Spotify Interview Questions

As a hiring manager I have probably interviewed hundreds of candidates, created interview processes from scratch and worked closely with the talent team on strategy about hiring. By far this is the worst interview I ever witnessed in my career. It was clearly a one-way interview (do they like me). It passed 4 weeks from the moment I was referred by Spotify engineer until the initial call was scheduled. I know from experience this is the best way to lose talent, but I wanted to give them benefit of a doubt and not jump into conclusions. Two hours before the call interview was rescheduled for tomorrow without even asking me if I’m available or if that’s ok. Mind you, this was a call with the principal recruiter, someone who should set the standard for others. A day after, she was late (10 minutes) and not even an apology issued, only saying “these calls usually last for 15 mins so it’s ok”. At that moment I knew I don’t want to work with Spotify but I continued out of curiosity. She didn’t introduce herself. I was thinking.. if I’d to be hired for this EM role, as a hiring manager I would need to work with her or the team she’s leading to hire software engineers, and if she’s treating candidates like this, I would have trouble finding good people. She then asked me to talk about tech stack and after a few words she interrupted me saying she had a concern about my tech stack (it’s all written in my CV so I’m not sure she even looked at it as the concern would rise much sooner and we wouldn’t have wasted each other’s time). She then said she needs to speak to the hiring manager to find out if this is a hands-on role. I was surprised she doesn’t already have this information as a principal recruiter for this role. Nowhere in the job description did they mention a hands-on role. Otherwise if they did, I wouldn’t apply as it’s not what I’m looking for at the moment. They mentioned: people management, delivery, working with a PM on a roadmap etc. Coding not mentioned at all. The unpleasant interview continued but I wouldn’t bother person reading any further. At the end she asked me if I had any questions and I felt rushed to wrap up and was discouraged asking more. So in a true spirit of the two-way interview: Unfortunately, based on this interview, I can not recommend this employer.

Recruiter emailed me to schedule a call based on his availability with a calendly link. I’ve scheduled according to the recruiter’s availability. Waited for 30 mins for the call at the scheduled time but haven’t received a call. When I emailed the recruiter about the same, he said sorry and asked to reschedule. I did the same and reacheduled accordingly but this time the recruiter again didn’t show up nor responded to my email. Very worse behavior and unprofessional behavior from such a big company.

I completed a comprehensive interview process consisting of four rounds: Initial HR Screener Video Call: In this round, I engaged in a video call with HR to discuss fundamental aspects. Their questions focused on basic inquiries to assess my fit for the role. Subsequent HR Interview: Following the initial screening, I proceeded to another HR interview. This stage delved deeper into my qualifications and aspirations, enabling both parties to gain a better understanding of the potential alignment. User Researcher Interview: The third round involved an interview with a User Researcher. This phase assessed my expertise and insights in user-centered research methodologies, ensuring I possess the necessary skills for the role. Panel Interview with Hiring Managers: The final round was a panel interview with three hiring managers. It centered around a user experience research exercise. I was tasked with presenting my approach to a specific research question, outlining the steps I would take to address it comprehensively.

First technical interview was pretty easy. Standard trivia questions (explain DNS, TCP) as well as an easy leetcode question. Interviewers were friendly and pleasant. Terrible experience with HR. I had already mentioned that I was in advanced stages in other processes but no accomodations were made. Emails asking about the status of my application were ignored. Had already accepted another offer by the time I was informed that I had made it to the final round.

Phone interviews and in-office interviews consist of both personal and technical questions and case stories relating to the job. Very long hiring process, though the interviewers were nice and welcoming.

Submitted application in the winter and first interview followed in the spring. Was a pleasant surprise and was honored to even get a first interview. The only hiccups I felt were the scheduling process for the interview. but overall great experience.

I applied on Linkedin, and the recruiter reached out and scheduled a phone screen about 2-3 weeks after I submitted the application. The rest of the process took about 4 weeks and consists of HM screen (intro and background, management capability, etc.), tech screen (2 Python questions about pandas and 1 easy-intermediate SQL question), data science exercise (take-home assignment), and the final round where I had to present the data science exercise to a panel of 6, followed by three 1:1s with Data Science, User Research, and Product. The recruiter and the hiring manager were very accommodating and proactive in their comms. Every interviewer I talked to was really nice, and they really made the interviews less stressful than it should be. The data science exercise could take a long time so I would plan accordingly especially if you have to balance between this and a full-time job.

It took 4 months. I think for me since it was over the christmas holiday it made it even more delayed BUT it was a very relaxed process. The team was very laid back and understanding. Made the process really smooth and my recruiters kept in touch with me!

Purtroppo devo recensire negativamente il processo di selezione, per svariati motivi. Dopo ben 5 step con 5 interlocutori diversi con attese bibliche, ricevo sostanzialmente un feedback positivo. Arrivo all’ultimo stage con ormai grandissime speranze (per non dire conferme!) e poi… il nulla totale. Mi viene detto di attendere un feedback che sarebbe arrivato nel giro di poco tempo ma purtroppo così non è stato. Dopo un’attesa (eccessiva, considerati già i 5 step delle fasi di colloquio), il personale mi ha liquidat* con una telefonata di 5 minuti, dicendo che ero piaciut* molto ma che purtroppo per ragioni che ancora tutt’oggi onestamente non mi sono chiare, la scelta è ricaduta su un altro candidato. Mi chiedo il senso di portare una persona allo stage finale, chiedendo tempi di preavviso ed altre info che sembrano connesse ad un’intenzione di assunzione… per poi dare il ben servito dopo per altro, lunghe attese. Peccato.

3 step interview process 1 Recruiter interview, 1 Technical interview, 1 manager interview Technical interview requires at least 22-3 years of IT knowledge, not just hardware but way more software knowledge