Here is my experience of getting into Walmart through on-campus placements.

Table of Contents

1. Introduction
2. The Shortlisting Process
3. Online Assessment (OA)
4. Type of Questions Asked
5. Interview Rounds
   • Round 1 – Resume Based
   • Round 2 – Technical Round
   • Round 3 – HR Round
6. Final Thoughts
7. Conclusion

Introduction

Walmart Global Tech India visited our campus for the role of Software Development Engineer (SDE) through our college placement cell. The entire process was a great learning experience – from the initial shortlisting to the final interviews. In this blog, I’ll be sharing my journey, the different stages of the selection process.

The Shortlisting Process

Candidates were shortlisted for the Online Assessment (OA) based on their GPA, with students having a GPA of 9.0 and above being eligible.

Online Assessment (OA)

The OA had two sections and lasted for a total of 80 minutes — split into 40 + 40 minutes.

• The first 40 minutes were mostly MCQs on core Computer Science fundamentals, with a few aptitude and math questions thrown in.
• The next 40 minutes were all about coding, with two programming questions to solve.

What Kind of Questions Came Up

There were 35 MCQs in total, covering Database Management System (DBMS), Operating Systems (OS), Computer Networks (CN), Object-Oriented Programming (OOPS), and some math/aptitude questions. Here’s a closer look:

DBMS

• Mostly questions on query outputs and choosing the correct operators for different scenarios.

OS

• A numerical question on process scheduling (round robin).
• Conceptual questions on mutex and semaphore.

CN

• Questions on protocol usage, the RIP algorithm, and TCP vs UDP comparisons.

OOPS

• Topics included design patterns, method overloading vs overriding, constructor chaining, and SOLID principles.

Output Prediction Questions

• A C program involving recursion, where I had to determine the output.
• A Java program focusing on inheritance and constructor chaining.

Math & Aptitude

• Questions on probability and a few on solving differential equations.

It was a good mix — the MCQs tested the fundamentals, while the coding part made sure you can actually implement what you know. Honestly, it was challenging but fair, and it made me realize which areas I needed to brush up on before the next rounds!

Coding Questions

# Array Transformation
To find the resultant array from a given array by performing the following modifications:

Each element in the given array is replaced by the product of its previous and next numbers.
The first and last numbers are replaced by the product of itself and the next/previous number.

If the length of the array is odd -- left half of the array is arranged in descending order and right half in ascending order, 
leaving the middle element as it is. 
Else left half of the array is arranged in descending order and right half in ascending order.

Constraints:
1 <= N <= 1000

# Golden Price 
A store has an offer saying that, if the customer can find a product whose price 
is a golden price, then it is free for them. 

A golden price is basically a number, whose difference between
the sum of all the digits is equal to the highest digit.
352 ((3+5+2)-5)=5
3003, highest digit = 3 ((3+0+0+3)-3)=3,

Constraints:
1 <= X, Y <= 100000

Interview Rounds

They further shortlisted students based on the OA results and then we had 3 offline rounds all were F2F interviews.

Round 1 (Resume-Based) — F2F (45 Minutes)

The first round was mostly resume-based, mixed with some questions on computer fundamentals. Basically, I was asked a lot about the projects I had listed and why I made certain design choices. Here’s how it went:

Project 1: Load Balanced URL Shortener

• I asked why I picked Kubernetes (k8s) — what problem it solved for this project — and how I set up load balancing.
• Since I mentioned a metrics server, I was quizzed on how the Horizontal Pod Autoscaler (HPA) actually scales pods (like which metrics it uses, thresholds, and when it kicks in).
• I had to sketch an architecture diagram to show the end-to-end flow and all the components.
• We discussed why I chose Redis, the trade-offs compared to other databases.
• Finally, I was asked how auto-scaling behaves under load spikes.

Project 2: Full Stack Web Application (Spring Boot + MongoDB)

• interviewer asked why I chose Spring Boot and how its annotations simplify configuration.
• Then we dug into why MongoDB fit this project better than a relational database.
• Since I mentioned deploying the project on render.com using a Docker image, interviewer asked me to explain the Dockerfile — what each instruction does and why it’s needed.
• We talked about what a repository is and how it fits into the MVC flow in Spring.
• Interviewer also asked about CORS.

Project 3: Full Stack Web Application (Flask + EJS + Node.js)

• I was also asked to explain how I used EJS in the project and why I picked Node.js for the backend.
• Interviewer also wanted to make sure I understood what Node.js actually is and what a Promise means in that context.

This round was challenging but also fun 😭.

Computer Fundamentals

• After discussing about my projects, the interviewer asked a bunch of questions on Computer Networks (CN), Operating Systems (OS), and Database Management Systems (DBMS) with most of the focus on DBMS. Here’s a peek at what came up:

DBMS Questions

• What’s normalization, and why do we even need it?
• After normalizing, does the complexity go up or down, and what happens to the number of tables?
• How are SQL and NoSQL databases different, and when would you pick one over the other?
• Can you explain ACID and CAP theorems?
• Where do CA, CP, and AP fit in?
• How does scaling work in SQL?
• If a database is in the highest normal form, could any problems pop up?
• Why does NoSQL exist anyway?
• What’s the difference between partitioning and sharding?

OS Questions

• What is virtual memory, and why do we use it?
• What is non-contiguous memroy allocation?

Additional Questions

• What exactly is an API?
• What is REST?
• And a classic: what’s the difference between GET, PUT, POST, and PATCH methods?

It was a mix of “think on your feet” and “recall the basics,” which made it challenging but fun.

Reminder: brush up on your fundamentals before interviews!

Round 2 (Technical Round) — F2F (45 Minutes)

During the second technical round, I was asked to solve two coding problems on the spot and explain my approach, code, and the time and space complexity for each.

Coding Questions

# Given an integer array and a number K.
# Rotate the array to the right by K positions.

Input = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5], K = 2
Output = [4, 5, 1, 2, 3]

# Given a matrix containing 0's and 1's.
# Find the total number of connected regions formed by adjacent 1's.

Input
1 1 0  
0 1 0  
1 0 1

Output = 3

Computer Fundamentals

Besides the coding questions, I was also asked a few computer fundamentals questions to test the basics. Some of the ones I got were:

• What’s a Singleton Pattern, and when would you use it?
• Can you explain Round Robin Scheduling?
• What is Demand Paging?
• What does ACID mean?

Not too crazy, but definitely things you should know if you want to ace the fundamentals!

Round 3 (HR) — F2F (25 Minutes)

The third round was the HR interview, which lasted for about 25 minutes. Here I was assessed based on my personality, interests, and soft skills; nothing technical (just a chance to see the “human side” of me 😬).

Questions Asked

During my HR round I was asked to talk about myself – where I am from, my hobbies, and what my strengths and weaknesses are. One question that stood out was: If you’re given a very important task and can’t take a break coz of obvious reasons, but the work starts feeling draggy and frustating how would you stay focused and still pursue your hobbies?

It felt less like an interview and more like a converstaion about how I manage my time and handle pressure. This round was not just about what I know, but about I how think and how I stay motivated.

Reflection: Behavioral alignment mattered as much as technical clarity.

Final Thoughts

Looking back, the Walmart interview process was a valuable learning experience. It didn’t just test my technical skills… it also pushed me to stay calm, think clearly, and communicate confidently. Each round gave me a better idea of where I stood and what I could work on. It was challenging, YES, but also super rewarding 😌, and it really boosted my confidence while giving me insight into real-world problem-solving and technical discussions.

Conclusion

Keep going, trust your prep, and stay curious… the growth follows automatically. ❤️✨