BlackRock Interview Experience for Software (On-Campus) 2023

BlackRock came to our campus VIT Vellore, in August 2023 and the recruitment process started in the 1st week of September.

Shortlisted criteria:
CGPA 8 and above, CS, IT, Electrical branches.

Applied students were almost 4000+, but for the exam(Round 1) they boiled it down to 1000 students. So your CGPA does matter, in these situations.

Timed sections on various topics like:

• Aptitude
• Reasoning
• Verbal
• Flowcharts
• SQL

Every section is timed, and you cannot go back to the previous question. So think wisely as you have fewer questions and questions are easy-medium.

Flowchart questions were a bit tough, as we had to select the option that a box/step should have for its correct execution.

Around 250 students were shortlisted and 50+ students were waitlisted. There were 3 different roles in which we were divided. As I have opted for the Software role, during Application, I have been shortlisted for the software role. The other 2 roles were PMG and RQA.

Interviews were scheduled for 30 mins. As I was the last person on my panel to give an interview, it went on for almost an hour. There were 2 interviewers.

1st Interviewer:

• Tell me about yourself
• Projects I have done(Tip: Make a ppt with each project explained in 1 slide).
• Was asked questions on Python basics(slicing, and other topics), and I answered some but I was more proficient in Java. I mentioned the same.
• He then shifted to 2 DSA questions (Find Median from 2 sorted arrays, Find cycle in LinkedList), both Live coding. You can practise those questions from Leetcode/GFG.
• Then, I was given an SQL question, and 3 tables were given. I had to use the joins concept and subqueries to retrieve the answer. (Practise SQL50 from Leetcode).

2nd Interviewer:

• Later, 2nd Interviewer took over and started asking questions on Java.
• So, whatever the language you say you are proficient in, make sure that you are good at it.
• Asked me about the Volatile keyword.
• Different types of Sets(HashSet, TreeSet, LinkedHashSet) and their differences.
• Time and space complexities concerning DFS and BFS.
• Time complexities, concerning retrieving elements based on list, array and LinkedList.
• He then shifted to the synchronization concept and how we achieve it and asked me about threads.
• String pool concept (ps: I was not aware of it, I told the same and he was fine with it as I have answered the rest of the questions well).

At the end, I was asked If I had any questions for them, Do ask questions in such times.

Within 10 minutes, I got the mail and call for the HR round.

Tip: In the HR round, never panic answer what you feel is right and be honest.
This round went on very quickly for me, it ended in 10-15 mins.

• Tell me about yourself.
• Asked me about my family.
• Why do I want to join Blackrock
• Where do I see myself in the next 5 years?
• What do I do in my free time, apart from technical learning?
• why software engineering role?
• Planning for higher studies(This was asked when I mentioned my brother doing his masters).
• Willing to relocate
• Which location I would prefer?
• Extracurricular activities I did in my college. I told about being a Student coordinator for 2 of the biggest events that happen in VIT(Gravitas and Riviera).
• Asked if I had any questions for her and mentioned results would be announced by the end of the day.

Overall, It was a nice Interview and Around 9:30 PM, the results were announced. Around 40 students were selected for the software profile and 6 students in each of the other profiles(PMG and RQA). Glad that, I was one of those 40 Students.

Tips:

• Start practising DSA, as soon as possible. You can make use of any platform, whether it, is Leetcode, or GFG.
• If you haven’t started practising, You can start with the STRIVER SDE sheet which covers almost all the concepts and their intuitions.
• Make sure that you are aware of basic concepts in your proficient language, and cs core subjects.
• There will be a lot of students, competing alongside, So you gotta make sure that you STANDOUT.
• For SQL, practise… You can solve sql50 in leetcode. That is enough to make you proficient in SQL queries.
• Last but quite least, we often tend to leave Aptitude practice. Don’t take Aptitude for granted. I have missed many chances, as I was able to solve coding questions but not aptitude. So Aptitude does matter a lot while getting shortlisted.

  All the best for Your Interview, Just remember “You will have your day!!!!”, Just don’t lose hope thinking others got into that company, and I was better than them… All these things will only make you panic and give you a good trauma. Set your goals straight, work on them, and you definitely will be having your day! Good luck.