Mastercard Interview Experience for SDE Intern (On-Campus)

Mastercard conducted an on-campus recruitment drive that specifically focused at hiring talented Software Development Engineer (SDE) Interns. This drive was specially focused for students who are in their pre-final year of their college, offering them an opportunity to secure Internship in their organization and gain valuable industry experience before their graduation.

Their recruitment process generally involve 3-4 rounds:

1. Coding Round: This round mainly tested the candidate’s problem solving and programming skills through a number of coding questions.
2. Technical Interview 1: In this round candidates were assessed based on their technical knowledge and core fundamentals.
3. Technical Interview 2: This round focused on testing candidates technical as well practical knowledge.
4. HR Round: This final round evaluated candidate’s intrapersonal skills, cultural fit for the organization and overall suitability for the internship position.

The detailing of each round would be discussed further in the following sections.

Round-1 was an online assessment round, primarily consisting of two coding questions of easy to medium level difficulty. Both the questions were based on fundamental Data Structures and Algorithms (DSA) problems. The very first question involved array operations that focused on testing candidate’s understanding in array manipulation techniques. The second question focused on string manipulation, this question had a quite challenging logic to arrive onto the correct solution.

I managed to pass all the test cases of both the questions. As a result, I was shortlisted for the subsequent Interview rounds. Out of all the participants, only 24 students in total were selected for the further interview rounds and I was one of them.

Sample Practice Problems:

1. Top 50 Array Coding Problems
2. Top 50 String Coding Problems
3. Practice Problems for Product based Companies

Round 2 was a Technical Interview that primarily focused on my resume. The interviewers asked about the technical implementations of my projects, the tech stacks that I used and the reason behind using the particular technologies.

At the beginning of the interview, I was very nervous, but the interviewer was quite friendly and helped me relax by asking the general questions. Once they made me comfortable, then the interview started. There were 2 interviewers and they started the interview with a request for my introduction. As I was introducing myself, by the time they were reviewing my resume. I had 3 projects on my resume, they asked me to explain each one in detail. I described the ideas, motive and the tech stacks used in the projects. As React.js was commonly used tech stacks in majority of my projects, so they asked me several questions related to that such as:

• Questions based on states and props.
• Question based on virtual and real-DOM.
• Questions based on React hooks and React-Router.
• Questions based on class and functional based components.

Then they asked me about ER diagram and asked me to draw an ER diagram for the sample case they provided. Then they asked some fundamental questions on HTML, CSS and database management as well.

The interviewers then proceeded with the DSA questions. They asked me to explain my approach in solving the problems they gave that included basic array and string manipulation questions. They also asked me to explain memory allocation in the context of stacks and heaps.

As the interview concluded, they asked me if I had any questions for them. I asked them about their team and the potential opportunities to explore other teams. They gave me an insights of their work, the company work culture, potential growth and possible career advancements.

After the interview, I received a message confirming that I had been shortlisted for the next round.

References for preparation:

1. React.js Interview Questions
2. ER Diagram
3. HTML Interview Questions
4. CSS Interview Questions
5. Database management
6. Memory allocation in Stack and Heap
7. Node.js Interview Questions

During my time, the last round was a combination of Technical and HR round. As the interview began, I felt a mix of nervousness and happiness. The panel consisted of 2 interviewers, one among them was a technical person and the other one was a HR representative. They helped me to calm down and ease my excitement and started the interview with a request for my introduction.

Once I introduced myself, the interviewer began with the questions about REST APIs and ways to integrate them. Although the company primarily uses Java tech stack, which I was not much familiar with that at the time of interview, I managed to discuss the topics as best as I could. The interviewer then focused on Object-Oriented Programming (OOP) concepts. I was asked to explain each an every oops concept with a practical example. Then they asked basic questions on Database Management Systems (DBMS), such as normalization and other fundamental concepts.

Further they asked about the challenges faced while developing projects and how I overcome them. Then the HR portion of the Interview started, where I was asked a series of questions like why I wanted to join Mastercard, what attracted me to the company, and why they should hire me. They also asked some behavioral questions. This was majorly to assess my soft skills and the adaptability from the college environment to the corporate one.

They then discussed about the different departments of the company, the major work that Mastercard does and the company’s work culture. They also asked about my extracurricular activities, specifically about a student chapter about which I mentioned on my resume that focuses on the career upliftment of the underprivileged children by providing them the basic education and fulfilling their basic needs.

The interview then concluded on a positive note, with a good and encouraging feedback from the interviewers. Later that evening, around 9:00 PM, I received a message informing me that I had been selected for an internship opportunity with Mastercard. They selected a total of 7 students for Internship and I was one of them. I was thrilled to have the chance to work as a Software Developer Intern at such a prestigious organization.

References for preparation:

1. REST APIs Interview Questions
2. OOPs Interview Questions
3. HR Interview Questions

1. Study Database Management Systems (DBMS) thoroughly, including SQL queries, normalization, as Mastercard focuses a lot on it.
2. Master core Java concepts such as OOPs, exception handling, and other basic concepts. Java is the majorly used language in Mastercard.
3. Practice for clear and concise communication. Be honest if you don’t know an answer, then convey it to the interviewer politely.
4. Research about Mastercard’s products, services, and recent updates. This shows that you have a genuine interest and curiosity about how the company operates and its role in the industry.
5. Demonstrate your problem solving skills through structured thinking. Explain your approach or thought process clearly while solving technical problems.
6. Highlight your teamwork, leadership and adaptability skills. Share some examples from your past experiences where you demonstrated these skills.
7. Prepare for puzzle-related questions (asked to some candidates) in the second technical round. Practice solving various types of puzzles and explaining your thought process.
8. Most importantly, tailor your resume to highlight experiences and projects relevant to the job description and be clear with each and every technologies used. Be ready to discuss these in detail during the interview if asked by the interviewer.
9. Most importantly, dress in a professional attire and arrive on time or few minutes earlier to show punctuality and seriousness.