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Web: www.zappos.com | HQ: Henderson, NV

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Updated May 29, 2012 – Interview questions and reviews posted anonymously by interview candidates.

Difficulty Rating [?] Based on 37 ratings

2.9

“Average” Interview

Interview Experience [?] Based on 37 ratings

Positive	41%
Neutral	38%
Negative	22%

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21–30 of 37 Zappos.com Interviews

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2.0

Easy Interview

Overall Negative Experience

Interviewed and No Offer

Interviewed Jun 2011 in Las Vegas, NV (took 7 weeks)

Started with an online application, including questions like "On a scale of 1-10, how lucky are you?" and "If you were a suoerhero, what super power would you have, and why?" That was followed with several online skills tests, for grammar and typing speed. After that, was a skills test for placing orders accurately on the zappos.com website. That was followed with a phone interview with HR, which seemed a mix of personality and general skills questions. Then, there was a phone interview with the hiring manager, which was the same themed questions, a mix of personality and skills-based questions.

This was a very long, drawn out process. I knew that they are careful in regards to whom they hire, as they hire based on personality fit, as well as skills fit. Each step of the interview process happened on a weekly basis, usually after I emailed my HR contact, asking for progress reports on my application. I would ask then get a reply saying that things were progressing. The final phone interview was on a Friday morning, but I found out that they had made a hiring decision, indirectly, via the Zappos page on LinkedIn.com, 2 days after my interview.

This meant that they had interviewed me, then made an offer to someone else (either later that day or even earlier), who then accepted that offer before E.O.D. Friday...However, I never heard back from Zappos until Tuesday after, once again, I emailed them for a progress report - already knowing the answer. That's what bothered me the most, I think...finding out that they already had someone lined up, but continuing the interview process, anyways. If they had a person lined up, then they should have just cut me loose.

I didn't mention the LinkedIn.com thing to HR, and they were very nice, saying they would forward my resume and application to the Customer Loyalty Team, but that they had already done their hiring for the time being.

I still want to work for this company, and the next time I apply for something, I need to be more aggressive and not allow so much time to pass between tests/interviews.

Interview Questions

On a scale of 1-10, how weird are you?

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On a scale of 1-10, how lucky are you?

Answer Question

How do you cope with interruptions in the workplace?

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Other Details

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

Helpful Interview?

Yes | No

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Inappropriate?

1.0

Very Easy Interview

Overall Negative Experience

Interviewed and No Offer

Interviewed Jun 2011 in Louisville, KY (took a day)

HR person seemed more interested in how "weird" and "quirky" I can be, rather then how good of a photographer I was. Asked nothing about lighting and or how I would approach productivity of updating their on line images. And was all about how much FUN I could bring to the table. Reminded me of the scene from Office Space and the local TGIF's is looking for the person with the most FLAIR.

Interview Questions

On a scale of 1 - 10 how weird would you consider yourself?

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Would you be willing to take a significant cut in pay working here?

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Other Details

The interview consisted of a 1:1 Interview and a Phone Interview.

Helpful Interview?

Yes | No

Inappropriate?

4.0

Difficult Interview

Overall Negative Experience

Interviewed and No Offer

Interviewed Jun 2011 in Henderson, NV (took 6 months)

6 months of e-mails starting with trying to find out about the openings they had. then the following: grammar test, spelling test, typing test, computer assessment test, 2 face to face interviews. Was told that they had found other people that were better qualified in some areas. Encouraged to apply in another 6 months.

Interview Questions

If you could have dinner with 2 people, alive or dead, who would they be and why?

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Other Details

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

More Zappos.com Customer Loyalty Team Interviews

Helpful Interview?

Yes | No

Inappropriate?

3.0

Average Interview

Overall Positive Experience

Interviewed and No Offer

Interviewed Sep 2010 in Las Vegas, NV (took 2 weeks)

The initial phone interview was with HR. They asked some questions out of left field, like on a scale of one to ten, how weird are you? My only issue was that they were taken back by my salary requirements, even though I had stated those same requirements in the application.

The 2nd interview was a phone interview with department managers. Some of the same questions were asked and then there were specific questions related to the job.

The 3rd interview consisted of an online ordering skills test which everyone has to do, followed by onsite interviews with the web team and a tour.

Overall. I really enjoyed meeting with everyone. They were upbeat, friendly and very welcoming. The interview process was in rounds and was just ok, Many of the same questions were asked over and over by different people, but I felt like they were more concerned whether I was a fit with their culture rather than being qualified for the position itself.

I decided not to pursue the job, because I felt it wasn't the right fit for my skills. I felt like Zappos would be an awesome place to work, but it also felt a little disorganized and unstructured. The tour was great, very informative, but I felt like the downside in letting people be themselves was disorganization. There were some very untidy areas, and it reminded me of a college dorm. Don't get me wrong, some people can work well like that, but it would have been a distraction for me. Overall though a great place and a place that is moving in the right direction in regards to its employees

Interview Questions

On a scale of one to ten, how weird are you?

Answer Question

If you could be a superhero, who would you be?

