The interview process was very standard:

• A recruiter reached out on LinkedIn.
• I solved some online programming challenges.
• There was a phone screening.
• Then, a more in-depth interview with other developers.
• Finally, the company flew me to Amsterdam for four rounds of interviews:
  • One with the recruiter.
  • Two with developers.
  • Two more with developers.
  • And finally, a manager with whom I wouldn't like to be managed by.

The interview was very business-focused. However, I was able to gauge what employees describe about the company during the interview: it doesn't seem to be a challenging environment.

The recruiter advertised the interview as business-focused, suggesting this is the main challenge for developers. It seems the developers don't agree. None of the 8-9 developers I spoke with (some during the interview, and others while walking around with a friend) mentioned that impacting the business is a nice aspect of working at Booking.com.

Furthermore, being interviewed by people who have been with the company for at most two years doesn't give a good impression of the company's ability to retain employees.

The management structure appears to be very messy. I sensed some stress in the air when I asked about other developers working at Booking.com for more than five, or perhaps eight years, as I hadn't seen any developer working there for more than two years.

There were some very basic programming challenges and some interesting system design questions. Nothing special.