Frontend SDE II Interview Experience DotPe

Overview

This case study details a candidate's interview experience for the Frontend SDE II position at DotPe. The process included a phone screening and a technical assessment that heavily emphasized JavaScript proficiency and practical application in React.

Interview Rounds

📞 Phone Screening

The initial step involved a brief phone screening. This conversation served to assess the candidate's background, relevant experience, and interest in the specific role. The screening was non-technical and focused on aligning expectations between the candidate and the company.

⚡ Round 1 — Core JavaScript

Round 1 was a technical assessment focused on JavaScript fundamentals, initially scheduled for one hour but extended to approximately 1.5 hours. This round encompassed various aspects of JavaScript and its application in a React environment.

🔹 Output-based Questions

The round commenced with a series of 3-4 output-based JavaScript questions. These questions primarily tested the candidate's understanding of asynchronous JavaScript, including Promises, setTimeout, and async/await. Additional questions explored object methods and the nuanced behavior of this within arrow functions versus regular functions.

🔹 Polyfills

The assessment then transitioned to polyfill implementations. The candidate was first asked about passing context inside an object method. Subsequently, the candidate was tasked with developing a polyfill for the bind function.

This segment further explored functional programming concepts, including a discussion on currying and the implementation of a polyfill for the curry function.

🔹 React + API Integration

Toward the end of the round, the interviewer shifted focus to React. Following a series of rapid-fire React questions, the candidate was asked to develop a React application within CodeSandbox. The application was required to:

• Accept user input.
• Fetch data from the Dummy JSON Products API based on the provided input.
• Display a list of products on the screen.

Upon completion of the initial implementation, the interviewer prompted a discussion on potential optimizations. The conversation naturally led to the concept of debouncing for search functionality. The candidate was then challenged to create a polyfill for debounce and integrate it into the API fetch call, incorporating a 300ms delay.

⚛️ Round 2 — React (Did Not Occur)

While the candidate received positive feedback from Round 1 and was scheduled to proceed to a second round focused on React, this round was ultimately cancelled. It is presumed that the position was filled before the candidate's process could continue.

Key Takeaways

Despite the incomplete interview process, the experience provided valuable insights. Key takeaways for candidates preparing for similar frontend roles include:

• A thorough understanding of JavaScript fundamentals is crucial, especially regarding Promises, async/await, and the behavior of this.
• Practice implementing polyfills for common JavaScript functions (e.g., bind, debounce, curry).
• A solid grasp of React basics and API integration techniques is essential.
• Candidates should consistently consider optimization strategies, such as debouncing and throttling.