Netcracker Technology Java Developer Interview Questions
& Process

A recruiter contacted me because I had applied a few years back for a Java developer role. After I sent my CV, I got an interview invite. I showed up at the company office around 5:30PM, though the recruiter was a bit late. She told me the interview would have three parts: first, a chat with her about my background, then a technical interview, and finally a discussion with management. She then took me to a conference room for about 15 minutes to go over my CV and career aspirations. It was pretty standard stuff. The technical interview involved some quiz questions and two coding tasks. I felt unprepared and didn't do well on them. The tasks were a bit strange, for instance, one involved using a limited black-box calendar component to figure out the first date before a holiday. It felt like a nonsensical puzzle. Things got weirder when I was left waiting in the conference room for the management talk, only to find out they had already left. The recruiter had also left, and the developer who interviewed me had to let me out using his access card. I found this whole situation unprofessional, especially since it was the same recruiter from my previous interview attempt years ago. It was a very disappointing experience.

This was an entry-level role, and they were recruiting from universities. We started with basic coding and networking concepts, covering OOPS topics like inheritance, polymorphism, and abstraction. There were also questions on Java and C++, as well as trees, graphs, and traversals. Since it was an entry position and for university recruiting, they didn't do intensive coding tests, but they did ask theoretical questions.

HR first reached out and was very professional, polite, and clearly explained the role, mentioning they needed someone with Java, core Java, and Spring experience, with Hibernate basics being a plus. The interview was scheduled for a weekday about a week out. However, the interviewer seemed unaware of my skills and what HR had communicated. They didn't let me elaborate on answers and quickly moved on, almost like a rapid-fire round. They kept asking about advanced Hibernate features, which I don't have experience in. I repeatedly stated I lacked this specific experience, but the interviewer was rude and unprofessional, ending the interview by saying I needed to brush up and leaving abruptly. I've never encountered such an interview and was more furious than disappointed, feeling judged for areas outside my experience. It's crucial for HR and interviewers to be aligned on requirements and candidate experience. Rejecting based on not meeting specific tech expectations is fine, but this approach was not. Ensure clear communication and sync between HR and the interviewer.