Process
The interview process is simple and the same as described by others. I'd like to add a couple of things:
- The recruiter was very polite and helpful in my case.
- There's a strong emphasis on justifying your algorithm/system design choices with numbers, experience, or rational reasoning.
- Interviewers do give hints if you're not going in the right direction. However, if you fail to catch them and correct your solution, it shows a rigid mentality and is a significant negative sign.
- Bonus points are awarded for being proactive in finding edge cases and bugs in your code/design and correcting them.
- In no interview did I feel like I was being interviewed. They all felt like discussions between colleagues.
Questions
Straightforward algorithm question, followed with discussions on scaling and how to productionize it.
Straightforward systems design question with freedom to take discussions in any direction.
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Interview Statistics
The following metrics were computed from 7 interview experiences for the Booking.com Software Developer role in India.
Success Rate
29%
Pass Rate
Booking.com's interview process for their Software Developer roles in India is very selective, failing most engineers who go through it.
Experience Rating
Positive57%
Neutral14%
Negative29%
Candidates reported having very good feelings for Booking.com's Software Developer interview process in India.
Booking.com Work Experiences
1.0
Company has become one of the worst in the last two years
Software Developer • Current Employee
Amsterdam, Netherlands
November 3, 2018
Pros: Amsterdam; it's really all about living here.
Lunch.
Work-life balance.
Cons: After the CTO (Bank) left, company culture has fallen hard.
Incompetent people were promoted to Directors in management because smart people left the company and there was nobody senior enough to fill the void.
Most of the Product Owners are incompetent with no real-world experience.
Management subtly forces people without a future to become TLs, to do their dirty work.
Most of the engineering teams are led by designers who haven't written any code in their life. Nowadays, even copywriters are leading engineering teams :)
Flexible hours is a lie, as they will literally put your ratings to 4 (Partially Meets Expectations) or 5 (Needs Immediate Improvement) if you're late in just a few standups.
Your technical expertise holds no value here. They don't need it, and they're very open about it.
HR is completely useless and will only support management decisions.
Advice to people: Be very, very, very careful about selecting your Team Lead; it can make all the difference. Some guidelines I used to tackle that:
* Shouldn't be a designer/user-researcher/copywriter; they won't ever be able to understand your tasks.
* Should be actively involved in coding (ask his/her teammates about it, not him/her). Check git logs.
* Should've more working experience than you (check LinkedIn; if no good companies are there, it could be a bad sign).
* Should've at least 5 years of corporate experience (don't count freelancing & self-entrepreneurship ventures).
* If they talk too much random without getting to the point, it's a bad sign!
* If they put too much stress on communication then engineering, it's a bad sign.
* Should've empathy; find out how to judge that. This one's most important.
4.0
Typical for a company of its size
Software Developer • Former Employee
Amsterdam, Netherlands
November 27, 2019
Pros: Good product focus. Very good testing methodology. Interesting and innovative tech in some areas of the business.
Cons: Trying to grow too fast, and the culture is suffering. Too many inexperienced managers.
4.0
Good Team, Slow Decisions
Software Developer • Former Employee
April 20, 2022
Pros: Good teamwork.
Room to grow.
Cons: Slow decision-making process.
No parking.
- 1.0Company has become one of the worst in the last two yearsSoftware Developer • Current EmployeeAmsterdam, NetherlandsNovember 3, 2018Pros: Amsterdam; it's really all about living here. Lunch. Work-life balance.Cons: After the CTO (Bank) left, company culture has fallen hard. Incompetent people were promoted to Directors in management because smart people left the company and there was nobody senior enough to fill the void. Most of the Product Owners are incompetent with no real-world experience. Management subtly forces people without a future to become TLs, to do their dirty work. Most of the engineering teams are led by designers who haven't written any code in their life. Nowadays, even copywriters are leading engineering teams :) Flexible hours is a lie, as they will literally put your ratings to 4 (Partially Meets Expectations) or 5 (Needs Immediate Improvement) if you're late in just a few standups. Your technical expertise holds no value here. They don't need it, and they're very open about it. HR is completely useless and will only support management decisions. Advice to people: Be very, very, very careful about selecting your Team Lead; it can make all the difference. Some guidelines I used to tackle that: * Shouldn't be a designer/user-researcher/copywriter; they won't ever be able to understand your tasks. * Should be actively involved in coding (ask his/her teammates about it, not him/her). Check git logs. * Should've more working experience than you (check LinkedIn; if no good companies are there, it could be a bad sign). * Should've at least 5 years of corporate experience (don't count freelancing & self-entrepreneurship ventures). * If they talk too much random without getting to the point, it's a bad sign! * If they put too much stress on communication then engineering, it's a bad sign. * Should've empathy; find out how to judge that. This one's most important.
- 4.0Typical for a company of its sizeSoftware Developer • Former EmployeeAmsterdam, NetherlandsNovember 27, 2019Pros: Good product focus. Very good testing methodology. Interesting and innovative tech in some areas of the business.Cons: Trying to grow too fast, and the culture is suffering. Too many inexperienced managers.
- 4.0Good Team, Slow DecisionsSoftware Developer • Former EmployeeApril 20, 2022Pros: Good teamwork. Room to grow.Cons: Slow decision-making process. No parking.
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