The company was building a B2B SaaS platform and was looking for a passionate fresher who could contribute from day one. The entire prI recently interviewed for an SDE Intern position atocess was conducted online and consisted of three rounds. Here is a detailed account of my experience to help fellow students prepare.
Role: Software Development Engineer Intern | Company: Early-Stage Startup | Result: Selected
How I Applied
I applied through LinkedIn and received a response within 3 days. The HR shared a short form asking about my projects, preferred tech stack, and availability. Within a week, the first round was scheduled.
Total rounds: 3 | Mode: Online (Google Meet + Shared Editor)
Round 1: Online Coding Test (60 minutes)
The first round was a self-timed coding test conducted on a shared Google Doc (no dedicated platform). I was given 3 problems:
Problem 1 — Reverse a Linked List (Easy)
A classic reversal problem. I implemented both iterative and recursive solutions. The interviewer later asked me about the space complexity difference between the two approaches.
Problem 2 — Maximum Subarray Sum (Medium)
This was Kadane's Algorithm. I identified the pattern quickly since I had practiced it recently. My approach: maintain a currentSum and globalMax, reset currentSum to 0 whenever it goes negative.
Problem 3 — Check if Two Strings are Anagrams (Easy-Medium)
Used a frequency HashMap. The follow-up asked me to handle Unicode characters — I explained that the approach still works since we are just counting character frequencies regardless of encoding.
Round 2: Technical Interview — DSA + CS Fundamentals (45 minutes)
This round was a live discussion on Google Meet with a senior engineer. It covered both DSA and core CS concepts.
DSA Questions Asked
Given a binary array, flip at most one subarray to maximize the number of 1s. (Transform to max subarray sum using 0 → +1, 1 → -1 and apply Kadane's)
Find the height of a Binary Tree (recursive DFS approach)
Two Sum — I explained both brute O(n²) and HashMap O(n) approaches
CS Fundamentals Questions
OOPs: Explain polymorphism with a real-world example. (I used the example of a Shape class with overridden area() methods for Circle and Rectangle)
OS: What is a deadlock? What are the four necessary conditions? (Mutual exclusion, Hold & wait, No preemption, Circular wait)
DBMS: Difference between DELETE, TRUNCATE, and DROP
CN: What happens when you type a URL in a browser? (DNS resolution, TCP handshake, HTTP request, rendering)
Round 3: HR + Project Discussion (30 minutes)
The final round was with the CTO and focused on my projects and cultural fit. Since I had no internship experience, my personal projects carried all the weight here.
Walk me through your best project. What problem does it solve?
What would you improve in your project if you had 2 more weeks?
Why do you want to join a startup over a service-based company?
Where do you see yourself in 2 years?
My Preparation Strategy
Solved 200+ problems on GFG (60)and LeetCode (140)— focused on Arrays, Strings, Trees, and DP
Revised core CS subjects: OOPs, DBMS, OS, CN from GeeksforGeeks notes
Built 2 personal projects and could explain every design decision clearly
Practiced thinking out loud while solving problems (crucial for live technical rounds)
Result
I was selected for the SDE Intern role! The offer came 4 days after the final round. The internship is for 3 months with a PPO opportunity based on performance.
Key Takeaways for Fellow Students
Startups value problem-solving approach over perfect syntax. Communicate your thought process.
Your projects are your experience — build something meaningful and know it inside out.
Do not skip CS fundamentals. OOPs and DBMS are asked almost everywhere.
Consistency beats cramming — 1 problem per day for 60 days beats 60 problems in 1 day.
Believe in your preparation. Even as a fresher with zero experience, you can crack it.
