From this post, I’m starting a series where I’ll be sharing my interview preparation journey and real interview experiences across companies.
This was my interview experience for the Product Engineering role at Rapido.
I recently had the opportunity to interview with Rapido after successfully clearing their online assessment. Although I couldn’t make it to the final round, the experience was extremely valuable and filled with great learning.
Online Assessment (OA)
The OA consisted of a decent set of Data Structures and Algorithms (DSA) questions. The difficulty level was moderate, requiring a solid understanding of core concepts and problem-solving skills. It was a good filter to assess both speed and accuracy.
Interview Process
The interview started on a very positive and friendly note. The interviewer began with a general introduction, followed by questions about my technical stack and the projects I had worked on.
Before diving deep into my projects, I was asked a question based on a Fenwick Tree (Binary Indexed Tree). This tested my understanding of advanced data structures and how efficiently I could apply them in problem-solving.
After that, the discussion moved toward computer science fundamentals, where I was asked questions related to core concepts. This part evaluated my theoretical understanding and clarity of basics.
Project Discussion & Development Focus
The most interesting part of the interview was the deep dive into development and projects. The interviewer focused heavily on:
My internship projects
Design decisions in my hackathon projects
How I approached problem-solving in real-world scenarios
We had a detailed discussion on how these projects could be improved further. The conversation included insights on:
- Database design and optimization
- REST API design principles
- Scalability and better architectural choices
It felt more like a collaborative discussion rather than a strict Q&A session, which made it highly engaging and insightful.
Key Takeaways-
Even though I didn’t progress to the final round, the interview helped me understand:
- The importance of strong fundamentals (both DSA and CS concepts)
- How deeply companies evaluate real-world project experience
- The need to think beyond implementation and focus on design, scalability, and optimization
Overall, it was a great learning experience, and I’m grateful for the opportunity.
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