Interview Experience – Barclays | SDE Intern

College: SCTRS PUNE INSTITUTE OF COMPUTER TECHNOLOGY

Batch: 2028 | Branch: COMP | Total Rounds: 2

Process Snapshot 🎯

• Eligibility / Shortlisting: Minimum 85% in 12th grade, 90% in 10th grade, 9+ CGPA, and no backlogs. Approximately 220 students were shortlisted for the Online Assessment, with all branches being eligible.

• Application Route: On-campus

• 24 people cleared OA and gave interview

Round-by-Round Breakdown 📝

The interview process consisted of 2 rounds, both conducted on the same day, with each round lasting approximately 45 minutes.

Round 1: Tech + HR

• Focus: This round covered both technical(DSA + SQL + OOPS) and HR aspects.

• Technical: Interviewers asked resume-based questions and requested a drawing of project architecture. Discussions included tradeoffs, scalability, and other design considerations for the projects.

• HR: General HR questions were also part of this round.

Round 2: Tech + HR

• Focus: Similar to Round 1, this round also combined technical(DSA + SQL + OOPS) and HR questions.

• Technical: Resume-based questions were asked again. There was also a specific discussion on common questions encountered on GitHub and how one would handle them.

• HR: Behavioral and HR-related questions were included.

Difficulty, Topics, and Interview Focus 🧠

• Difficulty Across Rounds: Medium

• Most Asked Topics: DBMS, OOP (Object-Oriented Programming), DSA (Data Structures and Algorithms)

• What Interviewers Focused On: All mentioned topics were given equal importance.

Coding and Project Discussion 💻

• Coding Question Patterns / Constraints / Expected Approach: Specific questions revolved around the order of execution of every line of SQL queries.

• Project Deep-Dive (architecture, trade-offs, scaling, debugging): Yes, there was a significant deep-dive into projects, including discussions on major problems faced during development.

HR and Behavioral 🤝

• HR/Behavioral Questions: A particularly tricky question was posed: "If you are outside and your manager has an important task to do, but you don't have your laptop, would you share your password with your colleague to access the system?"

• Unexpected/Tricky Moments + Handling: The candidate took some time to think about the tricky HR question before answering.

Final Outcome ✅

• Verdict: Selected

• 8 people selected / 24 people

Mistakes to Avoid ⚠️

• Getting tensed or panicking during answering.

• Getting stuck and not knowing how to proceed.

Preparation Strategy 🚀

• What Helped Most (resources/mocks/plan):

  • Practicing LeetCode problems.

  • Solving SQL 50 questions.

  • Consistently practicing DSA.

• 7-Day Priority Plan for Juniors: Focus on SQL, DSA, and thoroughly understanding your projects.

Optional Offer Details 💼

• Location: Pune

Quick Checklist for Students ✔️

• Academic Foundation: Maintain strong academic scores (e.g., 85% in 12th, 90% in 12th, 9+ CGPA, no backlogs).

• Core Concepts: Master DBMS, OOP, and DSA.

• SQL Proficiency: Understand the order of execution for SQL queries.

• Project Expertise: Be ready for deep dives into your projects, including architecture, tradeoffs, scalability, and challenges.

• Behavioral Skills: Prepare for tricky HR questions and practice thinking under pressure.

• Practice Coding: Regularly solve LeetCode and SQL 50 problems.

• Stay Calm: Avoid tension, panic, or getting stuck during interviews.