We had an online exam which had 3 sections: Quant, C Skills, and Technical.

Quant consisted of 20 questions to be solved in 20 minutes.

In the C Skills section, you had 15 questions to be solved in 30 minutes. These questions were quite time-consuming. Every question had at least 3 FOR loops and at least 3 variables that were updated in each loop. The task was to find the value of one of the variables after the execution of all loops. Upon seeing these questions, one might wonder why they are here, but we have to crack them to get into Qualcomm :).

Coming to the technical section, you were given 15 questions to be answered in 20 minutes. These questions mainly tested your theoretical knowledge. Qualcomm has 3 profiles: Software, Communications, and Design. As I applied for the Software profile, I received questions mainly on Operating Systems. For ECE students, it is better to learn some more concepts rather than sticking only to what is taught in your syllabus.

PERSONAL INTERVIEW (TECHNICAL)

As with all interviewers, the one who interviewed me was also very cool and friendly. He checked my resume from top to bottom and then said that I had a good track record. I had included all my projects, internships, and workshops attended, as well as the details of the 2 IEEE papers I had published. So, people who have published papers can confidently include them on their resume for Qualcomm. I think the interviewer was very impressed with my resume itself. He asked about my favorite subject, and I said Data Structures.

1. He then asked me to explain the algorithm for finding the kth largest number from an array of N numbers. I suggested using a max heap, and he asked why only a max heap and not others. I explained its advantages, and he accepted my answer.
2. He then asked me how to find the missing number in an array having N numbers. I provided the obvious answer with N time complexity and received an "ok."
3. Then he asked about my papers, and I explained them.

After this, I was passed to the next round, which was also not too tough. This interviewer also reviewed my resume thoroughly and then asked me to introduce myself. He then asked me to:

1. Write the code for string reversal.
2. Code for reversing 2 nodes in a Linked List if a pointer to only the first node among them was given. It seemed simple, but there was a problem: you didn't have the pointer to the node preceding the first node, which is required. So, I asked whether that pointer was provided or not. As his intention was not to overlook that point, he thought for some time and said, "Good question." He confirmed that I knew about that pointer, and I wrote the simple code for reversal, also explaining the algorithm to reverse them even if the previous node pointer was not given.

After this, he asked me about my internship and papers and requested a more detailed explanation, which I provided. That was all for the second round.

PERSONAL INTERVIEW (HR)

The interviewer for this round was female. She greeted me as I entered the room and introduced herself. The first question was whether I had done any internships. I said yes, and she asked me to tell her about myself, my papers, and my projects. She also inquired about the extracurricular activities I had mentioned on my resume, like my blog, short films, etc. Then she asked if I wanted to know anything about Qualcomm, which I was waiting for. I asked a few questions. It was 1 AM when my interviews were over, and I was confident enough that I would be selected. I waited for the results until 1:30 AM, and yes, I was selected.

Describe Einstein's Theory of Relativity.

Did his famous E=mc² win him the Nobel Prize?