🌟 My Housing.com Frontend Engineer Interview Experience (SDE-1)

Overview

Landing a role at a product-focused company such as Housing.com requires a strong understanding of frontend engineering principles and user-centric design. The Housing.com interview process is designed to assess a candidate's technical abilities, problem-solving skills, and cultural fit.

Interview Rounds

The interview process consisted of three rounds, each designed to evaluate different aspects of the candidate's skills and experience.

First Round — Machine Coding

• Format: 90 minutes
• Mode: Online (HackerRank-style environment)
• Objective: Build real-world features using React.

The first round involved building new functionalities on top of a partially developed React application. The task centered around creating a simplified ticket booking page, similar to BookMyShow, to assess React component structuring, state management, and UI styling skills. The candidate was required to implement the following features:

• Seat Selection & Deselection: Toggling seat selection on click.
• Booking Seats: Marking selected seats as booked and disabling them after booking.
• Clearing Selection: Unselecting all selected seats, except those already booked.
• Resetting the App: Reverting the application to its initial state.

It's crucial to focus on writing readable, well-structured code and avoiding shortcuts, even under time constraints.

Second Round — React, JavaScript, and Web Fundamentals

This round assessed the candidate's theoretical and practical knowledge of React, JavaScript, and web fundamentals. A deep understanding of the JavaScript event loop, browser behavior, and the impact of network and memory on user experience is essential.

Third Round — Techno-Managerial

The third round was a techno-managerial discussion. Questions focused on the candidate's ability to refactor legacy code while ensuring stability during modernization. The interviewers were looking for someone who could own features, collaborate cross-functionally, and think from a product perspective. Project experience and the ability to articulate the "what," "why," and "impact" of their work are crucial in this round.

Key Takeaways

The Housing.com interview process tests a candidate's hands-on coding skills, understanding of modern web architecture, and ability to solve real-world problems using scalable UI practices. To prepare for frontend interviews, candidates should:

• Master the basics: HTML, CSS, JS, and the browser.
• Build mini-projects: Go beyond tutorials to simulate real-world features.
• Learn by doing: Code frequently to uncover edge cases and UX challenges.
• Understand React inside-out: Focus on Hooks, performance, and design patterns.
• Communicate clearly: Explain the thought process during interviews.