Senior QA Engineer Interview Experience - Tallinn, Estonia
Process
The interview process consists of multiple steps:
- Recruiter interview
- Home assignment
- Technical interview
- Team interview
I was invited to the recruiter interview quite immediately after submitting my CV. The interview was very basic, focusing on previous experience and some skills. The recruiter also asked about my salary range, which I provided. She mentioned that, to her knowledge, it might be outside their range. However, since they were looking for a senior person and she was also new, she offered to discuss it internally and get back to me.
Next, I received a home assignment. It involved testing a functionality in the Bolt app, with instructions to describe how to test it, include checklists, and at least one test case. I approached this assignment with my own style, favoring modern, experience-based, exploratory testing over traditional, highly detailed test cases. They provided feedback soon after, acknowledging my approach but requesting more detail. I then asked the recruiter about salary indications before redoing the assignment. She replied that she could not provide this information until the home task and technical interview were completed. I wanted confirmation of their ability to meet my expectations before investing further effort. Despite my polite inquiry, no salary indication was given.
I revised the home task based on the feedback and was subsequently invited to the technical interview.
The technical interview was scheduled for 90 minutes. I was surprised by the duration, considering the time already invested in the home assignment, which should have provided a good indication of fit. The interview did not focus on the feedback for the home task. Two interviewers, who were not from Estonia, conducted the session, with one acting as the main interviewer. I had never experienced an interview where questions were asked continuously for 90 minutes. While some questions were interesting and thought-provoking, they felt disjointed, as if gathered from a general online search without logical organization. I had expected detailed feedback on the home assignment and questions directly related to it. The combination of the home task and technical interview felt somewhat unusual.
Despite these concerns, I felt the interview went well. However, the following day, the recruiter informed me that I was not a fit for the team's needs, emphasizing it was not a reflection of my skills or knowledge. I am still awaiting clarification from the recruiter, as none of the interviewers clearly communicated the team's specific needs.
Overall, it was an interesting experience. I believe it would be more beneficial to indicate the salary range during the initial meeting or at least provide feedback on expectations to respect everyone's time. Additionally, I suggest shortening the technical interview, as some questions may not warrant the time invested. Finally, as a woman in tech, it would feel more comfortable and contribute to a fairer assessment if another woman were included in the technical interview process, if possible.
Questions
Why do you think you are a good QA Engineer?
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Interview Statistics
The following metrics were computed from 3 interview experiences for the Bolt Senior QA Engineer role in Tallinn, Estonia.
Success Rate
Bolt's interview process for their Senior QA Engineer roles in Tallinn, Estonia is extremely selective, failing the vast majority of engineers.
Experience Rating
Candidates reported having very negative feelings for Bolt's Senior QA Engineer interview process in Tallinn, Estonia.
Bolt Work Experiences
- 4.0Good company but some teams don't give you the opportunity to grow from career sideSenior QA Engineer • Current EmployeeTallinnNovember 7, 2023Pros: Very happy to work in Bolt, good environment, good vibes, dynamic company.Cons: Unfortunately there are few team where you could grown from career side
- 4.0Overall a good place, with a relatively good culture and competitive salaries, but some cons.Software Engineer • Current EmployeeTallinn, EstoniaAugust 2, 2025Pros: Especially in engineering, product, or data, the salaries are quite competitive with Western European capitals. The culture is relatively good, comparing to other same-sized companies.Cons: 1. As the company gets bigger, more and more bureaucracies are introduced on every layer. Most of them cause things to go slower and more politics to be involved within decision-making processes. 2. A recently introduced RTO policy was implemented in a way that does not value employee feedback or satisfaction at all. RTO policies are implemented regardless of performance statistics, clearly, even though management repeatedly claimed otherwise. In many teams, high performers were the ones who were less in the office, and management wanted employees to believe it was the other way around. This was a bit insulting. 3. Every year, benefit packages are getting smaller.
- 5.0Nice Workplace & Kind PeopleSoftware Engineer • Current EmployeeTallinn, EstoniaAugust 9, 2023Pros: - Good culture. - Nice workplace and colleagues. - Startup-like environment, even though it's too big to be called a startup. This means there are lots of challenges and opportunities to grow. - Decent compensation (at least for engineers and product). - Hybrid work is allowed (half office, half from home), which is amazing.Cons: The only disadvantage for me personally is the location, as Tallinn is far from central & western Europe.
Bolt Interview Questions
