I applied through college or university. The process took 2 days. I interviewed at Dropbox (San Francisco, CA) in Mar 2012
Interview
There were two rounds of interview. The first one was on-campus with recruiters and the second was in San Francisco at Dropbox HQ. They were very friendly and gracious -- they were nice enough to fly me to SF and pay for all of my expenses (hotel, airfare, taxis, etc.). The initial interview was a lot easier, but the interview at HQ required me to interview with a half-dozen people over the course of the day so that they could see how well I fit in with the entire team.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
If you have a triangle with an ant at each of the vertices and they each walk either left or right, what is the probability of the ants never running into each other?
I applied online. The process took 3 weeks. I interviewed at Dropbox (Austin, TX) in Dec 2014
Interview
The entire process was fast, easy and fair. Two days after I submitted my CV online, I received an email from the recruiter saying that they would like to schedule a phone interview. The phone interview was on the next day. It was fast and easy. It lasted about 30 minutes. They asked me questions like: do you use Dropbox? How would you explain how Dropbox works to your grandmother? If a customer tells you that his files are not syncing properly, how would you help him? A week after, I had the in-person interview in their office in Austin. Everyone was very nice. I talked to about 6 people (15-20 minutes each person). A week after the in-person interview I received a call from the recruiter saying that they would not be able to offer me the position because there were some internal last-minute changes and the position became unavailable.
The process was professional, fast, easy and very fair.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
How would you explain how Dropbox works to your grandmother?
I applied through an employee referral. The process took 1 week. I interviewed at Dropbox (Austin, TX)
Interview
Once I made it past the survey and initial interview with the recruiter, they flew me out to the office for a series of 4 interviews with people from all levels of the company. I was completely disarmed by their friendliness, leading me to cut my answers short where I should have elaborated more. I thought I was doing great in the interviews, but I was not asked to return for the final round of interviews.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
6 months ago you helped a user. Today the same user contacted you using the same temporary email set up to allow your initial communications with them. Would this cause problems? If so, how would you address them?
I applied online. The process took 5 weeks. I interviewed at Dropbox (Austin, TX)
Interview
I submitted my resume online at dropbox.com/jobs October 2013. The next day, I received an email from a recruiter asking me to answer a six question free-response survey. They don't do these anymore, but it included practice troubleshooting questions, questions about my personality and experience, and at least one typical "startup" question that encourages you to think outside the box.
After submitting the survey, I received a follow-up from another recruiter within a few days asking to schedule a phone screening. I wound up doing two of those within a week - the first being more of a personality fit interview and the second being much more technical (with a few pretty tough questions. I honestly didn't think I would pass).
Next I was invited onsite in Austin for a series of in-person interviews. I met with 4 people - three leads, one individual contributor - back to back over a course of 2 hours. The interviewers were all friendly and made sure each interview contained a healthy mix of conversation, background questions, and critical thinking questions.
Within a week I received an invitation for a video interview with the User Ops lead. It was 30 minutes, but I had the opportunity to ask some strategic questions about company direction and pick the lead's brain a bit. Would have been a great experience even if I hadn't received an offer.
I had been asked to do one last video interview with a co-founder, but his schedule proved to be too full. Instead, I was offered a full time position in Austin.
Keep in mind that the process varies for everyone, due to constant re-tweaking of the process to make things better as well as specific candidate needs and experience. All of the recruiters were outstanding - very responsive and super friendly. I enjoyed each of my conversations with the interviewers, as well.
