After applying, I received an email asking me to complete an online test. This test consisted of approximately 10 multiple-choice questions about HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. Some of the questions seemed outdated, not accounting for ES2015+ features and occasionally referencing jQuery. This was particularly strange given I was applying for a React position.

Regardless, I passed the test. A few days later, I had a phone call with someone from HR. This call was a typical initial screening, where you learn about the company culture and discuss your experience, expectations, knowledge, and interests.

A few weeks later, I had a technical interview with two developers via video call. Upon starting, they informed me that we would begin with a programming exercise lasting about 40 minutes, followed by technical questions, and concluding with an opportunity for me to ask my own questions.

The exercise involved building a form validation function that needed to support IE8. I thought it would be interesting to write it in a way that would fall back to browser validation in modern browsers. I therefore attempted to make it resemble existing validation APIs by using input attributes like type and pattern. However, they did not seem to favor this approach; it appeared they preferred a completely custom solution. They even sounded annoyed when I mentioned solutions that would work equally well on modern browsers.

I didn't fully grasp the purpose of this exercise. It felt as though they simply wanted to observe me coding without genuine concern for the engineering quality of the solution. While this might be acceptable for those who don't prioritize engineering principles, it's not the case for me. It was also peculiar that the exercise had no relation to React. They even suggested using jQuery if necessary.

Following the exercise, they asked me questions about my current role and about A/B testing. The latter was quite important to them, as they utilize it extensively at Booking.com. Since this is not something I regularly engage with in my current job, I struggled to provide satisfactory answers.

Once they finished their questions, they invited me to ask mine. I had several questions prepared, but they did not allocate sufficient time. After about five minutes, they interrupted me to state they had to end the interview due to needing to leave the meeting room. They concluded the call abruptly, which felt rather unprofessional.

One week later, I received an email informing me that I had not progressed to the next stage, along with feedback on my technical interview performance. The feedback was quite detailed, which I appreciated.

In summary, for anyone considering applying to Booking.com, I would recommend focusing primarily on your JavaScript knowledge, familiarizing yourself with A/B testing, and if engineering is your forte, setting it aside for this process, as they appear to prioritize code creation over thoughtful engineering.

What is A/B testing?