Interview Preparation
Behavioral, technical, and HR round prep with real Indian examples.
Indian interview rounds — behavioural, technical, HR — each test a different thing and need different prep. This pillar covers the 3 round types, what each one is actually scoring, and the 30-day prep plan that consistently works.
Behavioural rounds: STAR, STAR, STAR
Behavioural questions test how you handled past situations. Indian hiring managers especially probe for: leadership without authority, conflict resolution, dealing with ambiguity, and ownership in firefighting. Prep 6-8 stories that cover these themes, written in STAR format (Situation-Task-Action-Result).
Avoid the 'we' trap — say 'I' specifically. Indian interviewers find the over-collective 'we' evasive. Use 'we' for context, switch to 'I' when describing your specific contribution.
Technical rounds (SDE-specific)
DSA + system design dominate at tier-1 product companies. DSA: NeetCode 150 covers most patterns. System design: ByteByteGo, Alex Xu's books, Educative.io. Practice on a whiteboard or shared editor, not in your IDE — interviewers want to see your thinking, not your debug-driven flow.
For non-SDE technical rounds (data, ML, security): focus on real production case studies from your past work. Case interviewers often probe: 'how did you decide between X and Y' — have a clear reasoning chain.
HR rounds: salary, why-us, weaknesses
Salary expectations: have a tight range tied to market data ('₹X-Y LPA based on offers I've seen'). Don't disclose current CTC unprompted. Why us: research the company's recent product launches and tie back to your skills. Weaknesses: pick a real but bounded weakness with a specific learning plan.
Notice period: Indian HR scrutinises this; if you can serve only 30 days against 60 in your contract, mention it early so it doesn't surprise them in the offer round.
FAQ
Tier-1 product: 4-6 rounds (recruiter + 2-4 technical + HM + bar). IT services: 2-3 rounds. Startups: 3-4. Government: 1-2 + medical + verification.
Yes, almost always. Most Indian HRBPs have 15-25% headroom on first offers. Push back politely once with specific market data.
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