Hello World,

I'm Atibhi Agrawal, I'll be graduating with an Integrated Master's in Engineering from IIIT-Bangalore in July 2021. After that, I will be joining Twitter India as a software engineer. I will be based in Bangalore.

In this blog post, I am going to tell you about the application process, interview process and the resources that I used for preparation.

Timeline

The process from the date of submitting my application to signing the offer took around 4 months. But, the time taken between the first interview and the offer confirmation was only 20 days.

Application

A friend sent me the job ID of the New Grad role and I applied on the Twitter careers page. I tried getting a referral, but an employee told me that India's new grad software engineer role wasn't accepting referrals.

I am also very active on Twitter and follow TwitterU. It is the official account of Twitter that handles everything university-related. I saw a tweet by them about a session for students. I attended the session and got to know more about student-centric opportunities at Twitter. Twitter employees also shared their own experiences, interviewing tips etc. It was a really fun and motivating session. Highly recommend students to attend this every year!

Interview Process

I got a mail from my recruiter Pascalle informing me that I had been shortlisted for the phone screen. She also sent some preparation materials for the interviews. The material was very helpful and I tried covering as many topics as I could. It also listed out the common evaluation areas for a candidate. They are problem-solving, iteration, ownership, craftsmanship, collaboration, communication, learning and adaptability. Due to signing an NDA with Twitter about the questions asked in the interviews, I will not be able to share the exact questions, however, I will try my best to give you a rough idea about them.

Phone Screen

Duration: 45 minutes

Type: Data Structures and Algorithms

Mode: Coding on Hackerrank Code Pair and Video Call via Google Meet.

Interview Experience :

The round started with introductions. The first question was on hashmaps. It could be categorized as a Leetcode Medium. Next, he asked me another question based on graphs. This could be categorized as a Leetcode Hard. I also got the opportunity to ask questions at the end.

Onsite

Duration: 45 minutes each, 3 Rounds in a single day.

Type: Data Structures and Algorithms, Computer Science Fundamentals, Behavioral

Mode: Coding on Hackerrank Code Pair and Video Call via Google Meet.

Interview Experience:

Soon after my phone screen, my on-sites were scheduled. There are a few things that are unique about the Twitter onsite:

• Before the onsite, I was given the opportunity to choose the two teams that I would like to work with and my future teammates and managers interviewed me! This was great because I had the opportunity to meet them as well as ask them questions related to work.
• There was a 15 min call with the HR 30 min before the first round of interview. In this call, HR explained the flow of the interviews and what the interviewers would be focusing on. I personally loved the fact that HR took out some time for this. It helped me calm my nerves significantly.
• Every interview has two interviewers! I think this is to reduce bias as well as evaluate the candidate better.

There were 3 rounds of interviews on a single day.

• Round-1: Data Structures and Algorithms Round. A single question based on Arrays and Maths.
• Round-2: No coding in this round but was asked to write SQL queries. Questions from Operating Systems, Computer Networks, SQL and Database Management Systems were asked. System Design was also asked. Though I was not asked to design any system, I was asked questions like how do I think a particular technology is used in Twitter or how would I optimize a specific feature of Twitter.
• Round-3: This was a behavioural round. Questions revolved around my past experiences, future plans and resume.

In every round, I also got the opportunity to ask questions at the end.

Final Round

Duration: 30 minutes each, 2 Rounds in a single day.

Type: Behavioral

Mode: Video Call via Google Meet.

Interview Experience :

Casual round with two people from the San Francisco office. General Chit Chat. :)

I feel that Twitter has a unique and well-thought-out interview process. Everyone I interacted with was kind and respectful. This also goes on to show the culture of the company.

Resources Used for Preparation

The resources that I have mentioned are not Twitter specific and can be used for any interviews. I had been consistent with Leetcode for the past year. Note that I did not cover all of the theory material in two weeks(from the date of the interview call to the onsite). I had been preparing since September 2020. So it took me approximately three and half months to cover everything.

Data Structures and Algorithms

Mainly Leetcode.com and Pramp.com

System Design

I have written about my preparation strategy in detail in this blog.

Operating Systems

Gate Smashers Playlist on YouTube

Operating Systems: Virtualization, Concurrency & Persistence on educative.io This is hands-down one of the best courses that I have found for OS.

Studytonight.com for quick revision.

Database Management System

Gate Smashers Playlist on YouTube

Database Design Fundamentals for Software Engineers on educative.io

Studytonight.com for quick revision.

SQL

SQL Tutorial --- Full Database Course for Beginners by Freecodecamp

Leetcode Curated 70 SQL Questions

Hackerrank SQL Questions (Couldn't complete this due to lack of time)

Computer Networks

Studytonight.com

C++ and Object-Oriented Programming

Studytonight.com

The C++ STL on geeksforgeeks

Behavioural and HR

Episode 07: Intro to Behavioural Interviews by Jackson Gabbard

Mock Interviews on Pramp.com

Final Words

I am very excited to start my journey into the tech world working as a Software Engineer for my favourite social media platform. I would like to thank my recruiter Pascalle, my future manager and my teammates for such a smooth interview process. Can't wait to #JoinTheFlock 💙

I would also like to thank my family and friends for being so supportive during the pandemic and job-hunt process. ❤️

Feel free to leave a comment, dm me on Twitter or mail me at atibhi.a@gmail.com if you have any questions about working at Twitter.