Non-engineering Role Interview Experience - San Francisco, California
March 1, 2012
Negative ExperienceNo Offer
Process
Totally unprofessional outfit.
I applied online, was invited to fill out a questionnaire, and returned to the office for interviews with HR and the hiring manager. The interviews were fine, mostly behavioral questions. They told me they'd invite me back for a technical interview for early the next week and let me know ASAP about scheduling.
For two weeks, I got radio silence. I checked in again... nothing. A week later, with another offer on the table, I checked in with them again... got an apologetic email and a promise to get back to me by the end of the day.... nope.
By that time, it was clear to me that I wouldn't want to work for them, but I'd expect at least a little more courtesy. Finally, a week later, I got an automated (!) email from Jobvite ending the process.
Definitely a pretentious culture. If you interview, be sure to drink the Kool-aid beforehand and be ready to say how awesome they are.
Questions
What are your strengths?
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Interview Statistics
The following metrics were computed from 1 interview experience for the Block Non-engineering Role role in San Francisco, California.
Success Rate
0%
Pass Rate
Block's interview process for their Non-engineering Role roles in San Francisco, California is extremely selective, failing the vast majority of engineers.
Experience Rating
Positive0%
Neutral0%
Negative100%
Candidates reported having very negative feelings for Block's Non-engineering Role interview process in San Francisco, California.
Block Work Experiences
5.0
One of the brightest places I've seen
Software Engineer(Internship) • Former Employee
San Francisco, California, United States
August 17, 2018
Pros: This was my 5th internship (SF office) and definitely the best place I've ever worked at.
Great aesthetic, great tech feel. Empathetic and fun people. Imo, very well-polished product(s). Strong tech talent. Technical managers. Not surprising, since it's technical from the CEO down.
Great work-life balance, and coworkers will tell you to chill out if they think you're overworking. Lots of learning opportunities. Infrastructure is pretty great. Felt like everything was smooth and made sense here.
Also the food was absolutely fantastic. Absolutely fantastic. So fantastic I have to say it three times.
Cons: Trivial things like not having a gym onsite (it was across the street). Also, the beer on tap was broken during my time there (not that I was 21 anyway). I hope that the utter lack of any serious cons shows you how glowing this place was for me.
5.0
Worked out for me
Senior Software Engineer • Former Employee
San Francisco, California, United States
September 16, 2018
Pros: Overall, I enjoyed my time at Square. As a software engineer, you are exposed to all kinds of interesting problems in the financial space. The engineering talent was a positive surprise.
Cons: The company grew from 2000 to almost 4000 relatively quickly.
Career advancement can depend on the department and manager, although it's a very typical problem at most places I have worked.
Being on-call is expected. The on-call experience is also very team-dependent.
5.0
Happy working here. I have been here for several years and will stay
Engineering Manager • Current Employee
San Francisco, California, United States
July 28, 2014
Pros: Move fairly quickly here at work. Solve interesting distributed systems problems. I've been at Google, other similar startups, and other non-SF Bay companies. Square is my favorite because of the real problems we are solving, the focus on design and building the right thing, and helping merchants. The upside if we succeed is very big – everyone in the world does commerce daily; we want to make that better.
Worked here a long time as an engineer before trying management. Engineering managers are all engineers, which is a very good sign.
Cons: Salary is lower than Google, but that's what you'd expect when you trade equity for cash.
- 5.0One of the brightest places I've seenSoftware Engineer(Internship) • Former EmployeeSan Francisco, California, United StatesAugust 17, 2018Pros: This was my 5th internship (SF office) and definitely the best place I've ever worked at. Great aesthetic, great tech feel. Empathetic and fun people. Imo, very well-polished product(s). Strong tech talent. Technical managers. Not surprising, since it's technical from the CEO down. Great work-life balance, and coworkers will tell you to chill out if they think you're overworking. Lots of learning opportunities. Infrastructure is pretty great. Felt like everything was smooth and made sense here. Also the food was absolutely fantastic. Absolutely fantastic. So fantastic I have to say it three times.Cons: Trivial things like not having a gym onsite (it was across the street). Also, the beer on tap was broken during my time there (not that I was 21 anyway). I hope that the utter lack of any serious cons shows you how glowing this place was for me.
- 5.0Worked out for meSenior Software Engineer • Former EmployeeSan Francisco, California, United StatesSeptember 16, 2018Pros: Overall, I enjoyed my time at Square. As a software engineer, you are exposed to all kinds of interesting problems in the financial space. The engineering talent was a positive surprise.Cons: The company grew from 2000 to almost 4000 relatively quickly. Career advancement can depend on the department and manager, although it's a very typical problem at most places I have worked. Being on-call is expected. The on-call experience is also very team-dependent.
- 5.0Happy working here. I have been here for several years and will stayEngineering Manager • Current EmployeeSan Francisco, California, United StatesJuly 28, 2014Pros: Move fairly quickly here at work. Solve interesting distributed systems problems. I've been at Google, other similar startups, and other non-SF Bay companies. Square is my favorite because of the real problems we are solving, the focus on design and building the right thing, and helping merchants. The upside if we succeed is very big – everyone in the world does commerce daily; we want to make that better. Worked here a long time as an engineer before trying management. Engineering managers are all engineers, which is a very good sign.Cons: Salary is lower than Google, but that's what you'd expect when you trade equity for cash.
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