Junior Software Engineer Interview Experience - San Francisco, California
October 1, 2015
Positive ExperienceNo Offer
Process
I dropped my resume to HR at a campus info session and got a response after two weeks.
The first round was just HR general chatting, asking things like: Why Yelp? What's your favorite language and why? What's your current visa status?
The second round was an OA on HackerRank, which consisted of eight basic Q&A on CS broad knowledge and one easy-level LeetCode-like question.
The third round was a Google Hangout interview with a Yelp engineer. They mainly asked me about the projects on my resume, very detailed, and posed many extended problems based on my answers. I believe I did not do well on this round and need to put in further hard effort to gain a deeper understanding of my work.
Questions
What's your concern about web security? What happens when a browser renders a response?
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Interview Statistics
The following metrics were computed from 2 interview experiences for the Yelp Junior Software Engineer role in San Francisco, California.
Success Rate
0%
Pass Rate
Yelp's interview process for their Junior Software Engineer roles in San Francisco, California is extremely selective, failing the vast majority of engineers.
Experience Rating
Positive100%
Neutral0%
Negative0%
Candidates reported having very good feelings for Yelp's Junior Software Engineer interview process in San Francisco, California.
Yelp Work Experiences
1.0
Worst experience ever at a tech company. Shady business plan
Junior Software Engineer • Former Employee
San Francisco, California, United States
December 24, 2014
Pros: A morally bankrupting type of environment.
Cons: Never in my years have I seen such blatant disregard for the truth. The "algorithm" is flawed and hurting small businesses nationwide. I was told to hush up about "the little people" and that the "algorithm" was not to be changed.
You will be asked to fight "flagged reviews" in order to leave them on people's accounts, regardless of truth. I have never seen a business refuse to remove information that is being asked to be removed, either via email or lawsuit.
What Yelp stands for is what's wrong in the world. I'm sorry, but a review from years ago should not be relevant, and the fact they can't upgrade the "algorithm" is BS. I programmed a solution to remove bad reviews after 1 year, and was promptly fired. (Don't go above and beyond at this job, clearly.)
Fun fact: Yelp in fact DOES charge to remove bad reviews, via cold calling from their sales staff.
Shady. Shady. Shady.
I feel dirty working for such an irresponsible company who blatantly disregards requests from struggling business owners.
4.0
Awesome culture, unimpressive pay
Software Engineer • Former Employee
San Francisco, California, United States
October 30, 2025
Pros: Lots of great people.
No toxicity.
Excellent engineers.
Cons: Pay isn't competitive.
Some toxic management.
4.0
happy workplace in the world
Machine Learning Engineer • Former Employee
San Francisco, California, United States
October 24, 2025
Pros: - Stock price is stable; don't need to worry about joining when the stock price is high.
- Super friendly workplace and culture; no one will blame you if you make a mistake.
- Cross-team collaboration is super amazing; every team is helpful in answering any questions.
- My top one company for a helpful, cooperative culture.
- Bottom-up culture; you will have big room to try any idea but need to convince the PM.
Cons: The salary is low and the stock has not changed over 10 years.
- 1.0Worst experience ever at a tech company. Shady business planJunior Software Engineer • Former EmployeeSan Francisco, California, United StatesDecember 24, 2014Pros: A morally bankrupting type of environment.Cons: Never in my years have I seen such blatant disregard for the truth. The "algorithm" is flawed and hurting small businesses nationwide. I was told to hush up about "the little people" and that the "algorithm" was not to be changed. You will be asked to fight "flagged reviews" in order to leave them on people's accounts, regardless of truth. I have never seen a business refuse to remove information that is being asked to be removed, either via email or lawsuit. What Yelp stands for is what's wrong in the world. I'm sorry, but a review from years ago should not be relevant, and the fact they can't upgrade the "algorithm" is BS. I programmed a solution to remove bad reviews after 1 year, and was promptly fired. (Don't go above and beyond at this job, clearly.) Fun fact: Yelp in fact DOES charge to remove bad reviews, via cold calling from their sales staff. Shady. Shady. Shady. I feel dirty working for such an irresponsible company who blatantly disregards requests from struggling business owners.
- 4.0Awesome culture, unimpressive paySoftware Engineer • Former EmployeeSan Francisco, California, United StatesOctober 30, 2025Pros: Lots of great people. No toxicity. Excellent engineers.Cons: Pay isn't competitive. Some toxic management.
- 4.0happy workplace in the worldMachine Learning Engineer • Former EmployeeSan Francisco, California, United StatesOctober 24, 2025Pros: - Stock price is stable; don't need to worry about joining when the stock price is high. - Super friendly workplace and culture; no one will blame you if you make a mistake. - Cross-team collaboration is super amazing; every team is helpful in answering any questions. - My top one company for a helpful, cooperative culture. - Bottom-up culture; you will have big room to try any idea but need to convince the PM.Cons: The salary is low and the stock has not changed over 10 years.
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