Zoom Interview Questions

If you’re a software engineer considering applying for developer roles at Zoom, this article on Zoom interview questions will give you the right perspective, information, and insights to crack the Zoom technical interview.

Zoom is a popular video communications technology company based in the US. It is actively used for telecommuting, teleconferencing, distance education, cloud meetings, and social relationships. Zoom’s steady revenue growth and supreme ease of use led to the company being valued at over $1 Billion in 2017, making it a Unicorn company. Employees at Zoom enjoy rewarding careers with high-paying compensations and a stimulating work environment. At Zoom’s technical interview, you can expect Zoom interview questions about coding, distributed systems design, behavioral psychology, and leadership.

Zoom Software Engineer Interview Process

Before we look at some Zoom interview questions, let’s take a quick look into the software engineer interview process at Zoom.

The software engineer interview process at Zoom is very similar to the interview process at FAANG companies. The interview mainly aims to test your problem-solving and design skills. Here’s what you can expect as far as the Zoom technical interview process is concerned.

1. The Recruiter Screen

This is the first round where you’ll have an informal discussion with a recruiter from human resources. The recruiter will ask you basic questions about your experience, stints with past companies, skill-set, compensation, and your general interest in the position. Make sure that your LinkedIn profile is updated with the right keywords and information in order to give the recruiter the right context and clarity on your skills and experience.

Remember, recruiters use LinkedIn’s boolean algorithms to locate relevant profiles. Updating your LinkedIn profile optimally is one of the best ways to land FAANG+ interviews.  

2. The Technical Phone Screen Interview

The Technical Phone Screen round is the first major round where your programming skills are evaluated. Zoom interview questions in this round are majorly around Data Structures and Algorithms. You can expect a problem or two where the recruiter will first ask you to brute-force the problem solution before moving on to writing code. Your ability to correctly approach the problem and follow the ideal solution path will give you the points you need to get past this round.

3. The On-site Interview

This interview takes place about 2-3 weeks after you pass the Technical Phone Screen interview. Recruiters in this round ask questions about coding, algorithms, distributed systems design, and behavioral psychology. As such, the on-site interview is the ultimate test of your analytical problem-solving capabilities.

The on-site round typically consists of 3-4 individual rounds on coding, systems design, and behavioral psychology. There can be additional rounds depending on the seniority of the position you’re applying to. Each on-site round lasts about 30-40 minutes.

Now, moving on to the central part of our discussion — Zoom interview questions. In the following sections, we’ll look at interview questions around coding, systems design, and behavioral psychology — the three main aspects around which questions are asked at the Zoom interview. Let’s go ahead and take a look.

Zoom Coding Interview Questions

Zoom interview questions around coding feature during the Technical Phone Screen interview and the coding rounds of the on-site interview. Below is the list of important topics to prepare for the coding interview:

• Trees and graphs
• Graph algorithms, including greedy algorithms
• Dynamic programming

• Recursion
• Sorting algorithms — quicksort, merge sort, heap sort, etc.
• Hash tables and queues
• Arrays, strings, and linked lists

Zoom Coding Interview Questions For Practice

Below are some sample coding interview questions for you to practice.

1. You are given a linked list “L.” Write a program function to pick a random node from the linked list.
2. You are given a positive array with n positive integers. Write a program to determine the inversion count of the array.
3. You are given a binary tree T. Write a program to print the right view of the tree.
4. You’re given a binary tree T. Write a code to print the height of the binary tree.
5. For a given binary tree, write a program to connect the nodes of the binary tree that are at the same level.
6. For a binary search tree with unique values, two node values are given. Write a program to find the lowest common ancestors of the two nodes.
7. Write a code to convert a given binary tree to a Doubly Linked List (DLL) in place. The left and right pointers in the nodes are to be used as previous and next pointers, respectively, in the converted DLL.
8. Write a code to count the leaves in a given binary search tree BT.
9. Write a program function to implement the serialize and deserialize functions for a given binary search tree.
10. You are given a set of 2 sorted arrays, “X” and “Y,” with respective sizes “n” and “m,” Write a code to merge the two sorted arrays such that their characters appear in decreasing order.

If you’re looking for more problems to practice, check out our Problems Page to access a huge list of coding problems along with solutions.

Zoom Interview Questions on System Design

Zoom’s core product offering is scalable and highly reliable software that is used by people across the globe. Systems design is an important area that is tested at Zoom’s technical interview.

Here are the important design topics to prepare for the Zoom technical interview:

• Databases
• Network Protocols
• Sharding techniques
• Loading and caching
• Online and File processing systems
• API modeling
• Concurrency
• Systems design case studies

Also read: The Ultimate Systems Design Interviews Checklist to Get Into FAANG+ Companies

Zoom Interview Questions on System Design For Practice

Below are some sample interview questions on distributed systems design that are important for the Zoom interview:

1. How do you design an API rate limiter?
2. How do you make sure that video conferencing software can be accessed in a remote environment?
3. How would you design a file-sharing system that allows users to share large files?
4. How do you ensure that a database is secure?
5. How would you design an Application Program Interface for an online system?
6. What aspects should you consider while designing an e-commerce application?
7. What network protocols should you consider while building an application that millions of users will use?
8. How would you design a load-balancing system to ensure smooth video conferencing during peak usage times?
9. How would you architect a distributed logging system that can handle millions of events per second?
10. How would you design a scalable notification system that sends alerts to millions of users in real time?

