I applied through a staffing agency. The process took 3 weeks. I interviewed at Zalando (Berlin) in Feb 2015
Interview
Contacted by recruitment agency, the process took 3 weeks.
1. Online test (basic Java, SQL)
2. Onsite technical interview - discussing previous experience, whiteboard coding, logical puzzles. All questions relatively simple. 2 software engineers, nice atmosphere, took about 2 hours
3. Onsite HR interview - 1 hour HR grilling with all the (in)famous "rate yourself from 1 to 10" and then 1 hour chip chat with the manager running IT department.
I did not get an offer and their feedback was that: they are not sure that they could meet my expectations in the long run and they can’t provide me the professional development opportunities I wish for...
BTW. I only told them that my career plan is to become team/technical lead and I asked if they send their employees to conferences ...
I know for a fact that the technical interview went very well ... so be prepared for a tough HR interview. HR chip chat is more important than assessing your skills when picking right people for the software engineer position.
Interview questions [2]
Question 1
1. Explain Java exceptions types
2. Whiteboard coding (upcase all the words in string which have length of 3)
3. Model catalogue of products with NoSQL based solution
4. Logical puzzles
1. Tell me three things about yourself which are not in your CV
2. All the good/bad personality related questions + rating yourself
3. Ideal/worst manager/coworker
4. Describing whole spectrum of situation in your life/career when someone was dishonest/indirect and whatever that you mentioned earlier
5. Describing technical/it problem like "talking to your parents"
6. If we can remember only three things about you after this interview, what should that be?
I applied online. The process took two months. one online interview. The recruiter call was good. Standard questions related to career.
1 introduce yourself
2. Describe a project
3. Why zalando
First round is Hr
Then there was Coding challenge
Technical deep dive regarding all the technologies and working concepts of microservices
Managerial round was to identify the company fit and behavioural
Had a FANG-style interview with three rounds: a live coding session (sliding window problem), a system design interview focused on an e-commerce platform, and a behavioral round. The process was structured and engaging, testing both technical depth and communication skills. Overall, a great learning experience that felt fair and well-balanced.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
solve sliding window algorithm. desigin ecommerce for small business
