Qualcomm visited our campus on August 28, 2020. It was the first company of the placement season 20-21. They hired for both hardware and software profiles and were open to both B.Tech and M.Tech candidates (FTE and Internship). All rounds were conducted online due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Round 1 (Written Test):

There were three sections in the written test, consisting of a total of 60 questions to be solved in 90 minutes. Please check all instructions before attempting the exam. Some of us were expecting only 40 questions (based on friends' interview experiences) and were surprised to see 20 extra questions at the end. The test was conducted on the HirePro platform, with video proctoring. Each section had 20 questions and 30 minutes.

• Section 1 (Aptitude Questions): Topics included Ages, Time and Work, Number Series, Data Interpretation (6-7 questions), Percentages, Mixtures, and so on. Practice aptitude regularly, as the questions were not easy. Solving questions from RS Agarwal and Indiabix is more than enough to clear this section.
• Section 2 (C/C++ Questions): This section covered C/C++ topics. Some questions were lengthy, especially those involving pointers and function pointers. Try to review all questions before spending time on a particular one. Do the easy questions first and save the difficult ones for the end. You can expect some difficult questions. Prepare all topics, including Structures, Unions, Enums, Pointers, References, OOPS, and so on.
• Section 3 (Technical Questions): Questions from OS, Algorithms, and Data Structures were asked. Revise your GATE notes and GATE MCQs, as you may encounter numerical questions on topics like Job Scheduling.

Overall, this test was not easy; I would say it was a medium-level round. So, be prepared.

Round 2 (Technical Interview 1 - Approx. 1 hr 20 min):

Out of over 200 students, 58 were shortlisted for technical interviews. The first group of 23 students was shortlisted 4-5 days before the interviews. Later, they selected 35 more students just a day before the actual interviews. I received my call one day before the interview.

I had very little time to prepare for the PI. In such cases, stay calm and try to revise from previous interview experiences. The interview was scheduled for 8:30 AM with two panel members (though for most candidates, it was only one).

Returning a ref to a local variable from a function.