Process
The first interview was a phone interview. It wasn't terribly hard in concept, but it was challenging given the number of problems that were asked of me over the phone in about 30 minutes. One of the questions was a data structure question, and another two were design pattern questions. Of those, one focused on multi-threaded implementation, and another on general object-oriented design.
They were prompt in responding, and I was invited onsite. Onsite interviews were moderately hard technically, but extremely challenging given the number of questions asked in a single interview session. I had a total of five 1:1 interviews, which included a lunch interview. There was never a moment during my onsite where I was at ease; I was constantly writing code on a whiteboard, one after another. A lot of focus is given to your thought process, ability to improvise, and identifying issues with scenarios that are described to you.
I would recommend preparing well for onsites. It is not just your knowledge that will be tested, but also your speed and ability to switch context from one topic to another.
Questions
Various questions on design patterns. Various questions on multithreading concepts. Various questions on web service development.
Was this helpful?
Interview Statistics
The following metrics were computed from 35 interview experiences for the Yahoo Senior Software Engineer role in United States.
Success Rate
Yahoo's interview process for their Senior Software Engineer roles in the United States is fairly selective, failing a large portion of engineers who go through it.
Experience Rating
Candidates reported having mixed feelings for Yahoo's Senior Software Engineer interview process in United States.
Yahoo Work Experiences
- 2.0New competitive culture contradicts "collaborative" rhetoricSenior Software Engineer • Current EmployeeSunnyvale, California, United StatesAugust 5, 2013Pros: Yahoo! is full of extremely smart and dedicated employees. It's a big enough company that you are sure to find some area to work in which you are interested. Yahoo! offers good benefits. It has an informal culture. You are generally allowed to do the right thing. If you're an absolute superstar, you'll be well compensated.Cons: A new way of evaluating employees has come along which, in my opinion, greatly detracts from the once collaborative culture. On a quarterly basis, all employees are stack-ranked against their colleagues in their respective departments. They are then placed in a "bell curve" where each slot in the bell curve *must* be filled. If you are in the bottom of that curve for three quarters in a row, you're fired. This means that if you work in a high-performing group, you could wind up toward the bottom of the bell curve even though you do a good job. This creates an incentive not to help coworkers, to avoid hiring superstars, and to generally not wish good things to happen for your colleagues.
- 4.0A pretty good place to work for a couple of years, but not long termSenior Software Engineer • Current EmployeeSunnyvale, California, United StatesJune 12, 2008Pros: Great resources and opportunities to learn new technologies, skills, etc. Great opportunities for movement between groups. The perks are great, and the benefits (401K, health insurance) are great.Cons: Lots of bureaucracy, and groups are siloed. The hierarchy needs to be realigned. It's a big company, and actual promotions are scarce. It's easier to just jump to another company for that pay raise, and then jump back for another.
- 4.0Great Company, Shaky LeadershipSenior Software Engineer • Former EmployeeSunnyvale, California, United StatesSeptember 16, 2020Pros: Best company to work in the Bay Area.Cons: The executive team keeps changing now and then.
Yahoo Interview Questions
