Metaswitch Interview Questions & Reviews
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Updated May 3, 2012 – Interview questions and reviews posted anonymously by interview candidates.
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Difficulty Rating [?] Based on 5 ratings 
“Difficult” Interview
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Interview Experience [?] Based on 5 ratings
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Software Engineer at Metaswitch
Posted May 3, 2012
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4.0
Difficult Interview
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Overall Positive Experience
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Interviewed and No Offer
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Interviewed Apr 2012 in London, England (United Kingdom) (took a day)
First you sit an online aptitude test to qualify for the group interview. Standard mental maths, sequences, missing diagram type questions.
Then I was invited for an interview with 3 other candidates. We first sat through a presentation about the company and its place in the industry and what we would be doing if we received an offer. Then we sat a series of tests. One aptitude test similar to the online one, one testing ability to follow programming-style logic, one asking for a way to program a card game, and one requiring one to come up with a communications system for a particular scenario.
Afterwards we were given individual 1:1 interviews going through and discussing our answers to the tests, and trying to improve them. A little time was spent asking about my educational background and CV.
I should say there was VERY little time given to complete each test. This was apparently on purpose.
Lunch was provided and travel costs refunded.
Interview Questions
Other Details
I Applied Online and the interview consisted of a Group/Panel Interview and an IQ/Intelligence Test.
Helpful Interview?
Yes |
No
Inappropriate?
Installation Engineer at Metaswitch
Posted Jun 2, 2011 — 1 of 1 people found this helpful
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4.0
Difficult Interview
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Overall Negative Experience
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Interviewed and No Offer
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Interviewed Apr 2011 (took 2 days)
I have to say that this had to be the most surreal interview experience I have ever had to date. I’ve been in the Hi-Tech industry for almost seventeen years so that is saying a lot. I’m also a dual EU citizen so I found no excuse for their criterion being applicable to the actual job they had advertised despite potential cultural differences. The phone screening was pleasant enough and at least the first gentleman I spoke with could be fairly specific about the job. I was very candid about the fact that my background spanned from: hi-tech database, academia, multi-billion dollar retail, and on to one of the most successful startups that has ever involved consumer electronics. However, I was also clear I had no specific telecom industry experience other then supporting embedded devices, DSP, etc. developers, etc. He said that was not a problem and the subsequent interviews definitely reflected that.
The first portion of the interview was with another candidate. We got the “Benefits and Sales Spiel” from a very pleasant man from GB who had been hired right out of his University in GB (warning #1). Then came the bizarre testing process that took up most of the day. The HR person coordinating four hours of non-stop ridiculous tests designed circa 1970’s was very sweet and provided some sweets, coffee, tea and soda. We were even afforded sparse bathroom breaks when needed. This process caught me a bit off guard because how much of any candidate’s day did they actually waste on this stuff when the real job requirements were never tested and barely discussed? My teenagers and elementary school children in the Gifted and Talented program could have scored higher on the majority of the tests although I never knew how I did which doesn’t matter. This is because my children could never do the job I could have done in my sleep that was allegedly advertised.
After that ordeal, which in retrospect would have made slightly a bit more sense for a software engineering position if anything, I spoke with a charming British engineer who was also hired straight out of a university in GB (warning #2!). We joked about the last test that was essentially problem solving and much closer to scripting with system calls around what would apply to the position and do for a living other then a software programming position. We discussed potential programming alternatives to the solution but since all tests were timed and had to be hand-written, I could have presented a lot more prior to that conversation had I known.
The last person I spoke with obviously conveyed via his body language and attitude that I was no longer a candidate. However, at least he could go over the specifics of the job and we talked shop for a bit. I was never even grilled on anything specific on the job requirements were advertised. I left feeling like I had gotten nervous over a wasted day I really didn’t deserve. I noticed they temporarily changed the original description of the job offering significantly less of a salary for a spell but then retracted it back to the original range and benefits.
If you are right out of a British University who is prepared for their “testing process,” then Metaswitch seems like a good company with great benefits even if you don’t have the moxie to do the job as described. Furthermore, even if you were an American who likes and dabbles in bizarre tests non-applicable to the job at hand, I’d recommend applying as well. However, if the company wants to hire applicants who could actually do the job at hand, they really need a reality check in terms of their hiring process.
Interview Questions
Other Details
I Applied Online and the interview consisted of a Phone Interview, a 1:1 Interview, an IQ/Intelligence Test and a Personality Test.
Helpful Interview?
Yes |
No
Inappropriate?
Marketing at Metaswitch
Posted Jan 12, 2011
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3.0
Average Interview
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Overall Positive Experience
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Interviewed and No Offer
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Interviewed Mar 2010 (took 2 days)
conversational interview process when talking by phone or face to face. Very nice and professional. Made to take a logic/pattern recognition test that was circa 1968. Also asked to do a PPT presentation. overall a good process though the test was a bit cheesy
Interview Questions
Other Details
The interview consisted of a Phone Interview, a 1:1 Interview, a Presentation, an IQ/Intelligence Test and a Background Check.
Helpful Interview?
Yes |
No
Inappropriate?
Graduate at Metaswitch
Posted Dec 9, 2010
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3.0
Average Interview
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Overall Neutral Experience
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Interviewed and No Offer
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Interviewed Nov 2010 (took a day)
Applied with just CV, and then arranged interview. HR are very friendly and helpful. The actual interview started at 1pm - eat something beforehand because no food is provided. I finished around 6pm, so it's a long process. You are in a group with several other grads/internship applicants. First, someone gives a short talk about what they do, then you are all put into a room to do some tests: Aptitude test (mental maths, shape puzzles etc.) 45mins. Straight onto a programming logic test - just following the program and writing outputs. Then 2 written tests: one on devising a message passing scheme and the other on how to program a card game. After these tests, it's about 5pm already and you have a 1:1 interview with a software person who goes through your tests and then asks some general questions.
Interview Questions
Other Details
The interview consisted of a 1:1 Interview and a Skills Test.
Helpful Interview?
Yes |
No
Inappropriate?
UI Developer/Support at Metaswitch
Posted Sep 3, 2010 — 2 of 2 people found this helpful
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4.0
Difficult Interview
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Overall Negative Experience
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Interviewed and No Offer
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Interviewed Jun 2010 in Enfield, England (United Kingdom) (took 2 days)
I was given a link to an aptitude test, of which I completed about 60% in the alotted time. Apparently I passed, according to the recruiter, as the hiring manager wanted to follow up a few days later with a phone interview. This went well and I was called in for an in-person interview some weeks later.
This was an intense 6 hour series of fairly old-fashioned IQ type tests (each lasting 20-30 minutes) with questions on paper mostly of the which-drawing-completes-the-series ilk, but what made this different was the quality of the photocopies where you were not sure if some dot was a smudge or part of the drawing.
I should say there was one well-designed test for which I was given 30 minutes: an essay question on how you'd solve a synchronous/asynchronous messaging problem. It tested reasoning and writing skills quite well I thought.
As a break between the written tests I was given a 15 minute talk about the company by a senior sales manager .
Another employee later grilled me about a tests I completed. He asked me to explain my solution, then kept prompting me to come up with a different answer. Finally that was over and he left.
Then the man who would be my manager came in for the final interview. He said I flunked one of the written tests and asked me why he should consider me. By this point I was mentally exhausted, having had a total of 10 minutes for lunch in the same room I was taking all the tests, and a couple of 5 minute toilet breaks in six hours. I answered something to the effect of they've obviously had success with this interviewing/testing process and I won't presume to tell them how to do their job.
He then bizarrely told me I seemed nervous. Bizarrely because he was nervous and would barely look at me. We wrapped up the interview fairly soon after that. Needless to say, I didn't get an offer.
Interview Questions
Other Details
I got the interview through a Recruiter and the interview consisted of a Phone Interview, a 1:1 Interview, an IQ/Intelligence Test and a Skills Test.
Helpful Interview?
Yes |
No
Inappropriate?
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