EQ Technologies – QA Role Interview Experience

Context

EQ Technologies offered two roles: SDE and QA.
Out of ~600 students, 50 were shortlisted for SDE interviews and 26 for QA interviews.
I was shortlisted for the QA role.

Round 1 – Technical Interview

Introduction

The interviewer asked me to give a detailed self-introduction.
I shared my academic background, skills, and projects.

Project Discussion

I discussed my project where I had implemented JWT (JSON Web Token) authentication.
The interviewer asked me to deep dive into the concept of JWT.
I explained the JWT structure (Header, Payload, Signature), how it works in authentication/authorization, and why it is widely used.
He was satisfied with my explanation and moved to the next question.

SQL Queries

Query 1: Find the average salary department-wise.
Query 2: Find the second maximum salary in the table.
- First, I explained how to find the maximum salary.
- Then I gave two approaches for the second maximum salary:
  - Using
    code
```
1LIMIT
```
  - Using a subquery (
    code
```
1MAX
```
    with a condition
    code
```
1< (SELECT MAX(...))
```
    )
Follow-up Query: Find the average salary department-wise, but only for salaries less than the second maximum salary.
- I explained the filtering logic using a subquery.

C++ Implementation

Finally, the interviewer asked me to implement the last SQL query in C++.
I discussed my approach using pairs (to store department and salary) and sorting (to calculate averages efficiently).

Round 2 – HR Interview

Note: Generally, the process includes two technical rounds and one HR round, but in my case, I was directly taken to the HR round after Technical Round 1.

Background Discussion

The HR asked about my personal and family background.

Company-Related Questions

He asked if I knew who conducted my pre-placement talk (PPT), and I was able to answer.
He then asked for a summary of the PPT.

Career-Oriented Questions

My technical interests.
How I plan to grow within the company.
If I knew about any products of EQ Technologies.

Candidate’s Questions

At the end, he asked if I had any questions.
I asked about EQ Technologies’ collaboration with an aerospace company, which is one of their clients.