Automattic Interview Questions
Updated Dec 2, 2023
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Interviews at Automattic
Interviews for Top Jobs at Automattic
- Happiness Engineer (79)
- Javascript Engineer (18)
- Code Wrangler (10)
- Software Engineer (9)
- Senior Software Engineer (7)
- Senior Product Designer (6)
- Marketing (4)
- Engineer (4)
- PHP Developer (3)
- Human Resources Wrangler (3)
- Senior Software Engineer (Frontend, JavaScript) (3)
- Javascript Developer (2)
- Site Reliability Engineer (2)
- Senior Engineer (2)
- Frontend Engineer (2)
- Senior Web Developer (2)
- Technical Support Engineer (2)
- Product Manager (2)
- Business Intelligence Analyst (2)
- IOS Developer (2)
- Senior Frontend Engineer (2)
- VIP Support Engineer (2)
- Trust and Safety Wrangler (2)
- HR Wrangler (2)
- Sr. Software Engineer (1)
- Senior Technical Recruiter (1)
- Senior Software Developer (1)
- Backend Engineer (1)
- Technical (1)
- Senior Front-end Developer (1)

Anonymous Interview Candidate in London, England
I applied online. I interviewed at Automattic (London, England) in Nov 2023
It started with a Slack interview. Honestly I'm not sure it was a real person, or just a bot. When I asked my questions at the end I got non-answers, bullet point style. Very bot. Then a "skills test" that was ridiculous. Give 5 responses to 2 different scenarios. Super basic, again, zero personal interaction. It was the most dehumanizing experience. They need to realize that candidates are interviewing them as well. And NOTHING about the process gave me any insight into the culture, the people, or anything that would actually make me want to work at this company. Completely one sided and bizarre. Save yourself a few hours of time and apply to a real company that values humans, not bots.
- Why do you want to work here?

Anonymous Employee in United States Air Force Acad, CO
I applied online. The process took 2 months. I interviewed at Automattic (United States Air Force Acad, CO)
The interview process was impressively inclusive, devoid of video interviews, but it's notably lengthy at 2 months from initial contact to offer. The paid trial, at $25/hour, might not be suitable for everyone, particularly those currently employed. This trial is essentially an audition, providing valuable insights into the company's culture and work style, which I found enjoyable. Additionally, it allowed me to showcase my skills and contributions to the company. The process encompasses four stages: 1. Slack Interview 2. Code Test 3. Trial - Final chat with HR
- - Code Review to find security vulnerabilities in the codebase - Trial consists of adding a feature to an App similar to what you will work in the future.
What people are saying about Automattic
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Anonymous Employee
I applied through a recruiter. I interviewed at Automattic
The whole application process is a Chat-based interview in Slack. We discussed my work experience which aligns with the position I'm applying for. There were no coding exercises. It's just you're having a conversation with the Interviewer.
- My work experience and customer service

Anonymous Interview Candidate
I applied online. I interviewed at Automattic
The Automattic interview process is great! I received an email about 10 days after I submitted my application to choose a date and time to interview. I was sent my Slack channel information the day before. The Slack interview started a bit shaky. I was waiting for more back and forth dialogue but went with longer answers to get my point across. The interviewer was very nice and made me feel comfortable. The next day I was asked to complete the skills test. Hooray!! I unfortunately overthought the skills test and should have elaborated a little more, so I did not make it to the next phase. Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed Automattic’s interview process, and I’m thankful I was able to interview for such a great company.
- Why are you interested in working at Automattic?

Anonymous Employee
I applied through an employee referral. I interviewed at Automattic
The interview is conducted over Slack and lasts about an hour. During this time, you'll also engage in a chat simulation of customer service. The interviewer introduces themselves and explains how the interview will proceed. The conversation has a friendly and welcoming tone. The primary focus of the discussion is on the skills and experiences relevant to the position.
- How do you strike a balance between marketing our products and services without appearing intrusive or pushy?
- What one skill would you like to improve and what’s your plan for doing so?

Anonymous Employee in London, England
I interviewed at Automattic (London, England)
The hiring process consists of three rounds: a first interview, a trial project, and a second interview. The trial project is the most challenging phase, requiring candidates to showcase their abilities in a real-life scenario, emphasizing effective communication, craft, and other relevant skills.
- Asked about challenges with a project.

Anonymous Employee
I applied online. The process took 2 months. I interviewed at Automattic
The interview process was a multistep process primarily through Slack, P2 (their form of internal communication), and email. - Completion of a small troubleshooting project - An hour long Slack interview - An invitation to a paid 3 week trial - A Slack chat with the lead to summarize the trial (this is also where I was told I was recommended for the job).
- Why do you want to be a Happiness Engineer?

Anonymous Interview Candidate
I applied through a recruiter. The process took 3 months. I interviewed at Automattic
The interview process was very long, at least the most complex technical project is paid. They let you be part of the company for a while, together with other candidates doing tests mostly but the experience is cool. I just don't agree how they evaluate you, they don't provide any documentation on internal coding best practices, so after you do all the implementation, despite it goes well, they will criticize because you are not following their pattern.
- Technical answers on how to solve some problems and also how to handle if you need to scale your solution.

Anonymous Interview Candidate
The process took 5 weeks. I interviewed at Automattic
The application process at Automattic consists of several steps: an initial application, follow-up responses, a small WordPress plugin project, and a trial period. The trial is promoted as a collaborative experience representative of full-time employment at Automattic. However, my experience was different. The trial lead tended to question my decisions but didn't offer constructive feedback. His responses were often terse or noncommittal like "ok, fine" or "sounds good, thanks". A particular issue was when he approved a PR I submitted, then later cited that same PR as a reason for my rejection. The trial period was a disappointment for me, and I don't believe it accurately represented what working at Automattic is truly like.
- fix testing, fix filters, use their redux implementation tailored for wordpress (with absolute zero documentation)

Anonymous Interview Candidate
I interviewed at Automattic
First I filled out an online application, and about a week later I received an email with an assignment as the second part of the process. This assignment involved creating a website and troubleshooting it. A couple of days later I was invited to an interview via Slack. Unfortunately, they thought that, although I did have the knowledge and skills necessary, my written English wasn't good enough for a text-based support team.
- What personal skills do you want to improve and how are you doing it? What skills and strengths can you bring to the team? Why do you want to be a happiness engineer?
Automattic Interviews FAQs
Glassdoor users rated their interview experience at Automattic as 59% positive with a difficulty rating score of 3.22 out of 5 (where 5 is the highest level of difficulty). Candidates interviewing for Business Intelligence Analyst and Support Engineer rated their interviews as the hardest, whereas interviews for Growth Engineer and Hapiness Engineer roles were rated as the easiest.
The hiring process at Automattic takes an average of 45.09 days when considering 183 user submitted interviews across all job titles. Candidates applying for Relationship Manager had the quickest hiring process (on average 1 day), whereas Brand Advertising Manager roles had the slowest hiring process (on average 150 days).
Common stages of the interview process at Automattic according to 183 Glassdoor interviews include:
One on One Interview: 29.26%
Presentation: 19.63%
Skills Test: 12.59%
Other: 10.00%
Phone Interview: 8.89%
Group Panel Interview: 7.41%
Background Check: 4.81%
Personality Test: 3.33%
Drug Test: 2.59%
IQ Intelligence Test: 1.48%
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