Mission: Wayfair is a technology leader, reinventing the way people shop for their homes.
Best Places to Work: 2012 (#19)
No matter who you are, Wayfair is a place you can call home. We’re a community of innovators, risk-takers, and trailblazers who celebrate our differences, and know that our unique perspectives make us stronger, smarter, and well-positioned for success. We value and rely on the collective voices of our employees, customers, community, and suppliers to help guide us as we build a better Wayfair – and world – for all. Every voice, every perspective matters. That’s why we’re proud to be an equal opportunity employer. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, ethnicity, ancestry, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, age, citizenship status, marital status, disability, gender identity, gender expression, veteran status, or genetic information.
Empowered Employees
It is widely known at Wayfair that our success starts with our people. At all levels, team members are encouraged and empowered to take on new roles and challenges at the company, ensuring that every promising player can move throughout the organization to grow and define their careers. Wayfair's team is known to be curious, innovative, and eager to solve complex problems, which is why the organization places a strong emphasis on learning and development.
A Collaborative Culture
Wayfair promotes a flat, transparent culture and their office space is reflective of that. Regardless of title or tenure, everyone works together to achieve the same objectives and is aware of all imminent and upcoming company goals. Similarly, team members are encouraged to voice their opinions, share their ideas, and drive results—in this way, the company is able to foster a truly collaborative culture. In addition, all Wayfair locations boast an open floor plan, which means there are no offices for anyone—including the CEO. Their open-seating floor plan fosters communication and collaboration, which is reflective of the company’s commitment to transparency and inclusivity.
Entrepreneurial by Nature
Wayfair promotes a test and learn environment and entrepreneurial culture. Leaders believe that the next big idea can come from anywhere, so they prepare employees to pivot their focus at a moment’s notice when an incredible idea or growth opportunity presents itself. The team finds this innovative spirit inspiring and enjoys being able to learn first-hand how to make things better as the company grows.
I have been working at Wayfair full-time (Less than a year)
Pros
- A lot of opportunities to develop professional skills
- Work side-by-side with manager
- Team-oriented culture
Cons
Can't think of any! It was an amazing experience.
Helpful (46)
Application
I applied through an employee referral. The process took 2 weeks. I interviewed at Wayfair (Boston, MA) in January 2018.
Interview
This is for the Entry-Level Software Engineer role for the Wayfair labs programme.
I applied to Wayfair through an Employee Referral in the first week of January.
I was contacted by a recruiter within 12-15 days, and the whole process took 2 weeks.
Phone Screen:
The recruiter scheduled a brief call and asked about my experience, what do I know about the company and their programme. They might throw in a couple of questions regarding your projects and how well you have worked in a team. Having PHP on your resume is a bonus as they work on that a lot.
Coding Challenge + Code Sample :
The recruiter sends a Coder-pad link, with a question on it. You have to complete it 60 minutes. The question is fairly easy. They will also ask you to send them a code sample. It can be any project you have worked which can show your coding abilities. (Make sure its modular and well commented and follows the coding standards).
Technical Interview (60 minutes)
Once an engineer reviews the coding challenge and your sample, the recruiter will schedule a phone interview with an engineer (60 minutes). You will work on the same Coder-pad link of the coding challenge.
The engineer will ask you about a couple of projects you have worked on.
He will then ask you to explain your code which you did in the challenge. Make sure you read it before the interview and analyze for time/space complexity and could you have done it with a better approach.
He will move on to a php question. He will throw in a PHP code and ask you to explain and debug it (mostly related to an edge case) and then try to find what output it will generate.
This part was tricky because not everyone has worked with PHP a lot. But you can ask him to explain certain syntax you aren't able to understand. This part checks your presence of mind.
The last leg of the interview was a VERY easy array based question. Try to throw in a couple of alternative solutions and compare their time and space complexity.
Behavioral Round:
After I cleared the technical interview, the recruiter scheduled a behavioral round of 30 minutes. The Wayfair labs programme manager will take this round mostly and will ask you all those tricky behavioral questions. They will focus on how can you work in a situation of conflict, or a difficult person.
Final call with the recruiter :
After the behavioral round, the recruiter scheduled a call within 2 days providing an update on my candidacy.
Overall Experience:
Very good. The recruiter was very prompt.
The interviewers made sure I was comfortable talking to them. They were looking for a conversation than a traditional interview.
Tips/Suggestions :
1. Try to come up with alternative solutions to the problems you solve to give them a better understanding of how you think. You should explain your solution in an easy way.
2. Prepare your projects well and try to tell express what you learned from them.
3. CULTURE FIT is something they really care about.
4. Come up with the good question to ask them.
5. Research on the company REALLY well. Follow their tech blog, learn about their work culture from the engineers working there. They appreciate it during the interview.
Good Luck!!
Interview Questions
Veteran Hiring Commitment
Committed to helping America's military veterans find work
Pay Equality Pledge
Committed to paying equitably for equal work & experience
Tech Hiring Commitment
Helping to train, hire and promote more technology workers
Career Advancement Program
Helping employees "upskill" into higher-paying positions
Social Responsibility Pledge
Formal programs or foundation to give back to communities
Diversity Commitment
Has programs that support a diverse and inclusive workforce
Pledge to Thrive
Taking steps to prioritize employee well-being
First Job Programs
Maintain entry-level hiring and career development programs to give people career starts