Akamai Technologies Sdet Automation Test Engineer Interview Questions and Answers

Interview preparation tips for other job seekers - prepare well

Round: Test
Experience: SIMPLE CODING QUESTIONS SPEED MATTERS.
Duration: 60 minutes
Total Questions: 3

Skills: Analytics And Coding
College Name: IIT Guwahati

Round: Test
Experience: Aptitude test was taken on aspiring minds and name of the test series was AMCAT.600 students gave the exam and 90 were selected for the GD.
There were four sections and each section had a minimum number of questions to be attempted and there was no negative marking.Navigation among questions and sections were not allowed so use you time and mind carefully.
Section 1 - Quants
Section 2 - Verbal Ability and Critical Reasoning
Section 3 - Logical Reasoning
Section 4 - Programming and Computer Science
Tips: Speed is the key.key. Quants are easier they test only the speed of the candidate.I think the programming section has the max weight age so try to focus on that section and try to score maximum marks in that section. Programming questions were tough and there were questions from a wide range of subjects Networking , Algorithms ,Data Structures , Java, C/C++, Operating Systems,Advanced Databases etc.


Round: Group Discussion
Experience: Group discussion was very ordinary and easy to crack if you have the right content and suitable examples and clear and crisp communication skills.I took the against side of the issue which only 2 out of 10 members did and I was very bold and effective with my statements and defended my stance effectively.
Tips: Give examples,Be bold and clear and crisp .
Duration: 25 minutes

Round: HR Interview
Experience: My HR interview started at around 11pm in the night so it was very chilled out.He asked me about what excites me , why verizon , what projects I have done and what role I've played it them.He asked about my college life ? What do we study ? Why do you want to work for a MNC rather then a startup? and many more general questions which I don't remember because my interview was very chilled out. I was having fun.I asked him a lot of questions about job profile and company and many of their products so he was impressed with me.
Tips: Please do a detailed survey of the work that the company does and have knowledge about the sector and SDLC.

Round: Puzzle Interview
Experience: I was given a 3*3 and 5*5 magic cube to solve.I tried a lot of times and it took nearly 15-20 minutes to solve both the questions correctly.He asked my approach I said politely Hit and Trial and then he said to me there's a shortcut and he told me a very nice and quick trick to solve the magic cube.

Round: Technical Interview
Experience: Basic programming questions were asked about patterns, strings and some algorithms like quick sort and merge sort.
Major tough and difficult questions were asked on databases and advanced databases in oracle.He asked many questions about the projects that I've done.In depth questions regarding projects were asked.He asked questions about various things used in web application and may question regarding MySql and Tables and JOINS.
Tips: Keep your calm even if you don't know any answer. I couldn't answer to one question of databases which carried our discussion on that questions for around 10 mins but still I couldn't answer the question and in the end I asked just out of curiosity that I want to know the answer to the question and he explained me the concept perfectly.

Skills: Programming, Databases, Communication Skills, Software Development Life Cycle
College Name: SRM University

Round: Test
Experience: It was 2.5 hour long AMCAT test comprising of Quant, Verbal ability, analytic ability, technical section comprising questions from C, DSA and other computer fundamentals.
The test is not that difficult so the cutoff generally goes high
Duration: 150 minutes

Round: Technical Interview
Experience: Started with a formal "Tell me about yourself". While I continued for 2 minutes, he read my CV word to word. Since I had always been interested in programming and so it was my strong point. But he didn't even ask my area of interest and directly asked me question from core electronics that too application based. The questions were like this:
1. "Suppose you are recruited as an ECE engineer in IRCTC. Your job is to stop the train accidents that happen every now and then. Use your Applied Electronics to construct a scheme/plan. Tell me how will you proceed?"
I was literally stunned at such a question. However I took some seconds to think and gave him 2-3 answers all applying the idea in one way or the other. Like use of modern sensors, RADAR technology, Use of automated baricates at crossings and explained it to him. He wasn't fully convinced but somehow I was able to do OK.
After that i told him that I was more comfortable in programming and computer science subjects. he neglected this altogether and kept asking me ECE questions. Next questions were like "Explain the working of IC 555 timer." I told him straight away that I didn't know it very well.
After this he moved on to ask me the difference between GSM and CDMA technology, how mobile phones work and the whole concept of cellular telephony. I had prepared well for it and told him even more than he was expecting so he was quite pleased to hear it.
Next were some questions from computer networks like how internet works, Network model etc. I told him I was studying CN currently so i gave him the basics of OSI model explaining briefly each of the 7 layers. Also told him about sub-nets, sub-net masks etc.
After this he asked me some general question from my CV about my achievements like KVPY scholarship, NTSE scholarship and about my research paper. I explained it to him to the best I could. Then I asked a couple questions from my side and this interview was over. The whole process took around 35-40 minutes.
Tips: For technical, have a solid command over all the fundamentals of important subjects. You need to start early. 3rd year is a good time to plan and start your preparation. In your summer holidays before 7th semester, don't focus your full attention on your training. It is also important but you need to take out some extra time for aptitude building, revising concepts and enhancing your communication skills. Be confident and be honest. Try to make the conversation as interesting as possible. Try to be more interested in the company. If possible, do a little homework about the company visiting your college. It will prove to be useful and certainly will give you an edge above others.

