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Frontend Developer Interview Experience

Role: Frontend Developer Location: Hyderabad Experience: 4+ years Date: September 2024

Online Assessment (Hackerrank)​

The assessment consisted of two coding questions with a clear difficulty gradient.

Question 1​

Moderate difficulty problem that I was able to solve completely. The problem was approachable and required solid problem-solving fundamentals.

Question 2: Minimize Malware Spread​

Difficulty: Hard Problem: LeetCode 928 - Minimize Malware Spread

I attempted a DFS solution but only passed 11 out of 15 test cases. The optimal approach uses BFS or Union Find for better performance.

Interesting note: I had seen this exact problem the day before but didn't solve it. A reminder that consistent practice pays off!

Result: Moved to onsite rounds

Onsite Interview Rounds​

All rounds were conducted on the same day as part of a hiring event on September 20th.

Round 1: DSA & Web Fundamentals (Passed)​

Data Structures & Algorithms:

Successfully explained approaches and coded complete solutions for both problems.

Frontend Concepts Covered:

  • JavaScript implementation of debounce function
  • CSS Grid and Flexbox layout systems
  • Axios vs Fetch API differences
  • HTML5 semantic elements
  • Modern JavaScript features

Outcome: Performed well, explained everything clearly

Round 2: Advanced JavaScript & Graph Algorithms​

Question 1: Promise-based JavaScript problem Deep dive into async/await, promise chaining, and error handling patterns.

Question 2: Connected Components with Maximum Difference

Problem Statement: Given a graph with n nodes and m edges, calculate the difference between maximum and minimum numbered nodes in each connected component, then return the maximum difference across all components.

Input Format:

  • First line: n (nodes) and m (edges)
  • Next m lines: pairs of integers u and v representing edges

Example:

Input:
6 4
1 3
3 5
5 2
2 4

Output: 4

Explanation:

  • Component 1: {1, 2, 3, 4, 5} → max(5) - min(1) = 4
  • Component 2: 6 → max(6) - min(6) = 0
  • Maximum difference = 4

Outcome: Did well overall

Round 3: Deep Frontend & System Design (2 hours)​

This was the most challenging round and mentally exhausting.

JavaScript Quirks & Edge Cases:

  • Tricky JavaScript behavior questions
  • Hoisting, closures, and scope edge cases
  • Type coercion scenarios

HTML & CSS Advanced Topics:

  • CSS3 advanced features and tricky properties
  • Modern CSS techniques
  • Layout challenges

Browser Internals:

  • Critical Rendering Path (CRP)
  • Render Tree construction
  • HTML/CSS parsing mechanisms
  • Browser rendering pipeline

System Design Challenge: Design a WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) Editor in real-time on whiteboard

Key Considerations Discussed:

  • Content editable div vs textarea approach
  • Rich text editing capabilities
  • State management for editor content
  • Toolbar functionality and commands
  • Undo/redo implementation
  • Saving and loading documents
  • Performance optimization for large documents
  • Cross-browser compatibility

Outcome: Extremely challenging but completed all discussions. This round was exhausting and lasted 2 hours.

Round 4: Managerial Round​

A more conversational and behavioral round with a smooth interviewer who listened carefully.

Topics Discussed:

Technical Leadership:

  • Single Page Applications (SPA) architecture
  • Performance optimization strategies
  • Web application optimization techniques
  • Testing strategies and best practices

Behavioral Questions:

  • Conflict resolution experiences
  • Team collaboration examples
  • Handling disagreements with teammates
  • Project challenges and how they were overcome

Scenario-Based Questions:

  • "What would you do if your site goes down in production?"
  • Handling production incidents
  • Debugging strategies under pressure
  • Communication during critical situations

Outcome: Good conversation, demonstrated both technical knowledge and soft skills

Key Takeaways​

  1. Practice consistently - I had seen the OA question the day before but skipped it. Don't skip problems!

  2. Master graph algorithms - Union Find and BFS/DFS came up multiple times

  3. Frontend depth matters - Beyond React/Angular, know browser internals, rendering pipeline, and performance optimization

  4. System design preparation - Be ready to design real-world applications like editors, with whiteboard discussions

  5. Stamina is key - Round 3 lasted 2 hours and was mentally exhausting. Stay focused!

  6. Balance breadth and depth - You need both algorithmic skills and deep frontend knowledge

Preparation Tips​

  • For OA: Practice graph problems, especially Union Find and component-based questions
  • For DSA Round: Focus on medium-hard LeetCode problems, be able to explain your approach clearly
  • For Frontend Round: Study browser internals, not just frameworks. Understand CRP, parsing, and rendering
  • For System Design: Practice designing real applications with scalability and performance in mind
  • For Managerial Round: Prepare STAR format examples of past experiences and challenging scenarios

Overall Experience: Challenging but fair. Salesforce tests both your coding skills and deep understanding of web technologies. The multi-round format on the same day was intense but efficient.

Final Verdict​

⚠️ VERDICT: GHOSTED

Despite completing all four rounds on the same day and performing well in most rounds, I never received any feedback or follow-up from Salesforce. No rejection email, no offer, no communication whatsoever. This is unfortunately a common experience with many companies, but it's disappointing after investing an entire day in their interview process.

Good luck to everyone interviewing! Stay consistent with your preparation and remember that ghosting is a reflection of the company's recruitment process, not your performance.