Bodybuilding.com Interview Questions & Reviews

Interviewed Apr 2011 in Boise, ID (took 2 weeks)

I was initially contacted by a recruiter regarding a software engineering position with bodybuilding.com. We first exchanged emails around my interest in the position and my thoughts about relocating to Boise, ID. After several rounds of emails, we followed up with a phone call to discuss the position in greater detail. Before submitting my name to bodybuilding.com, I was asked to complete a short 10 question written “quiz”. The questions ranged in scope, but were mostly centered around OOP.

About a week later, I was scheduled for a phone screening with the hiring manager at bodybuilding.com. This conversation lasted roughly ½ hour and covered many topics ranging from OOP principles, web architecture, business knowledge and company culture.

Several days after the phone screening, I received word that bodybuilding.com was interested in a face to face interview in Boise. A schedule was agreed upon and bodybuilding.com made all arrangements.
The face to face interview consisted of two parts. The first part was a typical behavioral type interview with the hiring manager and one of their Sr. Engineers. This lasted about 45 minutes and consisted of questions like “tell me about a time when…”.

The second part of the interview centered more around technical topics and was conducted by four software engineers – this part of the interview lasted about 2 ½ hours. A wide range of topics were covered as they were digging to learn my boundaries. Topics included OOP questions, design patterns, web servers, server platforms, databases and many “what would you do in this scenario…” type questions.

Overall it was a great experience – very knowledgeable people. In the end, however, it was determined our “fit” wasn’t quite right for what they were looking for.