My Interview experience with Zenefits SDE

In conversation with Shivanshu who comes from a service based company has finally made his transition to a product based company, Zenefits. Read his complete success story now..

#100Stories is a series of transformational stories of courage and indomitable will to excel, picked from the lives of tech students, particularly in India. An initiative by Programming Pathshala.

Hi Shivanshu, can you tell us a little about yourself?

Hi everyone, my name is Shivanshu Jaiswal and I am from Uttar Pradesh. I completed my graduation from JP Institute from Noida in Electronics and Communication engineering. After that, I moved to Ericsson and last year, I shifted to Salesforce as Senior software engineer.I have recently gotten an offer from Zenefits as their software development engineer.

So, Shivanshu, you are going to start a new chapter in our life, how does it feel to be SDE in Zenefits?

It feels phenomenal. Coming from a background of Electrical and Communications, it was very difficult for me to be where I am today. I did not find much time to practice Data Structures and Algorithms. Still, I am very happy and satisfied with what I have achieved today and will be joining my new organisation in September.

That is amazing, Shivanshu. being an employee with some other organisation, how did you solve the problem of time management? Could you tell us about it?

I had a goal for myself that I needed to complete the course and I had to find time for it, no matter what obstacles come my way. I knew that if I didn’t manage time, it would be a loss for me and I could not afford that. Before joining Renaissance at Programming Pathshala, I had a talk with Anoop Bhaiya and he said that the only way to achieve success is to be consistent. I had a goal to get a job with a product based company. I knew all I had to do was remain consistent and find the will to work hard towards my goal. Once I got the motivation to work towards my goal, I could take out time and set my priorities. There was a vast course to cover but in the end, all I had to do was set my priorities and keep solving problems consistently. I was consistent for 6 months and I solved at least one question every day and that is how I am here at this stage today.

Wow, and can you share with us why did you choose software engineering as a career?

Yes, so basically, I started my career journey at telecom support. I had an aim for software engineering because I wanted to build a product and build everything from scratch. I knew that I would excel in this field only if I make a product and do it from scratch. This was my aim and motivation to choose software engineering as a career.

That’s Lovely Shivanshu, please take us through your journey to the same, from starting your coding journey to getting the offer letter from Zenefits?

So, I already completed one year at Programming Pathshala. In a period of six months, there were some topics left to cover so I kept on moving with my course. After I was close to preparation, I attended the resume building strategy from programming pathshala. I started my resume building and got it verified from Bharat Bhaiya and then I finally felt ready for the interview.

Would you like to share your resume building strategy with us?

In resume building strategy, one main technique is to highlight key points in the resume. The resume should be short and crisp and to the point. The recruiter of any company checks resumes through key words and that is why it is very important to highlight the key points and focus on those which are relevant for the job and company you’re applying at.

Coming to your interview preparation and your interview process with Zenefits? Would you like to describe it?

My Interview experience with Zenefits has been great. It was a medium level type interview. The first round was a technical interview in which two medium level and one hard level question came directly from the Renaissance dashboard. I got a call from the recruiter that I got selected for the next round.

The second round was a design round but I was not prepared for this round. I had a talk with Bharat Bhaiya and he told me to ask for time to prepare for the LLD round and it was after I gave that round with proper preparations, It went amazing. This round also got cleared with good feedback and this was the first time I gave an LLD round. It was a good overall experience with easy to medium level questions. I was content and satisfied after my interview rounds.

How was your experience with the course here at Programming Pathshala?

I believe this was one of the best decisions of my life. It helped me a lot and changed me a lot. It helped me in resume building and in Data structures and Algorithms. There were live sessions taken for the students of Programming Pathshala and I was also a part of this program. I was mentoring other students and it was a very great experience for me. It helped me to learn to communicate. I could see the benefits I am getting and I am very happy with this course. So, all in all, I would like to say that I am very satisfied with the course structure and I am grateful to the course. I always could connect with Bharat Bhaiya first and he gave me a project and we worked together and he helped me a lot. He was always my favourite mentor at Programming Pathshala.

Amazing Shivanshu, it has been lovely having a word with you, but before you leave, any piece of advice for our budding SDEs?

My advice would be to be consistent every day and to solve at least one problem every day. If you feel demotivated, just always remind yourself why you started. With that said, you will get motivated and want to start again. If you feel like giving up, remember one reason why you should not and in no time, you’ll bounce back stronger.

Thank you so much for those amazing words Shivanshu, It has been lovely having you here and I wish you all the best for your future endeavours. Take Care!

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