Process
Technical Interview: Pair Programming
This was a fairly easy question.
Feedback was:
- I didn’t ask enough questions, even when the requirement was very straightforward.
- I wasn’t too familiar with Python queues.
This is surprising, to be honest. Square clearly states that it’s okay to check online if you have questions and they aren’t too strict on memorizing algorithms, but rather on knowing what to use and when to use it.
The interviewer asked me why I used BFS versus DFS to iterate HTML elements, and I gave a simplified answer. I’m guessing it wasn’t that good for him.
Questions
To create an API that returns an HTML template.
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Interview Statistics
The following metrics were computed from 35 interview experiences for the Block Software Engineer role in Canada.
Success Rate
17%
Pass Rate
Block's interview process for their Software Engineer roles in Canada is very selective, failing most engineers who go through it.
Experience Rating
Positive60%
Neutral14%
Negative26%
Candidates reported having very good feelings for Block's Software Engineer interview process in Canada.
Block Work Experiences
4.0
Low Bar for management but good eng
Software Engineer • Current Employee
New York, NY
March 2, 2026
Pros: There is a strong engineering culture and decent WLB, although it has been getting rougher in recent months.
Cons: Management is in constant churn, and it is hard to buy into a vision that changes every few months.
The transparency culture is quickly evaporating, and there is a push to inflate metrics like PR throughput, which have no real impact on the product.
5.0
Great place to work
Software Engineer • Former Employee
San Francisco, California, United States
September 9, 2020
Pros: Strong engineering culture, great people, interesting work, great benefits.
Cons: Tight deadlines at times. At the organization level, product focus shifts frequently.
3.0
Awful internship program, great team
Software Engineer • Former Employee
San Francisco, California, United States
October 20, 2020
Pros: Wonderful manager who understood people on the team and genuinely cared about them. Absolute best part of the summer.
Got to have the full software engineer experience, doing code reviews, pushing PRs for the first time.
Great feeling empowering small businesses.
Cons: There are a LOT of cons with the internship program.
The recruiters didn’t make much of an effort to accommodate us remotely other than keep our housing stipend, which was then slashed in half.
Then, we were only given our housing stipend biweekly because “what if an intern decided to quit midway through,” making it incredibly hard to afford rent.
If you're wondering, it was $1000 a MONTH before tax so ~$600 after tax, barely anything to survive on.
When asked if we could get a sweatshirt, one of the interns had to personally spend time out of their workday creating it and trying to secure funds for us because the recruiters didn't and weren't willing to.
Hack Week also showed me how backwards Square’s priorities were: we created an app that everyone outside the company considered incredibly groundbreaking and useful, and the judges didn't even give us the time of day.
Overall, I was incredibly unsatisfied with the intern program and I strongly discourage you from being an intern.
Oh, and this was all while Square was rebounding after the COVID crash (stock price was rising so quickly) and there was no need for them to cut corners anymore, but still essentially no budget for making the intern program meaningful at all.
Very bad experience with the intern program, highly suggest avoiding.
- 4.0Low Bar for management but good engSoftware Engineer • Current EmployeeNew York, NYMarch 2, 2026Pros: There is a strong engineering culture and decent WLB, although it has been getting rougher in recent months.Cons: Management is in constant churn, and it is hard to buy into a vision that changes every few months. The transparency culture is quickly evaporating, and there is a push to inflate metrics like PR throughput, which have no real impact on the product.
- 5.0Great place to workSoftware Engineer • Former EmployeeSan Francisco, California, United StatesSeptember 9, 2020Pros: Strong engineering culture, great people, interesting work, great benefits.Cons: Tight deadlines at times. At the organization level, product focus shifts frequently.
- 3.0Awful internship program, great teamSoftware Engineer • Former EmployeeSan Francisco, California, United StatesOctober 20, 2020Pros: Wonderful manager who understood people on the team and genuinely cared about them. Absolute best part of the summer. Got to have the full software engineer experience, doing code reviews, pushing PRs for the first time. Great feeling empowering small businesses.Cons: There are a LOT of cons with the internship program. The recruiters didn’t make much of an effort to accommodate us remotely other than keep our housing stipend, which was then slashed in half. Then, we were only given our housing stipend biweekly because “what if an intern decided to quit midway through,” making it incredibly hard to afford rent. If you're wondering, it was $1000 a MONTH before tax so ~$600 after tax, barely anything to survive on. When asked if we could get a sweatshirt, one of the interns had to personally spend time out of their workday creating it and trying to secure funds for us because the recruiters didn't and weren't willing to. Hack Week also showed me how backwards Square’s priorities were: we created an app that everyone outside the company considered incredibly groundbreaking and useful, and the judges didn't even give us the time of day. Overall, I was incredibly unsatisfied with the intern program and I strongly discourage you from being an intern. Oh, and this was all while Square was rebounding after the COVID crash (stock price was rising so quickly) and there was no need for them to cut corners anymore, but still essentially no budget for making the intern program meaningful at all. Very bad experience with the intern program, highly suggest avoiding.
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