sales people. Good for people who know politics and have some domain or functional knowledge of banking and financial systems.Cons: Worst environment out here. No respect for employees' skillsets; they just need their work to be done. Don't go by their marketing terms on new technologies. Ultimately, you have to work on 10-year-old legacy technology. Over here, only functional and domain knowledge matters. If you are equipped with cutting-edge tech like microservices, .NET Core, Cloud, DevOps, data science, or machine learning, then go home. There will be no respect for you. But you will be a superstar if you are equipped with domain or functional skillsets. No career growth. Seriously, who will ask for these old technologies and skillsets in the current job market? They provide the worst facilities. No parking for cars after 9:30 AM; no parking for bikes after 10 AM. Every morning, you will end up with anxiety over parking. The cafeteria looks like a fish market in Pune Business Bay, and the food is super costly. They have over-hiring and over-firing based upon the project budget every year, for which they have minimum desk allocation to associates. You will end up sharing your desk or sitting in a populated area. You can't leave your personal belongings on your desk, mistakenly or otherwise, because they will be stolen, and the admin desk doesn't have any answers to it. Lifts are overcrowded; sometimes, you have to wait for 15 minutes. And on top of that, your managers want you to come to the office on time. Trust me, you will end up with an exhausted day with all these scenarios, which will impact your family life.
- 4.0Great work-life balanceFull Stack Developer • Current EmployeeToronto, Ontario, CanadaMay 8, 2025Pros: Great work-life balance. Mostly remote, with once a week in the office if you want.Cons: Difficult to get a promotion and raise. Try to negotiate for as high as you can because raises are around 2% a year.
HSBC Interview Questions
