My Zoho interview experience for fresher, on-campus

Hi there, welcome to my first blog post!

Zoho recently visited our campus at Sathyabama Institute of Science and Technology, and I was filled with both excitement and nervousness about the opportunity. The initial process at college emphasized strong programming knowledge, and they welcomed students from any stream/department (UG/PG), even those with backlogs, to take the test. The primary criterion was a passion for programming.

They offered three roles with varying packages: 8.4, 7, and 5.6 LPA.

Day 1:

Round - 1 (9:30 AM - 12:00 PM)

The initial round comprised Programming and Aptitude assessments, where they asked 10 questions each for programming and aptitude. The entire assessment was conducted using pen and paper. Students were instructed to sit with gaps between each other, and the proctoring was well-maintained. Unlike other tests, there were no multiple-choice options for the questions.

Additionally, the questions were presented in two sets distributed across adjacent columns of students. In terms of length, the questions seemed a little extensive in my opinion. Zoho provided rough papers and answer sheets that were pre-numbered. All one needed to do was fill in their answers accordingly.

As someone who predominantly uses C++ for data structures and algorithms, I was surprised to encounter Java-based questions. However, I managed to comprehend the questions despite not being familiar with Java, as the syntax was quite similar. The questions primarily involved predicting output through loops, a few recursion queries, and also incorporated HashMaps. A person with a basic level of practice in Data Structures and Algorithms (DSA) would likely navigate through this round. They allocated around 1.5 to 2 hours, if I recall correctly, making time management crucial.

Regarding the aptitude section, I found the questions to be relatively straightforward. They covered fundamental topics such as probability, time and work, pipes and cisterns, profit and loss, time and distance, problems on trains, boats and streams, simple interest, compound interest, clocks, permutations and combinations. To prepare for these, practicing questions on platforms like Indiabix, watching videos from the CareerRide YouTube channel, and referring to books like RS Agarwal's quantitative aptitude would be sufficient.

After the completion of the assessment, we were instructed to break for lunch, with the results scheduled to be announced afterward. Those hours leading up to the announcement were filled with nervous anticipation. Out of the 700+ students who appeared for the assessment, a total of 96 students were shortlisted to progress to the next round.

Round - 2 (2:00 PM - 5:00 PM)

The subsequent round involved a programming test held in our college labs, where each of us was paired with two members from Zoho. They observed our approach to handling various programming questions, mainly centered around Data Structures and Algorithms (DSA).

The questions presented to me included:

1. Counting the number of set bits in a decimal

2. Longest subarray having maximum sum

3. Reordering the first string based on the order defined by the second string (a variation similar to this problem: Sort string according to order defined by another string)

4. Best Time to Buy and Sell Stock

5. A variation of the 'number of islands' problem (similar to this problem: Number of Islands)

I solved three of the five problems completely and partially solved one. The interviewer wanted a thorough explanation and gave many different situations to test how we solve problems. I explained my thoughts for each problem, showing how I approached them step by step as I solved them.

At the end of the round, the interviewer asked me if I had any experience in making apps and using object-oriented programming. They also wanted to know where I'm from.

They selected 17 students from the 96 for the second day of the process.

Day 2:

Round - 3 (11:00 AM - 5:00 PM)

In the subsequent round at Zoho's Estancia IT Park office in Chennai, we were instructed to arrive in the morning and were offered breakfast upon arrival. After receiving visitor cards, we had a quick tour of their office and were grouped into teams of 6 to 10 students from various colleges. Zoho provided us with laptops and presented a question paper outlining the requirements for creating a console-based application.

My task revolved around developing a Railway Reservation System using pre-existing data from a CSV file containing passenger details such as name, age, family ID, berth preference, booking status, and gender. Initially, I had to manage passenger bookings, maintain a waiting list, display current status, handle cancellations, reallocate waiting list passengers, manage berth preferences, and group families based on the provided data.

There were specific criteria to consider: passengers over 55 years (male) or over 50 years (female) were to receive lower berths or be added to the waiting list if they hadn't specified a berth preference. Upper berths could be allocated upon request, while children under 4 years old were not assigned any berths. Additionally, analyzing the provided data was a part of the task.

Upon successfully implementing most of the required features, I was tasked with converting this system to SQL, defining data types, and creating a table schema for storage. They also requested my resume. During this phase, they presented a paper with five logical questions, and I managed to solve 3 out of the 5.

Subsequently, they asked about my family background, previous internship experiences, presented scenarios involving challenging situations with a manager, inquired about my salary expectations, reasons for choosing Zoho, and asked follow-up questions based on my responses. Following this, there was a lengthy discussion outside among the panel members, and then we were directed to meet with the HR.

Round - 4 (5:30 PM - 6:30 PM)

In my panel, two candidates proceeded to the HR Round. During my session, I was asked about various aspects, including my family background, internship experiences, preferred tech stack, shift preference, salary expectations, hometown, current residence, Zoho's products, and a speculative guess about my potential role within the company. I also had some inquiries about my prospective role, and the HR representative mentioned that the outcomes would be communicated to my college placement cell. After this discussion, I was informed that I could leave for the day.

Out of our college candidates, they selected four individuals, and I was fortunate to be among them. Overall, it was a very positive and rewarding experience for me.