Zoom Interview Questions on Behavioral Psychology and Leadership

Behavioral interviews are an integral part of the hiring process at Zoom. Questions that are asked in these interviews revolve around workplace conduct, professional and personal challenges, experience with past organizations, the company’s culture, and workplace ethics.

Many software engineers often make the mistake of deprioritizing behavioral interview questions and fail to make a mark in interviews despite being technically strong. Read 10 Key Behavioral Skills Required to Land a $500k Tech Job to understand the importance of behavioral interviews.

Also Read: 10 Key Behavioral Skills Required to Land a $500k Tech Job

Zoom Interview Questions on Behavioral Psychology and Leadership for Practice

Below are some sample behavioral questions asked at the Zoom interview:

1. Tell us about a time when you worked on a challenging project that required you to learn new skills
2. Tell us about a time when you had to make a big decision based on little available information.
3. Tell us about a time when you had to lead a team through a challenging project with tight deadlines. How did you keep the team motivated and focused?
4. Tell us about a time when a coworker was uncooperative. What did you do to mend the situation?
5. How do you ensure to maintain a good work-life balance?
6. How do you ensure to keep stress in your personal and professional life at bay?
7. Tell us about a time when you had a conflict with a coworker.
8. What is your process for constructively criticizing a colleague who is not meeting expectations?
9. What was the most challenging project that you worked on?

Using the STAR method to answer behavioral questions is the best way to approach the interview.

Also read: Behavioral Interview Questions for Software Engineers and Developers.

Tips to Crack Zoom Technical Interview

If you are prepping for Zoom’s technical interview, these below tips will help you make the most of it.

1. Begin your interview prep at least 7-8 weeks before your interview. It takes a good few weeks to cover all the essential topics in data structures, algorithms, and distributed systems.
2. Spend dedicated time prepping for the behavioral interview. Devote at least one week to create custom responses to commonly asked behavioral questions, especially those around the company’s culture, past projects, and workplace ethics.
3. Create a good portfolio of your coding exploits and past projects that imparted crucial learnings. A good portfolio is almost certain to help you stand out from the rest of the competition.
4. Use power patterns to solve new problems. To do this, classify problems with similar solution patterns and approach new problems through existing patterns that you’ve already applied and used to solve previous problems.
5. Aim to solve at least 1-2 coding problems a day during your preparation.
6. Think out your solution aloud in the interview in order to give the hiring manager a window into your thought process and approach to solving the problem.
7. Spend at least a week or two prepping concepts in systems design. Systems design interviews are critical, and more so for senior developer and managerial positions.
8. Practice mock interviews with experienced professionals who can give you the proper feedback.

Nail Every Zoom Interview Questions With Interview Kickstart

With Interview Kickstart you can fast track your interview prep, and nail any job interview. Led by industry experts (from the likes of Google, Facebook, and LinkedIn), our instructors will help you build a strong foundation in the subject, and give you all the tools required to be successful in your career and land your dream job.  You can check out some of the success stories of our alumni who have advanced their careers with the help of Interview Kickstart.

FAQs: Zoom Interview Questions

Q1. How to prepare for Zoom coding interview questions?

The best way to prepare for Zoom interview questions on coding is to solve problems using power patterns. Identify and classify problems with similar patterns and leverage these patterns to approach new problems. This is also a proven way to improve your problem-solving skills.

Q2. How many Zoom interview questions are asked at the Zoom interview?

You’re asked 1-2 coding problems during the Technical Phone Screen Round and 4-5 questions on coding and systems design combined in the on-site interview round. You’re also asked 4-5 behavioral questions specific to workplace conduct, leadership, past project learnings, professional challenges, work-life balance, etc.

Q3. What are some tips for answering Zoom interview questions?

To optimally answer Zoom interview questions, use power patterns to solve coding problems and think aloud in your interview. Thinking out loud will give the recruiter an understanding of your approach. More so, you’re given points not just for getting the solution right but also for how you approach the problem solution.

Q4. How long should you prepare for the Zoom interview?

Ideally, in order to comprehensively cover coding, systems design, and behavioral concepts, starting your prep at least 8 weeks before your interview is highly recommended.

Q5. What is the best resource to crack the Zoom technical interview?

Interview Kickstart offers a Technical Interview Masterclass class tailored to help you crack tech interviews at top companies, including Zoom, Google, Facebook, Amazon, Apple, and Microsoft, among other companies. The curriculum is created by instructors who are currently active members of hiring committees at FAANG+ companies, giving our students the much-needed edge they need.

Related reads: