Auto Trader UK Interview Questions

Application

I applied through a staffing agency. I interviewed at Auto Trader UK.

Interview

Straight forward process which lasted about an hour, initially they explained the role in more detail and gave some context to the team structure, then I was asked to talk through my CV picking out relevant experience, then moved on to competency based questions. Speedy feedback via recruitment agent and the people seemed friendly.

Application

I applied through a staffing agency. The process took 1 day. I interviewed at Auto Trader UK (London, England) in March 2011.

Interview

Had an initial telephone interview with the recruitment consultant on a Friday, and on Monday I was invited to the assessment day which was on the next Friday. Very pleased with the communication!

The assessment day was held at Millennium & Copthorne Hotel (at Chelsea Football Club), which was an indeed nice place. They had booked a few large meeting rooms and it was a very relaxed environment. The interviewers and Trader Media staff were very friendly.

Before the interview they gave us (6 of us) a scenario on which we had to discuss our opinions and come to agreement. It was about 6 people in danger of death, and we had to decide in which order to rescue them based on their profiles, considering that we may not be able to rescue them all. It was a great experience and it certainly relaxed us into the environment.

We then separated, each of us going for either the interview, a pair programming test, or filling an application form. The first stage for me was the 2:1 interview. I was asked questions on Java and OO basics, and test-driven development. (Remember, if you're applying to Trader Media as a developer, be prepared to answer questions about test-driven development and JUnit).

After my interview we went for lunch, where we again had the chance to chat with other candidates and also the TMG staff.

I then moved on to the pair programming exercise where I and a member of TMG development team worked on solving a problem. This was again test-driven and we had to extract football match scores from a data file, and output the name of the team with the smallest goal difference.

The last stage for me was the application form which was a fairly easy one. Just the standard stuff like education and employment history, why you're suitable for the job, and if you like to add anything that you think will help in your application.

We then came back to where we met first, to wrap things up and say goodbye, hoping to see them again.... Shame I didn't!.... I liked them, would definitely accept an offer!

Interview Questions

Application

I applied online. The process took 1 day. I interviewed at Auto Trader UK (Manchester, England) in September 2016.

Interview

The telephone interview is pretty straight forward in gauging your skill-set and why you actually want the role in the first place. If you’re successful, you are then invited to an Assessment Day.
This part of the interview process takes 5 ½ hours in total. You face a panel of 4 people from and are given some exercises to complete: face-to-face interview, a timed paper/IT test and then the group exercise. The interview part of the process is the most straight forward, however, the paper/IT exercises were fraught with spelling mistakes and repeated information – some of which was sent out to each candidate prior to the Assessment Day as part of the information pack. Considering that one of the key aspects of the role is accuracy – this isn’t a good start! The final part of the Assessment is the group exercise – which was tantamount to being thrown into a bear pit along with the other candidates vying to be the best heard! Everyone wants the job – sure, but the looks of desperation around the table along with candidate’s anxiety and the need to blurt out anything, as long as it looks as though they’re making a valid contribution – makes it uncomfortable viewing let alone being a part of. By this stage I’d lost all interest in the role. Not a great way to get the best candidates – unless you want someone who can say all the right things, but not necessarily be able to put them into action.

Interview Questions

Application

I applied online. The process took 2 weeks. I interviewed at Auto Trader UK (Manchester, England) in August 2018.

Interview

The recruitment team are really friendly and helped me prepare for the assessment. I met lots of people on the day of the interview and was made to feel really welcome when I visited the office. I completed a number of tasks over the course of the day and I felt they really wanted to understand my skills and experience. By the time I was offered the job, I knew everything I needed to in order to accept the position. Definitely the best interview experience I have been to for a long time!

Interview Questions

Application

I applied online. The process took 2+ months. I interviewed at Auto Trader UK (Manchester, England).

Interview

Arrange a phone interview by email but they didn't ring on the agreed date. A week later they rang an rearranged. Interviw took place and I was advised I would hear within the week. 2 months later and I still haven't had a response (I'll assume I have got any further 😀). Extremely poor experience that doesn't bode well for what it may be like to actually work here.

Application

I applied online. The process took a week. I interviewed at Auto Trader UK in August 2016.

Interview

This was an internal Account Manager position, the company are fantastic with excellent structure and values in place. However, I found the interview process very off-putting. The telephone interview went exceptionally well and the recruiter was really lovely. On getting through to the next stage this would have been a group task, role plays, presentation and 121 interview. This was not for me but if you have that drive then this would be an amazing job and company to work for.

Interview Questions

Application

I applied online. The process took 3 weeks. I interviewed at Auto Trader UK (Manchester, England) in September 2015.

Interview

Very intense and there was several elements to the interview process - Face to face interview, Presentation and role play

All interview stages were completed by different sales manager which meant they would score me out of a number and at the end they would add everyones numbers up and they highest scoring people would be sucessful

Interview Questions

Application

I interviewed at Auto Trader UK in June 2018.

Interview

I had a phone interview with Autotrader 1 month ago for an Account Management position and found the recruitment experience disappointing.

Whilst I'll acknowledge that my performance wasn't what it should have been on the day, I don't think it's remotely professional for the interviewer to call 25 minutes late, for the phone to cut out on 3 separate occasions and for the interviewer to be thoroughly disinterested by whatever I had to say. It was unprofessional and this hasn't happened to me before.

I then kindly asked for feedback to find that my email wasn't even acknowledged, and the feedback wasn't forthcoming. I understand that there are many applicants for a position but when I've taken time to apply and to be interviewed, a couple of lines of non-automated feedback isn't too much to ask for.

I've ran a successful consultancy business for 8 years and if I treated potential clients and clients like I was treated by Autotrader, I'd simply have no clients and/or business left. Whilst I accept there may have been better candidates for that particular position, I do expect to be treated with a degree of respect during the recruitment process.

I've been working for 12 years since I graduated from Uni and from my perspective, this was the least professional recruitment process I've ever been through. As a result of my experience, I wouldn't apply for any future position at Autotrader.

Interview Questions

Application

I applied online. The process took 4+ weeks. I interviewed at Auto Trader UK (Manchester, England) in December 2017.

Interview

Online application form, telephone interview, assessment day, 1-1 interview. The process lasted 4-5 weeks in total. It was challenging and a thorough process, but gives a real opportunity to delve into what you can bring to the role. The interviewers and HR were genuinely friendly and extremely professional.

Interview Questions

Application

I applied in-person. The process took 4+ weeks. I interviewed at Auto Trader UK (Manchester, England) in January 2018.

Interview

Quite a long interview process which is not particularly efficient:
- initial call with a recruiter on experience - lasted about 1.5 hours
- first face to face interview with 2 of the team leaders: presentation, role play, another interview on experience and an interview with a fellow account manager. For me this was the best part of the process because it really shows the preparation and motivation of the individual. It lasted about 4 hours
- numerical reasoning and personality test - that part was a bit strange, never had it before in an interview process but fair enough. It went fairly well but make sure you prepare really, really well for the numerical reasoning test as it’s not easy. For the personality test there’s not much preparation needed, just honest answers
- second face to face interview, this time with one of the directors- positive experience, we went through the results of the personality test and she also gave an explanation of the department structure. Again experience related questions. It was just an hour.
- last face to face interview with another team leader and shadowing a fellow account manager. Overall it lasted about 2 hours.

At the end I received no offer and feedback that my commercial knowledge and experience were not good enough. Overall, I was a bit disappointed to have gone through all of these stages and at the end to get feedback which relates to probably the most important skill for any account manager. If they had doubts about that, then they shouldn’t have invited me for a second interview.

Interview Questions