I applied through a recruiter. The process took 2 weeks. I interviewed at Thoughtworks (London, England)
Interview
Initial contact with a TW internal recruiter led to an invitation to an industry event they were running. From there, I submitted a CV and was invited to interview. The process included:
- Interview with Head of Delivery, EU. General discussion based on my CV and past experience, why I was applying to Thoughtworks.
- Deliver a 15 minute summary of a previous project to a panel of three, followed by 15 min Q&A about the presentation. Very insightful questions from a friendly panel. I'd recommend using the whiteboard/flipchart to illustrate.
- Interview with Market Principal, UK South. General discussion based on my CV and past experience, why I was applying to Thoughtworks.
- "P3" Interview covering issues of social and economic justice. An interesting freeform discussion with a pair of consultants, presumably to make sure prospective hires don't have a world view that runs totally contrary to that of the firm. Come prepared with some issues to discuss, and prepare to have your views challenged.
- PM exercise - 1 hour prep time to review some project metrics and propose how you would lay out a project office. 1 hour interview with two project managers to discuss your proposals, and cover some practical aspects of running agile delivery projects.
- Logical reasoning test - 1 hour logic test. Demanding and really good fun. Having some idea of basic computer science concepts would be advantageous - e.g. program control loops, pointers and indirection, boolean logic.
- Psychometric test - Some kind of rapidfire Multiple choice test that I believe is very similar to US GMAT tests. Some of the verbal reasoning questions seemed to be culturally skewed towards the US, and I understand that this type of testing is much more common in the US education system, so US candidates would probably enjoy an advantage. For candidates from the rest of the world it might be worthwhile spending an hour or two getting some familiarity with GMAT question archetypes.
- Psychobabble test - A brief personality test administered online prior to interview.
Overall, the interviewers were friendly and interested in a dialogue, rather than the more structured competency-based approach used by some other firms.
The recruiter was outstanding - very responsive and clear communication at every stage. The whole process was impressively quick - 2 weeks from first interview to formal offer.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
Why do you think we do the P3 [Social and Economic Justice] Interview?
Decent experience, case helps to demonstrate the experience. Takes holistic perspective, they do care about you as a person rather than just skills and experience. Overall a rich conversation with some great interview panel
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
How would you measure value for technical products
Thank you for taking the time to share your interview experience. We’re glad to hear the process gave you the opportunity to showcase your experience and that the conversations felt thoughtful and engaging.
Interview had around 4 rounds, although the scheduling system and documents do not tally. 1) recruiter screening 2) technical screening 3) office interview (but its online)/case study 4) leadership and culture interview
Overall HR was helpful and prompt, however i come to realise its only if they are interested in you. Responses provided with 1-2 business days. However I was ghosted since my laat interview and never heard back, not very well done and typical asian style.
Sessions went well, however for case study interview, interviewer spent a long time sharing his journey and asking alot of background questions. During the case study presentation, he cut me off while i was presenting asking to cover 1-2 slides and I had to rush through midway, wasn't tracking the time but im sure i wasnt given the full 30mins to share. This was also the feedback given to me that i didnt present the content in detail later on. Throughout the session, it seemed like he was finding a specific type of PM that was like him and nothing else. I did not think that my presentation was poorly done, the deck I had spent significant effort in putting together.
Ask for feedback towards the end of the interview, and he said it was thorough and had great visual elements (journey, future experience) but he also said later portions were rushed (which was by his own design as he asked me to rush through due to time). Did not hear from anyone, even after i reached out to HR. Ghosted.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
Aside from scrum, what other agile practices are you familiar with.
I applied online. I interviewed at Thoughtworks (Bucharest, Bucuresti)
Interview
Initial screening interview, followed by a case study around a client scenario for which I had to prepare for a couple of days. I recommend you proactively ask what they are looking to test with the case study. Lastly, leadership interview.
