I applied online. The process took 3 weeks. I interviewed at PlayStation (San Francisco, CA) in Jun 2015
Interview
I applied for Software Engineer intern position and had a phone interview with the hiring manager; I thought I did pretty well. A week later, I got a reject letter and thought it was done. The following week, the same manager contact me again and ask if I am interested in interviewing for Software Engineer I on-site. I thought it was kind of odd, but I accepted anyway and went interview on-site.
I had a typical 5 rounds of interviews on-site like everyone.
One of the interviewers was kind of rude and not very professional. He gave me a feeling that he was forced to be there, he just gave me problems and let me do my own thing, and he continued to work on his stuffs on the computer. Toward the end about 10 minutes left after I solved the problems that he gave me, he just sat down and continued working on his stuffs. I just sat there looking straight at him doing his work and unsure what to do. He didn't even asked me if I had any questions for him, since interviewers usually do at the end. It was really awkward during that 10 minutes. I tried to take the initiative and asked some questions, but he kept telling me to hold on, so I just stay quiet.
Finally met the hiring manager, talked to him; he's a very friendly and nice guy. The only thing that he surprised me was he acted like he had never looked over my resume.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
Basic knowledge questions, nothing is unexpected. If you have the basics, its easy. The only thing that was unexpected, at least for me, is the attitude of one of the interviewer and the hiring manager
Typically, an interviewer asks around 6–12 core technical questions, plus 3–5 behavioral questions for this role. In system-heavy roles like this, expect deep follow-ups, so total discussion often expands to 15–20 question threads rather than standalone questions.
Gauntlet of 6+ interviews. Multiple tech screenings and system designs. Poorly coordinated. Recruiter uninterested and unresponsive in general, didn't follow up on my questions and got ghosted at the end. One of the interviewers had poor communication skills and it was the most painful interview I had ever had in my career.
The interviewing process is straightforward. first resume screen, then phone screen, then one tech interview with manager, Then there's the final round panel interview with behavior questions. . . . . .
