DB Systel Interview Questions
& Process

I was given a take-home assignment that was different from typical competitive programming problems. The goal was to build it like a professional software team would. Afterwards, I was asked about the choices I made and how I implemented the solution.

It was a textbook interview. We introduced ourselves, discussed how we found out about DB Systel, and shared our strengths and weaknesses. We also talked about teamwork, and our ideal expectations for collaboration and job duties. The teams you're assigned to are really diverse. The more you share about your thoughts and expectations, the better you're assessed and assigned.

You go through several stages, from registration to an initial interview. After selection, there's the first interview round with some basic questions. Following another selection, there's another meet and greet with more team members and a trial task. It's not difficult, and there seems to be no preparation or guidelines. However, you need to be mentally fit enough. Health limitations, for example, are not considered, and you'll quickly get rejected for not meeting the required level. This is even if the team member overseeing the test task can't find a simple structural error themselves. The task didn't even need to be finished in the hour-long meeting, but it was, before time ran out. I solved the other requirement, which was only mentioned later, after taking a breath and 5 minutes after the meeting. So, I think the sympathy factor with different team members plays a bigger role here than actual expertise. In that case, perhaps the meetings should be held over a casual beer at a regular's table, rather than online, where one of the responsible persons also has to leave because they forgot another appointment.

I had two interview rounds with DB Systel in Germany, and it was a really disappointing and frustrating experience. The whole process felt like a waste of time because I had to repeat the same stuff I said in the first round. They kept asking me to introduce myself and talk about my experience again, which was redundant. Even though the intro part was repetitive, I did well on the technical questions and was excited about the job. After both interviews, they said I'd get an offer and we'd discuss salary. But then, surprisingly, I got rejected after the second interview because they picked someone else. It was confusing because they had been so positive before. I'm left feeling like my time wasn't respected, and the whole experience makes me question their professionalism. I'd tell others to be careful interviewing with DB Systel because of the repetition, unfulfilled promises, and poor communication. If you want a straightforward interview, maybe look elsewhere.