University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Interview Questions
& Process

We had some technical questions. Started with 2 short pipelining questions and then 1 big pipelined execution performance question. Then we moved on to cache questions: one where you have to determine the various dimensions of the cache, one about multi-level caches, and one about reading data from a cache with multiple Bytes per block. We also had a smaller question about estimating the miss rate for a small piece of C code with a given cache configuration. The big question was about determining the number of misses/hits for a more complex piece of C code with a given cache configuration, and there were some follow-up questions about how the number of misses/hits might change if the cache configuration were changed. The practice quiz has 3 variants of this type of question you can try so that you don't need to create multiple instances of this practice qui

It was a pretty standard interview process with three rounds, and I had time to ask questions at the end of each. Everyone I spoke with was friendly and seemed genuinely open to answering questions. I made it to the final round and was told I'd hear back within a week, but then I heard nothing. They totally ghosted me, which was really surprising given what I assume is a pretty good HR system. I was honestly shocked at how unprofessional the lack of follow up felt.

The entire interview process took place online. Initially, there was a one-way video interview. Following that, I was sent a questionnaire with questions specific to the position, some of which mirrored those from the video interview. The final stage was a group interview involving the hiring management and some future colleagues. While the atmosphere wasn't exactly welcoming, it wasn't overtly negative either. I noticed the non-management interviewers seemed a bit weary, possibly due to the number of interviews they were conducting, but their demeanor wasn't personal. One interviewer seemed to struggle with their questions. It appeared everyone was under some pressure, and the way the job was described suggested high turnover. It definitely didn't come across as a particularly positive or supportive work environment.

After I applied, I got an invite to interview. First, there was no actual interview with a person. I had seven days to use the VidRecruiter platform to answer timed questions on video. This was supposed to be 30-45 minutes, but it took me 1-1.5 hours. I also had to create a 10-minute PowerPoint presentation, which took hours to prep if you actually wanted to do a good job. The second interview was in person. It started with me giving my presentation to a live panel again. After that, I had a more typical interview with a smaller group of people. This took about two hours. It was also my first chance to ask any questions about the job. The role turned out to be totally different from the job posting (different area, different tasks), so my prepared questions weren't relevant. I asked about flexible or hybrid work, and the interviewer seemed annoyed. It was a definite no. I was confused and felt like my time was being wasted. Then I heard nothing for a month, even after I followed up. Finally, they emailed to say I interviewed well but they chose someone else. They also suggested I apply for other openings for the same job? It was confusing. If you're considering someone for multiple openings, why not consider them for all of them instead of making everyone reapply? It didn't make sense. I feel like I dodged a bullet and wouldn't ever apply there again. It was the worst interview process ever. A company with such bad communication and that expects so much unpaid work upfront seems like a terrible place to work.