American Express Interview Experience for Graduate Engineer Trainee

Last Updated : 17 Oct, 2024

Role: Graduate Engineer Trainee at American Express (6-month internship + full-time opportunity)
Mode: On-campus recruitment
Rounds: 3 Rounds (1 coding + 2 interviews)

First Round: Coding Round

This round was conducted on Codility, where three questions were asked. The difficulty spectrum ranged from medium to hard, focusing on algorithms and problem-solving abilities. After a month, the shortlisted candidates were announced, and I was selected for the next round.

Second Round: Technical Interview

Ten students were shortlisted for this round, which involved two interviewers on the panel. The interview lasted for one and a half hours.

Introduction

  • I was asked to introduce myself and share anything special not mentioned in my resume.

Projects and Internship

  • Questions primarily focused on backend development due to my experience in that area. The questions included:
    • Explanation of my internship and projects.
    • NPM Packages: How versions are updated and managed.
    • React Fundamentals: Concepts such as useState and useEffect.

Coding Question

  • Task: For an array of n numbers, return the duplicate elements.
    • First Approach: Use unordered_map to count frequencies and store elements with frequency > 1.
    • Second Approach: Utilize two unordered_sets—one for tracking seen elements and another for duplicates. Convert the duplicates set to a vector for output.

Database Questions

  • Discussed concepts of joins and indexing.

Puzzle Question

  • Three individuals (A, B, and C) are standing in a line.
    • B can see C, and A can see both B and C.
    • C cannot see anyone.
    • Each person wears one of five hats—two black and three white.
    • C confidently identifies their hat's color, while A and B are unsure. The solution involves logical deduction based on what A and B don't know.

HR Questions

  • What motivates you to work for Amex?
  • Why Amex in particular?

Third Round: Managerial + HR

Out of the ten students, four were selected. The interviewer, an Engineering Manager, asked a combination of technical and HR questions during this round.

Project Questions

  • What motivated you to create this project?
  • Describe how a website transitions from the front end to the back end.
  • What is the process of authentication? What is JWT?
  • What are REST APIs and HTTP?

HR Questions

  • What are your strengths and weaknesses?
  • How do you resolve disputes within a group?

The final session was more conversational, focusing on personality and general fit for the position.

Results

Results were declared after a week.

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