Answer Question

Other Details

The interview consisted of a Personality Test, a Skills Test, a 1:1 Interview and a Phone Interview.

Helpful Interview?

Yes | No

View Comments (2)

Inappropriate?

4.0

Difficult Interview

Overall Neutral Experience

Interviewed and No Offer

Interviewed May 2011 in San Francisco, CA (took 2+ weeks)

Round 1 was a phone interview with the hiring manager. That was the pretty standard easy interview that gets your foot in the door at any company. Nothing too difficult was asked, it's mostly about gauging your interest and hearing about the job.

Round 2 is the tricky bit. It's a HR interview that tries to figure out if you're the physical incarnation of their fabled company values. If I were you, I'd have a story ready for each one of them because the interviewer expects you to ramble on and hang yourself if you don't have good answers. I've never talked to a shrink but I got a feeling it is very similar. They ask a lot of deceptively simple questions whose answers probably don't really matter on the surface.

I think round 3 is a technical phone screen; round 4 is a in person interview, and round 5 is a flight to the mothership.

Interview Questions

Tell me about what you've been doing and what was your favorite project.

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On a scale of 1-10 how weird are you?

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If you could be a superhero which one would you be and why? You can't pick superman, batman, or spiderman.

Answer Question

Rate yourself from 1-10 on technical skill X and why?

Some of the topics were XHTML, server programming, javascript, hand coding (as opposed to what? feet coding???)

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Other Details

I Applied Online and the interview consisted of a Personality Test and a Phone Interview.

More Zappos.com Software Engineer Interviews

Helpful Interview?

Yes | No

Inappropriate?

1.0

Very Easy Interview

Overall Negative Experience

Interviewed and No Offer

Interviewed Jan 2011 in Henderson, NV (took 3 days)

I applied online to this position as i have a very good background and experience with the technologies listed in the job description. I have been contacted by an HR person who went over my resume and she told me they want me to take a code test. We also discussed other typical HR questions. According to the outcome, they may or may not make a phone screening. I accepted the code test which took less than an hour. I sent them a working and tested java code, and gave the most reasonable answers to other java questions, but they did not follow up. I believe I don't fit their cooperate "culture".

Interview Questions

A Java class called Example has the following attributes: String name, int id, String description, List<String> comments. Write a method that takes an instance of the Example class as an argument and returns true if both instances are equivalent at the attribute level. Getters and setters are available for each attribute. Once added, will this method be sufficient to use Example as a key value in a Map? If not, what else is required?

Answer Question

In a standard SQL query, it is necessary to retrieve rows where the column id is equal to 2, 4, 6, and 8 in the item table. Give two ways in which these values can be searched for without using IN. Explain the pros and cons of each way.

Answer Question

In your own words, explain why a class such as String cannot be extended. Why would you want to do this in your own code and how would you do it?

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Other Details

I Applied Online and the interview consisted of a Phone Interview.

More Zappos.com Software Engineer Interviews

Helpful Interview?

Yes | No

Inappropriate?

2.0

Easy Interview

Overall Neutral Experience

Interviewed and No Offer

Interviewed Sep 2010 in Henderson, NV (took 5 weeks)

I applied for this position via Jobvite and got asked to fill out a formal application then was asked for a phone interview. I was contacted on time by the person they said would be calling me, and the interview lasted about 15 minutes. I communicated with the recruiters through email and they asked me to take the personality questionnaire and then later on a skills test. Later, they asked me to do a Skype interview with the team (I live out of state). I sat in front of my computer and different groups of people (about 2 or 3 at a time) came and spoke to me. I thought it went really well. It lasted about an hour but it felt so quick! It felt like I was just having a conversation with my friends, they asked me a lot about myself and what I could bring to the company. All this time the recruiters were emailing me details about the position, like salary and benefits, leading me to think I had a great chance at the job. After the Skype interview, the lady who could potentially be my boss, said she wanted to meet me in person. I told them to let me know when so I could either drive or fly there, but they said they would love to pay for my plane ticket! A friend of a friend works for the company and she coached me on what I should know; definitely a great help! She said the company is all about culture and being able to fit-in. The company flew me there and put me up in a hotel for the night. I was picked up in the morning and as soon as I arrived at the office, I was given a tour. Great environment and everyone was so nice! The interviews started about an hour after I got there. They put me in a conference room and different groups of people came in to talk to me, pretty much the same ones I talked to via Skype. I thought they could have done a better job coordinating the interview because I repeated myself about ten times throughout the day. I was taken out to lunch, which I knew was part of the interview process, but I didn't feel like I was part of the group. The ladies who took me had their own conversation going and it was tough for me to join in. After lunch, more people came in and spoke to me, and again I was repeating myself and saying the same thing over and over! And two of the interviewers even admitted that. Another thing that made me nervous was that in between interviews, I knew they were all talking to each other about me and comparing notes. The last group of people to talk to me said they felt like I didn't want to be there! I was insulted by that! In previous interviews, it seemed they were impressed with my college degree, even though it wasn't required in the position I applied for and not in the same field of work. Throughout the interview, I tried to emphasize what I had learned in college and show that I can use it in the workplace and be creative and make it work with this position. It felt like they were making me beg for the job. I think actions speak louder than words, but they didn't seem to see it that way. I rearranged my schedule for the past month so I could be available for every test and interview they wanted, and halted my job search because it looked like I was going to get hired. In the email they sent me a few days before the interview they told me "In respect for your time, if we don't see a mutual fit, we will end the interview process." I interviewed for FIVE hours, and if they didn't see that I fit in well, they could have sent me away after the second or third time I said my speech. The last group, however, did say that everyone I spoke to liked me and that I would fit in and do well there. So you can imagine my surprise when I received an email a few days later saying that they "didn't see a mutual fit." I'm not sure where in the interview I showed that I wasn't serious about wanting the job and being there. Wish I could ask them but too late now. In my opinion, it's a very unusual interview process...and very tedious.

