My background: B.S. Computer Science student studying at a top 20 university.

A college recruiter found my resume and made initial contact to see if I was interested in TripAdvisor. Being a fan of entrepreneurship and having heard of TripAdvisor as the originator of many Web 2.0 concepts, I readily talked with them, going through on-campus interviews and phone screens.

This was followed by a flight out to Boston to interview on-site. The on-site interview was a full day (9 AM to 4 PM) and consisted of some pretty easy coding questions and even more questions about design and CS principles (design patterns, OO, and interface vs. class, etc.).

The whiteboard coding questions, when they popped up, were not as difficult as, say, Microsoft or Google coding questions. There were plenty of design questions that didn't require coding but required careful thought, with similar difficulty to a Microsoft or Google interview.

There were also plenty of behavioral questions regarding my abilities to work in a team, communicate clearly and effectively, and to determine my level of "individualism," a quality highly valued by TripAdvisor.

The company itself is good and seems to have a great engineering culture. The catered lunches, Rock Band with a big screen, and snack bars are similar to what Google has and really speak volumes about how the company treats its employees.

In terms of the people, I found each interviewer to be professional and intelligent.

I've been made an offer and am still waiting on other companies before making a decision.

What is the most exciting project you've worked on, and why?