Recap: Technical Interviews with Bloomberg

Resources and what you may have missed

Author

ColorStack VT
October 25, 2024

Hi everyone, Nakyah here 👋🏾!

As part of our Internship Series, we hosted a Bloomberg technical interview prep session, giving you the insights you need to ace those technical interviews. Whether you're preparing for an internship or a full-time role, this session covered practical tips and strategies to help you succeed.

🔗 Bloomberg is a financial news and information company that provides real-time and historical data, trading news, and analyst coverage.

Key Tips

  • Walk through your thought process with the interviewer.
    It’s not just about the answer—interviewers want to understand how you think.

  • Be aware of space and time complexities when discussing solutions.
    Knowing runtime complexities shows that you understand both efficiency and scalability.

  • It’s always better to ask questions or say 'I don’t know but…' rather than giving up.
    Interviewers appreciate seeing effort and problem-solving approaches, even if you're unsure.

  • Practice whiteboard interviews to simulate real-world scenarios.

    Key algorithm topics to focus on:

    • Searching, sorting, and traversing algorithms

    • Strengths and weaknesses of different data structures

    • Making comparisons efficiently

    Problem-solving techniques:

    • Start from the back of an array when needed.

    • Use two pointers to traverse structures.

    • Recognize first-in, first-out (FIFO) operations.

    • Combine multiple data structures for optimal solutions.

Bloomberg Interview Process 

For internship and full-time positions, Bloomberg has a structured interview process:

  • Multiple technical interviews focusing on coding and design

  • Be prepared to discuss runtime and system requirements in depth.

  1. Internships/Full Time Roles

    • 1-hour virtual/phone technical interview

    • 1-hour technical interview

    • 30-minute behavioral interview

    • 1-hour technical interview with Senior Manager

💡 Pro tip: Internships typically don't require discussions about system requirements, but full-time roles will often include system design questions. So, be ready!

Resources

Here are some great tools to sharpen your coding and interview skills: