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Web: www.thoughtworks.com | HQ: Chicago, IL

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Updated Apr 8, 2012 – Interview questions and reviews posted anonymously by interview candidates.

Difficulty Rating [?] Based on 5 ratings

3.4

“Difficult” Interview

Interview Experience [?] Based on 5 ratings

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Neutral	40%
Negative	20%

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3.0

Average Interview

Overall Negative Experience

Interviewed and No Offer

Interviewed Nov 2011 (took 3 months)

The interview process started with a long questionnaire about more or less personal questions. After this I received an email with 3 different coding problems that I could choose from and solve in Java, C# or Python. After I sent my solution to one of the problems they took about a month to respond. Finally I got an email to set up a phone interview which wasn't very difficult, there were some back programming questions involved but the person I talked to wasn't even a developer so this made me feel a little bit uneasy.
After the phone interview they sent me an email saying I didn't have what they were looking for.

Interview Questions

Create program that calculates the total cost of three different shopping carts including taxes.

Answer Question

Other Details

The interview consisted of a Phone Interview and a Skills Test.

Helpful Interview?

Yes | No

Inappropriate?

4.0

Difficult Interview

Overall Positive Experience

Received and Declined Offer

Interviewed Apr 2009 (took 4 months)

First, you speak with their recruiter, who feels you out to see if you're possibly a good fit for the company. This is nothing terribly deep, just a conversation to see what your goals are, get a sense of your personality, etc.

Assuming the recruiter thinks you're a potential fit, you will get a code test. You are given several word problems, and you must pick one of them to solve. You're expected to deliver a working solution, complete with tests, within a couple of days. Your code is graded by a couple of their consultants, and if they like what they see they promote you to the next level.

Then comes the phone screen interview. The consultant who interviewed me asked a lot of technical questions, going pretty deep into software development concepts and specific technologies. It lasted about an hour, and he also gave me an opportunity to question him on anything company or work-related.

If you make it this far, you then have an in-person interview. You go to one of their offices and meet and speak with a few people. You are given several personality and intelligence tests as well. This is an all-day experience. When you visit their office, you are smacked in the face (in a good way) with their corporate culture. Everyone just looked incredibly happy to be there, and it's a very flat hierarchy, to the point that the people with whom I interviewed had no idea to whom they reported.

Another level of interviewing is their Super Saturday. They fly a group of candidates into one of their offices, where candidates and current team members interact largely in group settings. There are group discussions, and group activities (an Agile project using Legos comes to mind).

After that, if you are someone they are interested in, you will speak with their market principal for that office and try to come to a deal.

The whole process opened my mind to a new and better way of vetting candidates. They are, per their own words "slow to hire, slow to fire." If you interview there, there is no way you have no idea what you're getting into if you decide to join the team.

Interview Questions

It wasn't difficult, but part of the in-person interview involves taking a logic test. This was a challenging set of questions that abstracted software development problems with stick diagrams.

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Reason for Declining

We just could not make the situation work, though they were very generous in their attempts. It was just not feasible to pick up and move at the time.

Other Details

I got the interview through a Recruiter and the interview consisted of a Phone Interview, a 1:1 Interview, a Group/Panel Interview, an IQ/Intelligence Test, a Skills Test and a Personality Test.

Helpful Interview?

Yes | No

Inappropriate?

3.0

Average Interview

Overall Neutral Experience

Interviewed and No Offer

Interviewed Mar 2011 in Atlanta, GA (took 4+ weeks)

I originally applied for the Project Manager role, however HR thought I was more qualified for Business Analyst position. This was further clarified after I received a call back from HR. She did suggest that I speak with one of their Principal Consultant to get a better understanding of both roles. 1 week later I interviewed with the Principle to see where my skill set was best suited...thus the BA role due to my 'limited' Agile experience. That interview went very well and he stated that I'd be a good addition to the team. Since we agreed that the BA position would be good for me, he wanted me to speak with their Sr BA in Atlanta.

This interview would be established a week later. This telephone interview with the Sr. BA consultant went very well and lasted about 45 minutes. Instead of her asking the questions, she explained that she wanted to know what questions I had for her. I was well prepared and overall she was very impressed about my questions and experience. She also expressed her enthusiasm with me being apart of TW. About 30 minutes later, I received a call from HR about the 'glowing' review from the Sr. BA.

Next round of interview(s) would be an in person half day at their Atlanta office. This was to be coordinated the following week.

In office/person interview was the usual: 2 test (flow chart/logic, and basic word/math comprehension). These were timed tests. The next round would be a panel interview. 1 with staff and the 2nd would be with another BA. According to the agenda I received, this round would be about TW culture and "not" the technical interview....more on this later

This interview lasted about 1.5 hrs. It was very conversational and I felt relaxed. I had specific questions regarding culture for this round, and thus not additional questions for the BA that I did not already discussed with the Sr. BA. However, I did have 2 or 3 questions, but it seemed she wanted more. They again expressed their approval of me working at TW and that I would make an excellent addition to the company.

The 3rd and final interview (Technical-case presentation), was cancelled. HR rep asked if I still wanted lunch or I could leave. I made the decision to leave after taking the last test, which was the personality test.

This gave the interviewers time to discuss their opinions to the HR rep. I felt very good about the outcome of the series of interviews.

I learned via email I was not selected. I was very disappointed and confused due to the numerous verbal and written reviews.

I think I did not get the position due to the workflow test. It was very challenging and I did my best. I will admit I'm not the best test taker. I think they are looking for 'book' smart people instead of those in this type of environment you need someone that can relate to customers.

Overall, I enjoyed the experience. I guess it was not meant to be.

Interview Questions

culture, background work experience, the usual questions

Answer Question

Other Details

I Applied Online and the interview consisted of a Phone Interview, a 1:1 Interview, a Group/Panel Interview, an IQ/Intelligence Test, a Skills Test and a Personality Test.

Helpful Interview?

Yes | No

Inappropriate?

4.0

Difficult Interview

Overall Neutral Experience

Received and Accepted Offer

Interviewed Mar 2010 in Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul (Brazil) (took 1 week)

Telephone, access, coding, pairing, values and telephone with manager

Interview Questions

What value would you disregard from the company

Answer Question

Other Details

I Applied Online and the interview consisted of a Phone Interview, a 1:1 Interview, a Skills Test and a Personality Test.

Helpful Interview?

Yes | No

Inappropriate?

3.0

Average Interview

Overall Positive Experience

Received and Accepted Offer

Interviewed Mar 2008 in San Francisco, CA (took 1+ week)

Phone interview, Code review, Office Interviews and Skill tests

Interview Questions

None

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Other Details

I Applied Online and the interview consisted of a Phone Interview, a 1:1 Interview, an IQ/Intelligence Test, a Skills Test and a Background Check.