Code Review Round (Verbal)

An OCI phone screen that combines 20 minutes of verbal code review (read and critique a pre-written code sample) with a free-choice system-design discussion. A non-traditional screen format — the candidate picks the SD topic from their own past work. Requirements 20-minute segment: read a pre-written code sample provided by the interviewer; identify bugs, missing edge cases, style issues, and propose improvements. Then 20-minute system-design discussion: candidate picks a system from their past work and walks the interviewer through it. No algorithmic coding in this round. Round is one of several non-traditional OCI screen formats. Notes Code-review rounds are scored on structure and prioritisation, not on catching every single issue. Volunteer findings in priority order: correctness bugs → security issues → performance → readability. Read the entire sample once before commenting on any specific line. Random line-by-line critique reads as flailing. Common categories to scan for: null / boundary handling, race conditions, off-by-one, resource leaks (file handles, connections), exception swallowing, integer overflow, hard-coded constants. For the free-choice SD half: pick a system you can describe end-to-end in 10-15 minutes, with one concrete trade-off you made and would re-make / would change with hindsight. Avoid systems you only partially worked on. This format is more relaxed than a graded LC round but is leveling-bearing — the candidate's verbal precision on code review and on the past-system walk-through both inform the IC bar. Preparation Practise code review on an unfamiliar 100-200-line sample (Python or Java) under a 15-minute timer. Produce a structured findings list. Pick one past system from your work and rehearse the 10-15-minute walk-through: requirements → architecture → one specific trade-off → outcome / hindsight. Be ready to bridge between the two halves if the interviewer asks: "in the system you described, how would you have caught these kinds of issues during review?"