just finished my okta new grad SWE interview loop last month. class of 2025, cs degree from a mid-tier state school, no big internships on my resume. sharing this because i couldn't find much specifically for new grads and i was flying blind.
the loop for new grad roles: online assessment (HackerRank, 90 min, 3 problems) technical phone screen (45 min, live coding, one problem) abbreviated onsite (2-3 rounds): coding + one behavioral
new grad loops at okta are notably shorter than the senior loop. no system design. no bar raiser round. they know you're coming out of school and are testing for: (1) can you code cleanly under pressure, (2) are you actually curious and easy to work with.
prep that helped me: leetcode medium problems, focused on arrays, strings, hashmaps, basic graphs i did NOT grind hard problems. at new grad level they're not testing your ability to solve tree dp in 20 minutes i practiced talking out loud while coding. this is underrated. the interviewers gave me hints when i was stuck but only when i was narrating my thinking. when i went quiet they just waited
things i didn't know going in: they move kind of slowly. i was impatient but 5 weeks total from OA to offer is normal the behavioral questions at new grad level are simple: tell me about a group project that went wrong, a time you learned something hard quickly, something you're proud of building. you don't need FAANG-caliber stories my OA score wasn't perfect (got the graph problem half-right) but they still moved me forward. correct and clean mattered more than fully complete
my offer: i can't share exact numbers but it was in line with what glassdoor shows for entry level SWE in a non-SF location. not faang money but not embarrassing either.
good luck to anyone else going through the new grad grind right now. it's a tough market but okta does hire new grads and the process is humane.