Morgan Stanley Interview Experience

I interviewed for a Technology Analyst position at Morgan Stanley. The interview process consisted of six rounds: a coding and MCQ round, a technical phone screen, a group activity round, and three HR rounds.

The first round was a 90-minute coding and MCQ test on HackerRank. There were 20 MCQs covering topics like aptitude, basic data structures, OOP, and input/output. The first coding question was easy, but I was unable to solve the second question, which involved finding the maximum sum subarray.

The second round was a one-hour technical phone screen. The interviewer asked me to find the top two words with only alphabetic characters from a file containing alphanumeric characters. I explained my approach using a hash map and then Trie and MinHeap. He also asked me about polymorphism, SQL queries using GROUP BY, and a question about finding a number that repeats only once in an array.

The third round was a 60-minute group activity. We were divided into teams of 6 and 5 and given the task of developing a start-up idea and presenting it to a group of investors. My team decided to focus on providing training for budding start-ups and bridging the gap between investors and new ideas. I helped with the logo, name, objectives, and features of the company.

The fourth round was a 30-minute HR round. The interviewer asked me about my background, family, and how I felt I performed in previous rounds. He also asked me situational questions, such as how I would handle a team member who is not contributing.

The fifth round was another 30-minute HR round focused on professional fitness. The interviewer asked me about my family background, why I chose a research internship over an industrial internship, and how often I interact with my family. He also asked me situational questions about the group activity round.

The sixth round was a 60-minute technical phone screen. The interviewer asked me to code a solution for evaluating an expression with user-defined operator priorities and left-to-right associativity. He also asked me to design a database for a payroll system for multiple companies with departments, employees, and accounts. Finally, he asked me to write a query to find the top three departments in each company with the highest total salary.

After two days, I was selected for a full-time position along with two of my friends. Two other colleagues were offered six-month internships. The interview process was lengthy and comprehensive, evaluating not only technical skills but also situational response, team management, and personality.

Here are some key takeaways from my experience:

• Leadership skills are important, not only in group activities but also in projects.
• HR interviews are frank and fast-paced, so be confident and authentic.
• Confidence is crucial in both interviews and group activities. Speak clearly and articulate your thoughts.