I got shortlisted for the interview after participating in a HackerEarth hiring challenge. The challenge consisted of two elimination rounds, testing DSA problem-solving skills.
In the first round, focused on arrays and strings, I solved both questions but failed four test cases, still securing a shortlist. The second round was tougher, with questions on graphs and Dijkstra's algorithm. I fully solved one question and partially solved the other, passing only two test cases.
After 15 days, a recruiter contacted me to schedule a virtual interview with a Senior SDE. I asked for two days to prepare. During the interview, the interviewer revisited a problem I had solved in Round 1 (perfect string for given strings s and t), asking me to explain my approach. Then, I was tasked with solving the "Buy and Sell Stock" problem. After explaining my solutions, the interview concluded, though it felt like the interviewer was not impressed.