Got rejected from the phone screen — I saw it on the portal before I even got the email.
The interviewer opened with a hard problem, similar to a LeetCode problem, but it required outputting the actual combinations.
It was really strange — the problem didn't say whether the word had to be in the given list, how many times each word could be used, or whether repeats were allowed. I asked him about it, and he couldn't clarify it either. I only barely understood it later from his own example.
I said I'd solve it with backtracking + hashmap, similar to word break. He thought the time complexity was too high and didn't let me write it, and told me to try some kind of graph algorithm instead. I couldn't think of one. He said to use a Trie, but I genuinely couldn't figure out how to apply a Trie here, since a word can be split into an arbitrary number of segments. He also didn't let me write the backtracking code — he just said fine, then it becomes a case where only two words combining into one word counts as a combination, and only then let me write it.
After the interview I checked with GPT, and GPT also used backtracking + hashmap. Even with a Trie you'd still have to walk it repeatedly — no real difference.
It was just so frustrating — the interviewer was late and ended the interview early. And at the very end he insincerely said 'good luck in your next steps.'
The night before the interview, really late, I suddenly got a call from HR wanting to debrief me on the next day's interview. I was stunned — I said we hadn't agreed on a call at this time. She said she knew it was late but called anyway. It was maddening — HR had also not called at the agreed times before.
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