What are Big4 Tech Companies looking for in the technical interviews (Phone Screening)?

Big4 refers to Google, Amazon, Facebook and Microsoft. They are the top internet/software companies that most Software Engineers dream for.

The technical interviews consist of Big4 are quite similar: mostly a phone screening and if successful followed by onsite interview which consists of 4 to 5 rounds.

For phone interviews: the Big4 is looking to evaluate your skills on: Coding (Bug free), Communication (e.g. clarifying the question), Verification/Validation (how do you unit/test and validate your solution) and problem-solving (how you tackle the problem and come up with optimial algorithms)

For Google: you will be called by a Software Engineer on the phone, and you will be asked to code in Google Doc for one to two questions such as this one. You are not expected to compile your code and there are no test cases except that you are require to feed test cases into your solution and explain to the interview how it works.

For Microsoft: online coding collaborating tool from Skype – one to two coding questions. Your code needs to be compiled in the editor and passing all the test cases. You are expected to give some presentation e.g. talk about recent projects or outline a topic that you will present in a conference.

For Facebook: coderpad – similar to Microsoft, two coding questions. First one is usually easy and second one is medium. You will write code in Coderpad, however, you are not expected to compile and run your solution.

For Amazon: I interviewed with Amazon twice. Amazon will send you a link which you will need to open in 7 days. Once open, you cannot stop the timer, and you are required to complete two coding questions within 90 minutes. For Each question, your submission needs to be bug-free and pass all the test cases. Also, you will need to write down your answers to some questions in text next (such as algorithm complexity, and how you approach the solution).

–EOF (The Ultimate Computing & Technology Blog) —