Imagine yourself working in a company that develops products used by millions of people every day around the world. Here in this article, we will be discussing one such company named Linkedin. We will see about the company, the Linkedin interview process for software engineers and professionals. We will also see tips on how you can prepare and land a job as a software engineer at Linkedin. Later we will talk through some most frequently asked Linkedin interview questions.
Before going further, let’s know a little about Linkedin. Linkedin is the world's largest online platform that connects professionals. It was founded in 2003 and is headquartered in Sunnyvale, CA. Software Developers and Professionals can use Linkedin to hire someone, find a job or internship, or connect and strengthen professional relationships by allowing them to share their experience, knowledge, and practical expertise with others who might need it. One can also create events, post updates, join groups, or write blogs on Linkedin that can be read by millions of people. This is all about the online platform that the company offers but now a question might come to your mind: Why join Linkedin as a oftware engineer or as another professional? Let’s see the reasons why you should join Linkedin:
First, you need to apply for the software engineer position either through the careers section of their website, on-campus in case Linkedin hires from your college, or through a referral from an employee already working at Linkedin. After applying, resume screening is done. Note that it doesn't mean a confirmed interview or further round call if you applied via referral. If your resume gets shortlisted then only you are invited by HR for the further rounds. The Linkedin recruitment process generally consists of 5-6 rounds. However, the number of rounds depends on whether they are hiring experienced professionals or freshers or if it’s on-campus hiring. Some of the below-mentioned rounds are left out for experienced professionals. We will see below in detail which rounds are meant for whom.
This round is generally taken online on the Hackerrank platform. It consists of 3-4 programming questions that need to be done in 2 hours. This round is generally for freshers, on-campus hiring and is left out for experienced professionals as mentioned above. Linkedin may conduct direct interviews for positions requiring experienced professionals. The level of coding questions is medium to hard. Along with the coding questions, this round could also include MCQs related to DBMS, Operating Systems, Networking, Object-Oriented Programming, Data Structure, and Unix. So do prepare these subjects too.
If you clear Linkedin’s online coding round then you are invited for an onsite face-to-face interview round on data structures and algorithms round. However, currently due to this pandemic they are conducting this round online/telephonic. The round consists of coding questions that you need to implement and explain in an hour including your introduction to the interviewer. Along with problem-solving, they might also ask you many other questions like about your previous experiences, projects you have worked on, and your other technological interests. The level of the coding questions is easy to medium.
This round is again a coding round that tests your problem-solving skills in data structure and algorithms. This is also an onsite face-to-face interview round conducted for both experienced as well as freshers, but due to covid, they are conducting it online. The round consists of some coding problems along with other questions on problem-solving with data structures and algorithms, skills, projects, internships, or previous experiences. The duration of this round depends on the interviewer, he can ask as many questions as he wants until he is satisfied. The difficulty level of the coding questions that you can expect is easy to medium for one question and medium to hard for the second question.
The system design round is generally for experienced professionals and goes for around 1 hour. In this round, you are given a problem like designing a shared drive file system, where you have to design a whole system that includes its database design, high-level architecture, and dealing with problems related to scaling up, etc. This round aims to test your software design skills and knowledge. The interviewer can also ask you about the system design aspects of your project that you have previously worked on.
This round is the most fun and interactive round and is taken by the manager of the team with which you will work if you get selected. The main focus of this round is to check whether you will be the ideal candidate for the team and the project for which you are being interviewed. The manager asks you about yourself, your goals, and your projects. If you are an experienced Professional the interviewer asks you about your previous and current projects you have or are working on in your company and if you are fresher then he/she might ask about the projects and internships that you have undertaken. Questions related to the projects include your contribution, role, challenges you faced, and other technical questions focused on your project and internship or previous experience. He may also ask you questions like what thing you would suggest that needs to be added or changed in the Linkedin platform or any other platform, some real-life-based questions. This round is focused on your leadership, management, and Communication Skills.
After clearing all these rounds you get an offer letter followed along with some goodies or Linkedin’s welcome kit.