Interview Questions

If you could be any superhero, who would you be and why?

Answer Question

On a scale of 1-10, how weird are you?

Answer Question

What's your favorite drink?

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Other Details

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

More Zappos.com Merchandising Assistant Interviews

Helpful Interview?

Yes | No

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Inappropriate?

3.0

Average Interview

Overall Neutral Experience

Interviewed and No Offer

Interviewed Sep 2010 in Henderson, NV (took a day)

I applied for the position online. I was called about a week later from their HR department asking to set up an interview. Unfortunately I missed the call, so I left a voicemail for the guy in HR who had called me. He ended up emailing me and asking if I was available for an interview tomorrow. I told him I couldn't make it since I was located in another state and would be relocating. I needed a full 24 hour notice. He then stated that it was a phone interview. I wrote him back and told him I was available and we set up a time for the phone interview. I thought it was weird that the type of interview was not clarified. That was actually the last time I heard back from HR.

The next day I sat around waiting for the interviewer to call me. She finally called about 20 minutes late. She was very nice and friendly, but could not tell me much about the position because it was a new department that was being set up. She did not sound exactly sure what the "Business Process Coordinator" was going to be doing. It definitely threw me off guard and made me feel uneasy about the position. The interview was pretty short and I was asked just the basic standard interview questions. None of the zany Zappo interview questions the company is known for.

I was never notified that I didn't get the job and it looks like months later that position is still open. I am not that surprised that the position hasn't been filled because how can they hire someone if they don't even know what they want that person to do?

I was a little disappointed with the whole interview process because I guess I expected a little more professionalism from the #15 company in the US to work for. I was never told anything about the benefits from HR, which aren't the most important thing, but still pretty important.

Interview Questions

Why do you want to work for Zappos?

Answer Question

Other Details

I Applied Online and the interview consisted of a Phone Interview.

Helpful Interview?

Yes | No

View Comments (1)

Inappropriate?

4.0

Difficult Interview

Overall Neutral Experience

Interviewed and No Offer

Interviewed Jul 2010 in Henderson, NV (took 2 months)

Applied for a position and received a e-mail the next day asking to set up a phone interview. I went through hone phone interview with someone from HR then a manager from the department I would be working in. After that I was asked to take an online assessment test and an Excel knowledge test. Passed those, then I was asked to come in for a tour and a full day of interviewing. More testing, another Excel test and was interviewed three times by two people each time then had lunch with the department manager and met a few executives of the company. I was scheduled for one more interview with someone from HR but he "had something come up." I received a e-mail a week later saying they "felt my passion was in merchandising, not merchandise planning" and wouldn't be offering me a position.

Absolutely ridiculous process that took nearly two months and a lot of time to prep for.

Advice: They are all about company culture and their 10 core values. Read their "Delivering Happiness" book and Company Culture book they produce every year to understand what the company is all about. You need advanced knowledge in Excel for just about every position in the company.

Interview Questions

In Excel, can you perform the following functions? Concatenate, Vlookup, Texts to Columns, Pivot Table.

Answer Question

Other Details

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.

More Zappos.com Merchandise Planning Analyst Interviews

Helpful Interview?

Yes | No

Inappropriate?

4.0

Difficult Interview

Overall Positive Experience

Received and Accepted Offer

Interviewed Jul 2010 in Henderson, NV (took 3 days)

i had a phone call with an HR person to start. That followed with a phone call with two engineers who gave me basic programming questions and experience probing. Then I was flown into their headquarters for a full day of interviews. The day started at 8a with an hour long tour of the facilities (which is quite the experience), then starting at 9a i had a series of interviews with two people rotating in every hour. At noon I went to lunch with several people (which iI found out afterward was actually part of the interview) and the interviews continued in the afternoon. These interviews were very technical in nature including logic problems, whiteboard coding and even coding a solution in Java on a computer. The day ended with standard HR interviews to make sure I wasn't a serial killer or whatever.

Interview Questions

Describe an example of a project you were on that failed and why did it fail.

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Other Details

I got the interview through an Employee Referral and the interview consisted of a Phone Interview, a 1:1 Interview, a Group/Panel Interview, a Skills Test and a Background Check.

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Helpful Interview?

Yes | No

Inappropriate?

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21–30 of 37 Interviews