Round: HR Interview
Experience: It had hardly been 15 minutes after the completion of my technical interview and I was called for the HR round. Again it started with “tell me about yourself” but this time the lady asked me everything about my family, my schooling, my interests and all. It was a really good 30 minutes spent as the conversation was really interesting. Then she asked me whether I had any problems in relocation. Then it led to a good discussion about how is life different in Hyderabad and Chennai. I asked her a little bit about her education and how she started a formal career in management. She was very happy to respond. Lastly, there were some concluding remarks, a formal thank you and the interview was over.
Tips: Make the interview as interactive as possible. Ask a lot of questions. The person should know that you are really interested in the company. Prepare good answers for HR round well in advance.Any extracurricular activities that you have been a part of may come up in the HR/Managerial round. I was asked what have you done in your college life so far other than studies. I had a lot to say in that matter as i was involved in dramatics, debating, quizzing and other activities right from the school level. They may be interested to know how efficiently have you handled any complex or challenging situations in your life. I was the Event Executive of Fashion Show "PANACHE" in BLITZSCHLAG'13. I explained to HR what all I did to make that event a success and she was really impressed with it.

General Tips: CGPA matters. Not always but definitely it's a point worth considering when the interviewers are confused even after the completion of all the rounds about which students to select.Although not specific to this company, but other companies give a lot of credit to CGPA. It is an important factor along with the 1st written round for the shortlisting of candidates.So, maintain as good a CGPA as you can.In your technical interview you are going to be asked about at least one project that you have been involved in your college life. If some project is mentioned in your CV, it is certain that the interviewer will ask you about it. I have seen discussions as long as 1 hour or more on one's project itself.
College Name: NIT JAIPUR

Round: Resume Shortlist
Experience: I consulted my seniors for preparation of my resume. I believe that seniors provide the best possible insights in this regards. I had a standard resume for all the companies.

Round: Test
Experience: I had prepared for the CAT examination which helped me in these written tests. The first round was the written test. The criterion for the written test was to have a CGPA more than 6.0. There was an aptitude test and a technical test. The technical test consisted of programming questions based on C++ and data structures. From data structures they asked a lot questions based on tree traversals and from C++. A large number of questions from pointers and arrays were also asked.
The aptitude test was slightly easier than the CAT examination standards. Majority of the questions were related to data interpretation and some were of based on logical reasoning. The total duration of the both the tests combined was 90 minutes.

Around 50 people appeared for the first round and nearly 13 got shortlisted for the next round.
Tips: For the written tests, particularly the aptitude section, if would really help if you have prepared for the CAT examination. There is a book written by an author named R.S. Agarwal which would prove to be beneficial from the point of view of these written tests.
Duration: 90 minutes

Round: Group Discussion
Experience: I did not prepare much for the GD’s. However I did keep myself abreast with certain latest happenings.There were no group activities conducted in the recruitment process of Century Link.

Round: HR Interview
Experience: For HR interviews I prepared answers to some frequently asked HR questions. I found these questions on the internet. Generally the questions asked in the interviews are related to the profile on offer; for instance in A2Z interview I was asked a lot of questions from power systems since it was a core company and in Century Links I was asked questions from C++ and data structures since they had come to recruit for a software engineering profile.

Round: Technical Interview
Experience: In this interview I was questioned on my C++ and data structure knowledge. They asked me questions on pointers and further asked me to explain the concept of dangling pointers. They did not want me to write down the complete code with proper syntax's of the problems asked to me. They only asked me to write the algorithms of the various problems.
They also asked me some puzzles. Unfortunately, I was not able to solve any of them. During the course of the interview they asked me to specify the reason for my keen interest in joining an IT company.
At the end of first interview some candidates were shortlisted and called for the second round of interview.

Round: Technical Interview
Experience: The second interview was conducted by a senior company official. He enquired about my project and again, like in the first interview, asked me to state the reason for my interest in joining an IT company.This interview round was an elimination round.

Round: HR Interview
Experience: The interview was an HR interview. Candidates who reached till this interview were all selected; basically this interview was like a formality to check the candidate’s fit with the company.

College Name: IIT ROORKEE
Motivation: I had never heard of the company before the recruitment season. I attended the PPT organised by the company, I found the company to be a well reputed/established company and thus applied to it. The profile was open for Electrical, Computer Science, Mechanical and Electronics engineering students.

General Tips: Just be confident. You may not be able to answer all the questions correctly. If you don't know the answer, be honest and confidently answer the questions that you know.
College Name: NIT SURATHKAL