Lyft 90 minute interview questions

Nov 10, 2017 7 Comments

Could someone please provide more details about the 90 minute interview part for Lyft?

I know I can bring my own laptop and will have full internet access.

What sort of problem will I be asked to solve?

Will it be something I can solve by writing code from scratch or should I expect to search for open source code to speed up my development?
I would hate to spend a bunch of time looking for good open source libraries to use then running out of time to solve the problem. I’m hoping that the problem complexity is reasonable enough that I shouldn’t need to pull in special libraries.

Though I also wonder if I would get penalized in my evaluation if I end up writing a bunch of code I could have leveraged from somewhere else instead.

Am I allowed to reuse code that I’ve written myself and is present on the laptop I bring?

It sounds like the app’s UI could simply be a console app that accepts a file or URL path on the command line then outputs to a local file. Is that correct?

Is it expected that I do Test Driven Development? I want to make sure I have enough time to solve the problem and don’t spend too much time on the test code.
Then again, if I only solve the problem and don’t have unit tests will that also count against me?

The environment description during this interview is weird. Will an interviewer be present the whole time or do they step away after I’ve asked my clarifying questions? If they stick around, do I lose points if I ask further questions once I’ve completed my initial clarifying questions?

Lyft seems like a great company and I want to make sure I’ve properly prepared for this part since it seems like the main difference between a Lyft interview and one at the other companies I’ve interviewed at.

Note: I could have sworn someone asked this question before and I tried searching for it but couldn’t find it. So if someone can simply post a link to that thread then I’d be grateful.

Thanks in advance for any tips.

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TOP 7 Comments
  • Lyft / Eng
    51723

    Go to company page Lyft Eng

    51723
    It will be a problem like “given an input file of format x, solve for y/transform the data in z way”, and you’ll likely have some test data provided. You should develop the way you’re most comfortable since it’s designed to simulate the real work environment. If you don’t normally TDD I wouldn’t recommend doing that here but you do want to write some tests if posible in the time. Same for open source, you’re welcome to use it but I wouldn’t prioritize doing that if you can write code yourself. An interviewer will be available if you need them, of course you should only ask questions that make sense but if you have them you can ask (just like a coworker/mentor!). Basically, do everything the same as you would do if this were your job. Hope that helps! You can ask your recruiter for more on the rubric etc.
    Nov 10, 2017 1
  • OP
    Will I need to read or write json or xml or will it be more likely to be a raw format?
    Nov 11, 2017 3
    • Lyft / Eng
      lyft123

      Go to company page Lyft Eng

      lyft123
      File reading isn’t the focus. Just a necessary evil of allowing more complex input while letting you pick whatever language.
      Nov 12, 2017
    • OP
      I’m not saying I can’t r/w those formats. Just curious if I should refresh myself on it or if it’s unlikely to matter.
      Nov 13, 2017
  • Lyft
    Amp

    Go to company page Lyft

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