The first round was an online coding assessment on CoderPad. I was paired with a developer from Shopify. I could choose any language with which I was familiar. The question itself was not too difficult; I would say it was comparable to a LeetCode easy question. The interviewer posted the question directly on CoderPad, and we could ask him any questions. We had booked 60 minutes for this round. The introduction took 5 minutes, and another 5 minutes were allocated for reading and understanding the question. It took me around 20 minutes to solve the problem, so we ended up finishing this round early. The interviewer informed me that I had passed.

The second round was the "life story" round, where I was ultimately rejected. I would strongly recommend that Shopify change the title of this interview round. After this interview, I really don't believe it's about the adventures of our lives or our career life stories. It's more of a two-way conversation to determine if your culture, background, and experience are a good match. To me, this felt like a culture fit or experience fit interview.

Before the interview, I prepared about 50 minutes of content detailing my career life story. When I joined the interview, the interviewer mentioned that I didn't need to prepare anything. She then began asking me questions, causing us to jump around different stories to answer her inquiries, which was not the most effective way to present the life story I had prepared. She also gave me some free time to discuss aspects I wanted to highlight. The interview was scheduled for 60 minutes, but we concluded around 50 minutes. I felt she had already reached her decision beforehand. In the end, I only had the opportunity to share half of what I had prepared.

If I had known the process would be like this, I would have prepared very differently for this interview. If the focus were truly on life stories, I would have prepared the parts I found most interesting and aimed to drive the conversation. However, if it's a two-way conversation to assess fit, I would let the interviewers lead and ask questions first. Then, I would try to gauge what they were looking for and share past experiences that directly matched their inquiries. Of course, regardless of the approach, authenticity is key.

If the five characteristics listed on their career page are genuinely what they seek, I would still have high confidence that I have demonstrated all five throughout my career. Therefore, either I didn't share enough examples, as mentioned, or the interviewer did not agree with my experiences, or they were looking for qualities beyond these five characteristics. In my opinion, they are likely seeking specific traits that represent a good fit for the team at the current time.

The second reason I recommend Shopify change the title is that when someone shares their life story and is rejected, it can easily lead to a personal judgment.

For both rounds, the interviewers were very friendly, and they kept me informed about my status.

I wish all future candidates good luck. However, if you are rejected at the "life story" round like I was, don't feel discouraged. Your life story is still unique, beautiful, and meaningful.

The first round question was to code a shopping cart.