Student 13's Citi Interview Experience

Interview Experience

Data structures, OS concepts, security scenario, internship discussion, and web development

What is a linked list? Difference between a list and a linked list
Compare the process of insertion/retrieval at different positions of a linked list and a list. Also, state which is optimal
Why did you choose C++ over Python?
What is a virtual machine? (OS)
Is the idea behind a VPN and a virtual machine the same? If yes, why?
Few questions on summer intern project
Scenario-based question: Consider a user trying to log in to your internet banking account, but there is also an intruder doing the same. i) He knows your password. ii) He can access the OTP too. How will you prevent the intruder from logging in?
What are the tags used to create a table in HTML?

Know data structures deeply: List (array) vs Linked List - insertion/deletion/access time complexities
List: O(1) access, O(n) insertion/deletion at beginning. Linked List: O(n) access, O(1) insertion/deletion at beginning
Be ready to justify language choices (C++ vs Python) - performance, memory management, use cases
Understand OS concepts: Virtual Machine (hardware virtualization, runs complete OS)
Know the difference: VPN (network security, encrypts traffic) vs VM (hardware abstraction, runs OS)
Prepare detailed explanations of your internship projects
Think about multi-factor authentication beyond password and OTP: device fingerprinting, biometrics, IP whitelisting, behavioral analysis, session management
For the security scenario: Consider device recognition, location-based authentication, time-based restrictions, anomaly detection
Know HTML basics: <table>, <tr>, <td>, <th>, <thead>, <tbody>, <tfoot> tags
Practice explaining complex security concepts in simple terms