Auto Trader UK

Application

I applied online. I interviewed at Auto Trader UK (Manchester, England (UK)).

Interview

The whole interview process began by submitting a quick online application - you have to submit your CV and answer two short essay-type questions about your personal values and why you want to work for Auto Trader.

The next day, I was sent an invitation to complete 3 online tests - Numerical Reasoning, Verbal Reasoning, and Inductive Reasoning. The tests weren't too difficult but it certainly requires some practice, especially if you are not familiar with this type of assessments. I think the purpose of these tests were to weed out incompetent applicants.

After that, I was contacted to schedule a phone interview with one of the recruiters. The recruiter was very friendly and made the whole process very enjoyable. The conversation was mostly about why I want to work with them, their values, how they do things as well as questions about my previous experience at university (incl. projects and how I handled some difficulties) and outside of it. As they emphasised right at the beginning, it's not really a Q&A type interview but more like a conversation.

Next step - assessment day in their Manchester office. They keep the assessment day small as there were only 4 of us that day. Everyone was super friendly (both staff and other candidates) and there was no "Hire me, I'm the best!" mentality. The whole day lasted about 6 hours and included things like introduction meeting, pair-programming test (I recommend researching what this is and what is the purpose of this type of tests), values-based interview with 2 members of staff, lunch break, office tour and spending time with 2 teams to ask any questions you have.

After the assessment day, regardless of the result, you will receive detailed feedback on how you did during the interviews. If you were successful, you will be invited to the final stage interview which is a phone interview with one of the senior leaders. This was a general chat about you, your past experiences and what your career aspirations are. Person I was speaking to was also very friendly and just wanted to get to know me better.

They made me an offer very quickly (I think it was the same day or so) and I didn't even think twice about accepting it. The offer was generous and I knew since the first phone interview that I wanted to work here.

Overall, I could not ask for a better recruitment experience. The company is absolutely amazing, especially for new grads who are very keen about starting their career in tech. Offices are stunning and people seem to love their job.

What I really liked is that all the interviews made sense. They didn't focus too much on what you know but how you do things and how you fit in. The cultural fit is extremely important and it was emphasised and reflected in every question/task. And they don't ask you silly questions like "What is your biggest weakness?" and such.

Perhaps the whole process was a little bit too long with too many stages (compared to other new grad schemes) but, then again, this is understandable as they want to recruit the right people and the process was quite enjoyable anyway. The HR team was brilliant - communications and decisions were made quickly.

Keep up the good work!

Interview Questions