Unfortunately, as soon as I started my on-site interviews, it became clear to me that the position was not a good fit, and I felt a bit bummed. I am a very engineering-oriented, hands-on person, but they were looking for someone that would mostly do people management. Other roles they could have offered were off-the-table, as my current package is something they wouldn't be able to match from a compensation perspective.

I went through 4 or 5 on-site interviews with lead developers, product people, and senior tech directors. People were generally nice, but I didn't feel that "wow" moment; that is, I didn't leave with the feeling I could learn a lot. In my current company, we try to ensure that people leave an interview having learned something, whereas during my interview, I felt like I was just answering generic questions about my current experience or how to run a department.

Besides that, one of the biggest problems the company seems to have is the fact that they do not consider themselves a tech company, something they are trying to change right now. But, in my opinion, there are many layers of management accustomed to working "the old way" that will indirectly make this transition extremely difficult.

Another thing that let me down is that throughout the whole process, I wasn't asked anything technical. That might indicate there could be many managers high up in the hierarchy who have little understanding of today's tech scene. I have a decent online pedigree (LinkedIn, presentations at conferences), so they might have just decided to skip that with me. But to me, it really rang a bell, especially as I have been reading a few Glassdoor reviews that mentioned frustrating experiences linked to one's manager not being outstanding from a tech perspective, hindering one's growth.

This wouldn't be a fair review if I wasn't mentioning the positives as well:

• People seem to spend a lot of time at Booking (e.g., 5 years), meaning they seem to really like the company/environment.
• Growing within the company is something that's highly encouraged; it seems like they give you full support to keep climbing the ladder.
• They recognize they are behind in terms of tech and culture, and it's something they want to change.
• Teams seem to have full autonomy in what they want to work on, and people have stressed the importance of being data-driven. From what I gathered, they seem to really hate micromanagement, which is a big plus from my perspective.

All in all, I interviewed at big tech companies and felt there's definitely a difference between Booking and them. This is not to say the company is worse, etc., but more that it really depends on what you're looking for. I think if you're into tech, in 2017, Booking is probably not your best bet as they are tied to a legacy infrastructure and quite some management layers. My advice to them would be to stop thinking that everything needs to be hundreds of engineers and layers of management, and instead try to run things ala WhatsApp (50 engineers serving 1 billion users), especially if they are planning to develop some new products.

In any case, things might drastically change in the next 2-5 years, and I wish them best of luck!

PS: Shout out to their HR for the way the process was organized. The recruiter was top-notch, and the whole process was very sharp/quick. He even took some time to call me back and discuss their feedback in detail, which is not something lots of companies grant. From an HR perspective, the whole thing was really great.

Why did you decide to use XYZ technology?

Where do you see yourself growing?

What problems will you face when kicking off a project in startup-mode while the rest of the organization is tied to a monolithic model?

How do you deal with underperformers?

How do you make a decision that impacts a whole department?

How could you argue that a one-stop-shop is better than focusing on one vertical?

Describe a "difficult" meeting you had to hold.