I applied through a recruiter. The process took 2 weeks. I interviewed at Bloomberg (New York, NY) in Oct 2015
Interview
Overview: Two phone interviews using HackerRank to solve algorithm problems. Then three on-site interviews, two where you need to solve more algorithm problems using pencil and paper and a third interview that is system design oriented. Then they take you out to lunch and if you are lucky you come back to talk to HR.
For on-site coding they give you small 5x8" sheets of paper. It gives you very little room to write code and correct mistakes. A whiteboard would be much better for coding and facilitating conversation. Even better would be to use HackerRank for the on-site interview as well as the phone interview.
The first person went fine. I solved two problems and then started on a third when time ran out.
The second person was breathing down my neck the whole time. I coded the first problem and started working on test cases to make sure the code was correct He demanded that I give him my code even though I told him that I wanted to run through some test cases. Of course he found problems with it. On the second problem he gave me a hint that was incorrect and got me off track.
The system design portion of the interview is basically a mind reading exercise. Make sure you pay close attention to anything he says that might give a clue to how he wants to solve the problem. Don't worry about how you would solve the problem yourself.
My advice to other candidates:
Make sure to practice algorithm-style problem solving as much as possible. Any job experience you might have is completely irrelevant. For example, I have extensive experience in the technologies that were in the title of the job posting. But I wasn't asked any questions about those things. The only thing that matters is that you can solve artificial problems under extremely tight time constraints with someone looking over your shoulder.
Overall, it was a positive and professional interview experience, though the interviewer was on the stricter side. Unfortunately, I was dealing with an illness and wasn't able to prepare as thoroughly as I wanted to, which left me feeling a bit off throughout the conversation. Despite not feeling my best and facing a tough interviewer, the process was well-structured.
Fairly simple. Phone call then onsite. For onsite it was 10 min office tour follow by 1 hr interview then 1 hours system design and 30 mins manager interview. Interviewers were nice and the recruiter was accommodating.
5 rounds first 3 being leetcode coding ones and the last 2 being behavioral. The first three are the hardest asking mainly taggeed questions and the rest are not that bad