Just ended Bloomberg During the interview, the overall hit rate of the question bank is quite high. I have compiled the latest Bloomberg interview experience to share with you. It mainly covers three coding questions and common BQs. It focuses on explaining the question ideas, problem-solving skills and interview focus to help students who are preparing for quantitative/data positions at Bloomberg or other large companies to clarify their ideas.
Coding algorithm problem analysis
1. Word Search (LeetCode 79)
Question description: Given a two-dimensional character grid and a word, determine whether the word exists in the grid. Words must be composed of adjacent (up, down, left, and right) cells in order, and each cell can only be used once.
Problem solving ideas: Typical DFS + lookback. First find the grid whose first letter matches, and then perform a deep search. During the search process, the current grid is marked as "visited", and the state is restored after recursive return. Need to pay attention to boundary conditions and repeated path pruning.
Complexity:
- Time: O(N × 3^L), N is the total number of cells, L is the word length
- Space: O(L), occupied by recursive stack
2. Minimum Remove to Make Valid Parentheses (LeetCode 1249)
Question description: Given a string containing brackets and letters, remove the minimum number of brackets to make the string valid, and return any valid result.
Problem solving ideas: Use stack or double pointer method.
- First scan: encountered
(Push into the stack and encounter)If the stack is not empty, pop the top of the stack, otherwise mark the)Is invalid - End of scan: remaining in the stack
(Also marked as invalid - Finally rebuild the string, skipping all invalid characters
Complexity: Time: O(N), Space: O(N)
3. Two-dimensional grid path problem (with fuel tank restrictions)
Question description: Given a two-dimensional grid, from the starting point to the end point, the initial oil volume g. If you encounter an obstacle and cannot pass, if you encounter a gas station and fill up the tank, ask if you can reach the finish line.
Problem solving ideas:BFS (Breadth First Search).
The status needs to be defined as (row, col, current_gas), you cannot just use coordinates to remove weights, because you may take a detour to refuel and then return to the same point, and the state will be different at this time. When reaching the same point, if the oil amount is less or the same, you can prune and skip.
Pay attention to boundary conditions: the starting point is the end point, there is insufficient fuel to go to the gas station, the gas station is at the starting point, etc.
Complexity:
- Time: O(R × C × K), R × C is the grid size, and K is the maximum oil volume
- Space: O(R × C × K), storage access status
Behavioral Questions
Interviewers at Bloomberg look specifically for your communication skills and cultural fit. When introducing yourself, you should show your technical enthusiasm and logical thinking in a short time. At the same time, it is best to contact Bloomberg's business, such as financial data or high-concurrency systems, to make the interviewer feel that you are suitable for this position. The projects in your resume will also be questioned in detail. They will want to know what work you were responsible for, why you did it, and what difficulties you encountered and how you solved them. The answer must be true and clear, and explain your thoughts thoroughly. Don't exaggerate or make lies, which will be revealed as soon as you ask.
Interview result feedback
I received the final feedback email from the recruiter on the 9th day after the interview, officially notifying me that I successfully passed and got the offer. The whole process is faster than many people report, but it is also within the range of common feedback. In addition to the usual preparation, I also used Programhelp to assist with interviews. In summary, it helped me save a lot of time in sorting out ideas and stepping into pitfalls.
If you are also preparing for OA and interviews at Bloomberg or other quantitative and data companies, you can also Contact Programhelp Get professional coaching and real-time guidance.
