AppDirect Senior Software QA Engineer Interview Questions and Answers

Round: Interview
Experience: They tested on thought-process during design problems. What problems are with the current solution I suggested and how to improve it...
Tips: Hints from interviewer are very helpful
Keep talking while you are thinking

Skills: Algorithms, Thinking Skills, Coding
College Name: IIT KHARAGPUR

College Name: NA

Round: Resume Shortlist
Experience: The first round was a resume shortlist, which I think was on the basis of programming and coding courses (and projects) taken along with your CGPA. Out of 10 shortlisted people, I knew 4 and all of us were 9 pointers. The rest who I didn't know turned out to be 9 pointers as well! :P
Out of 10 shortlisted people, 3 (including me) were from ECE and the rest were from CS. Even though InMobi was open for Mathematics & Computing, no person from MnC dept. was in the shortlist. (Presumably due to their CGPAs or some other criterion that I'm not in the knowledge of.)
Tips: i) High CGPA is a must (We're talking above 9, at the end of 2nd year for CS/ECE and 3rd year for MnC)
ii)Taking programming and algorithm courses and projects is important, as that must be visible in your resume.

Round: Puzzle Interview
Experience: One special thing about the interviews, you're asked not to wear any formals! That actually helps in taking the tension off of things!
It's simple logic, after that. Increase the lift's speed (taking in mind of the safety), collecting usage data, optimising the lift's floor-stoppage according to that.
As told after the interview, the interviewer is just observing how you think and approach a problem.

One odd thing was not being asked about any coding/algorithm questions even though the profile was for a software engineer.

After this question, I was asked if I had any questions to ask. I simply stated that the work environment and culture affected me as much as the profile I'm applying for. Thus, the drive and motivation of the people who work there is also very important. So I asked what are the companies' values which the employees believe in, too.
Tips: Stay confident, don't let any tension get to your head.
In the future, InMobi may start asking coding questions too in the interviews. or change the selection procedure, which will be communicated in the PPT of InMobi.
Whatever may happen, the first round should show your zeal to solve problems, your creativity in trying different approaches, and applying logic to find the best solution.

Round: HR Interview
Experience: OK! There were a lot of questions asked since the interview was more like a conversation taking place. Like in ANY conversation, keep proper eye contact, smile and be approachable for any questions. Show enthusiasm in your voice and your answers. The interviewer asked me questions about
i)My resume, and all the activities that I'd listed there. (eg: Why did you enlist in this course? Do you like coding?)
ii)Why programming, how does it interest you?
iii)Basic questions about InMobi, like 'What do you know about us after attending the PPT?' and 'Why InMobi'

Since I had done quite a lot of marketing activities, I was also asked about that. Will you do an MBA in the future? What all did you do for marketing? I had a strong background in digital marketing, and we had a little chat about mobile marketing and what's the future of mobile advertising.
Tips: Smile, for god's sake! It's a conversation about you, do all the basic things to improve the conversational experience.
Small things like greeting the interviewer, smiling, proper eye contact, and speaking properly are paramount.

Like in any HR interview, make sure you know yourself and your resume properly, so that you don't phase out in the interview when asked some 'unexpected' question. (since that's when they know thatyou might be lying/exaggerating). Hence introspect enough before sitting the interviews.

General Tips: Make sure you're able to convince yourself and the interviewers for why do you want to work in Inmobi Technolgies.

I've already shared the rest in previous sections! :)

2 people out of 10 were selected for this internship experience, so make sure you prepare well! All the best! :D

Skill Tips: I don't think that this adds on as a skill, but InMobi wants to create a huge impact on the mobile world and the mobile advertising sector.
Your knowledge about this sector in general could help you strike good conversations (at least in the HR round).
Skills: Logic, Problem Solving Abilties, Creativity, Communication Skills
Duration: 2.5
College Name: IIT Kharagpur
Motivation: I'm a gadget geek from my childhood. The mobile industry amazes me as it's been the biggest change-bringer in the modern world. InMobi as a company wants to create a huge impact in the mobile advertising space and mobile advertising! And seeing their products that they offer in this domain had me thinking that they're doing something unique and awesome!
The work culture of InMobi is just amazing, right from flexible work hours to the epic office they have in Bangalore full of awesome people working towards that one goal! Also, InMobi offers their employees opportunities to shift between various verticals if they want to. All of this (along with a good compensation ;-) ) was enough motivation for me to apply!
Funny Moments: When I was asked whether I was in the third year, I said yes, and then said, usually people think that I'm still in high school!
We had a good laugh on that one! :P

Otherwise also, the entire procedure was relaxed and fun in general.

Round: Test
Experience: PAPER DURATION: 3 hours
NO. OF QUESTIONS: 2 (20 marks each)
MAXIMUM MARKS: 20*2 = 40 marksQUESTION 1:
JSON Prettier:-Write a program which takes JSON as input and gives prettified JSONYou need to read JSON from STDIN. Input gives one line of uglified JSON.Output should be formatted JSON. Check the standard output link.Use 2 white spaces (not‘\t’) for one indentation.SAMPLE INPUT:{“group” : {list : [1,2,3]}, “list” : [“a”,”b”,”c”]}SAMPLE OUTPUT:{“group” : {List : [1,2,3]},“list” : [“a”,”b”,”c”]}EXPLANATION: Input will be uglifiedjson in one line and output will be prettified format of that. QUESTION 2:XML parse plus series computationEvaluate an expression given in XML format. Keys will be Expr- contains the entire expression. Elem – contains the digit, sum, Prod- contains two or more keys whose evaluation needs to be summed or multiplied respectively. Sub will contain 2 keys or more, where the second key onwards will have to be subtracted from the first one. Div- will contain 2 keys in which first key will need to be divided by second. SAMPLE INPUT:4673 SAMPLE OUTPUT:
20EXPLANATION:Input will be xml file through standard input. End of xml file marked by .
Duration: 180 minutes
Total Questions: 2

College Name: NA

Interview preparation tips for other job seekers - Identify career goals
Dedicate to time search
Keep your self busy
Use several job search websites
Optimize your linkedin profile
Make networking part of your everyday life

Interview preparation tips for other job seekers - The entire interview plus hiring takes more than 3 months. In most occasions the Finance rejects the offer proposed by the HRs. HRs are highly unprofessional (Lead HR - Parvathi Urs). A huge risk of offer getting dissolved mid-way as well so take risk accordingly.

Round: Test
Experience: There were about 20 MCQs (30 minutes) to be done after the coding section. MCQs were totally nonsense. Can be done in 10 mins.For coding section 60 mins.  It was hosted on Hackerrank.
Duration: 90 minutes
Total Questions: 2

Round: Technical Interview
Experience: After this, selected candidates were interviewed that consists of 4 rounds and discussion was mostly on your CV and data structure problems.

General Tips: Be honest with your interviewer. If you are not comfortable in 1 topic, tell your interviewer honestly. Do well in other areas. Look for hints from the interviewer if you get stuck. They want to see how you approach a problem.
Skills: Algortihm, Data structure
College Name: IIT DELHI