Reinsurance Group of America — Interview Experience (2022)

In February 2023, I applied for an intern position at Reinsurance Group of America (RGA), and I received confirmation of my interview in December 2022. As a leading global provider of life and health reinsurance, RGA’s commitment to innovation and technology made it an ideal company to gain experience as a backend developer.

The interview process was expected to consist of two rounds. The first round was with an SDE 1, while the second round was with two technical team members.

Round 1: Technical Round 1

The interviewer was friendly and welcoming, and the interview lasted for about 45 minutes. The manager asked about my previous experience in backend development and inquired about my understanding of RGA’s business model. Some of the questions that were asked included:

1. Tell me about your experience with backend development.

2. What programming languages are you proficient in?

3. Can you explain how you would design a database schema for a given problem statement?

4. What do you know about RGA's business?

5. Can you describe a project where you implemented a caching mechanism?

6. Tell me about a difficult problem you faced while developing a backend system and how you solved it.

7. How do you ensure the quality of your code?

Overall, this round was a positive experience, and I felt that I was able to showcase my skills and experience effectively.

Round 2: Technical Team Interview

The second round was a Microsoft team with two technical team members — One is the lead software engineer and one Intern recruiter. They were friendly, and the interview lasted for about an hour. They asked several technical questions related to backend development ( as my profile and resume speak about it a lot), and some of the questions included:

1. Why is Java considered to be platform-independent, while C++ is not?

2. Java vs C++

3. Can you explain how you would optimize a slow-running query in a database?

4. How would you handle a situation where a user is sending too many requests to a server?

5. Can you describe the differences between SQL and NoSQL databases?

6. Can you give an example of a design pattern that you have used in your previous projects?

7. How do you ensure the security of your backend systems?

8. Can you explain how Kafka works and give an example of how you would use it in a distributed system?

Overall, the technical team interview was challenging but rewarding. in the last they ask me if I worked on the frontend/testing or not. I received rejection after some follow up saying they are not hiring for any backed roles

Result: Rejected