First call from HR asking only background questions.

Second call: Hiring Manager

1. Puzzles:
   • A square cake has to be sliced into 8 equal pieces with only 3 cuts.
   • What is the smallest integer number?
   • With three 9s, what is the biggest number you can form?

Matlab:

• What are MEX files?
• What is the difference between functions and scripts?
• How do you multiply individual elements of a matrix?
• Cross product, dot product.
• Difference between function workspace and base workspace.
• Cell arrays.

C question:

• What is static?
• Give pseudocode for checking if a string is a palindrome.

I got a call the next day informing I had to come to the office for a face-to-face interview.

1st round:

• Two programs: Matlab and C.
  • Matlab:
    • Factorial
    • Palindrome
  • C:
    • Factorial palindrome
  • Some debugging questions, like what is the error in the code which was actually returning the address of a local variable.
  • Puzzles:
    • One inverted triangle was made using coins, and it had to be inverted using only 3 moves.
    • One more puzzle involving an escape route of a prisoner through 16 squares.

2nd round:

• Comparison between an unsigned int and a signed int variable. How C computes this, and how can we change this notation?
• Puzzle involving 2 cubes. Both cubes can be rearranged, but using both, you have to display 30 days of a month.
• Another puzzle involving kinetic and potential energy.

I got a plain stating I cleared the rounds and my next round will be a presentation and videoconferencing with US people, and an HR round after 10 days.

Be confident, guys. What they see is your approach rather than the actual answer.

The second round was pretty difficult and was taken by an American guy. He tests your approach a lot rather than your actual answer. Whatever you think, think it aloud.