Citicorp Specialist Testing Interview Questions, Process, and Tips

Find an odd occurring number among even occurring numbers.

• Use XOR operation to cancel out even occurring numbers and get the odd occurring number.

• Iterate through the array and XOR each element with the result variable.

• The final result will be the odd occurring number.

Print the spiral order of a binary tree and matrix.

• For binary tree, use level order traversal and alternate direction for each level.

• For matrix, use four pointers to traverse in spiral order.

• Example for binary tree: 1 -> 2 -> 3 -> 4 -> 5 -> 6 -> 7 -> 8 -> 9

• Example for matrix: 1 2 3 4 -> 8 7 6 5 -> 9 10 11 12 -> 16 15 14 13

Finding pairs in an array with a given sum.

• Iterate through the array and for each element, check if the difference between the given sum and the element exists in the array.

• Use a hash table to store the elements of the array and their indices for faster lookup.

• If there are multiple pairs with the same sum, return any one of them.

• If no pair is found, return null or an empty array.

Find total number of k element with given avg in an array in minimum time complexity.

• Use sliding window technique to traverse the array in O(n) time complexity.

• Maintain a sum variable to keep track of the sum of elements in the window.

• If the sum of elements in the window is equal to k times the given avg, increment the count.

• Move the window by subtracting the first element and adding the next element in the array.

Printing non-boundary elements of a binary tree

• Traverse the tree in any order (preorder, inorder, postorder)

• Check if the current node is not a boundary node (not the first or last node in its level)

• If it is not a boundary node, print its value

• Recursively traverse its left and right subtrees

I listed a job that I was fired from after only a few weeks.

• Listed a job where I was fired after a few weeks

• Didn't provide a clear explanation for why I was let go

• Didn't highlight any skills or accomplishments from that job

I admire Dr. Raghunath Anant Mashelkar, an IIT Bombay alumnus, for his contributions to science and technology.

• Dr. Mashelkar is a chemical engineer and has made significant contributions to the field of polymer science.

• He has also served as the Director General of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) and has been awarded numerous honors, including the Padma Shri and Padma Bhushan.

• Dr. Mashelkar has a...read more

The eurozone crisis refers to the economic and financial difficulties faced by some countries in the European Union.

• The crisis began in 2009 with the Greek debt crisis and spread to other countries in the eurozone.

• It was caused by a combination of factors including high levels of debt, low economic growth, and structural problems within the eurozone.

• The crisis led to bailouts of several countries by the European Centra...read more

The Libor Scam was a manipulation of the London Interbank Offered Rate (Libor) by banks to benefit their own trading positions.

• Libor is a benchmark interest rate used globally for financial products

• Banks were found to have manipulated the rate to benefit their own trading positions

• The scandal resulted in billions of dollars in fines for banks involved

• Several high-profile bankers were also convicted for their involvemen...read more

Derivatives are financial instruments that derive their value from an underlying asset or security.

• Derivatives can be used for hedging or speculation.

• Examples of derivatives include futures, options, and swaps.

• Derivatives can be traded on exchanges or over-the-counter.

• Derivatives can be complex and involve significant risk.

• Derivatives played a role in the 2008 financial crisis.

Failure to avoid fiscal cliff could lead to severe economic repercussions globally and in the US, with India also being affected.

• The US economy could experience a recession, with a potential decrease in GDP and increase in unemployment rates

• Global financial markets could experience volatility and uncertainty

• India could be affected due to its close economic ties with the US, with potential impacts on trade and investmen...read more

Prime Services is a suite of financial services offered by investment banks to hedge funds and other institutional clients.

• Prime brokerage

• Securities lending

• Cash management

• Risk management

• Trade execution

• Reporting and analytics

• Examples: Goldman Sachs Prime Services, J.P. Morgan Prime Services

QE stands for Quantitative Easing. It is a monetary policy used by central banks to stimulate the economy.

• QE involves the central bank buying government bonds or other securities from the market to increase the money supply.

• The increased money supply is intended to lower interest rates, encourage borrowing and spending, and boost economic activity.

• QE is typically used when interest rates are already low and traditional...read more

Using bitwise operator to check the last bit of the number.

• Use bitwise AND operator with 1 to check the last bit of the number.

• If the result is 0, the number is even. If the result is 1, the number is odd.

• Example: 6 & 1 = 0 (even), 7 & 1 = 1 (odd)

Implement a dynamic 2D excel sheet using DS

• Use a 2D array to store the data

• Implement functions to add, delete, and modify data

• Use data structures like linked lists or hash tables for efficient searching and sorting

• Implement dynamic resizing to handle large amounts of data

• Use GUI libraries like Tkinter or PyQt for user interface

Joining tables in DBMS evolved as a solution to handle complex data relationships.

• Joins allow combining data from multiple tables based on a common column.

• The concept of joins originated from the need to handle complex data relationships.

• Joins can be inner, outer, left, right, or cross depending on the type of data required.

• Joins can improve query performance by reducing the number of queries needed to retrieve data.

• Jo...read more