I applied through a recruiter. I interviewed at Ocado Group (Hatfield, West Midlands, England) in Jun 2013
Interview
After a codility test I was called for a one day interview process (if you already are a UK resident that probably happens in two different days).
the steps where:
- a written exams in java (easy) and some assmembly-like functions (more difficult and fun, starting from basic operations like "assgn to", "increment by 1" you have to provide more complex functions). This test is the same for every candidate, graduated and experienced ones.
- a technical interview. I was asked to write an algorithm on the board. And we talked about my previous projects and how they were organized
- a chat with a manager
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
The technical part is affordable if you have a decent problem solving attitude, but I wasn't offered the position for my lack of knowledge about modern methodology of the software industry
I applied online. I interviewed at Ocado Group (Kraków)
Interview
I don't remember every aspect of that interview well, but I know there were a few deep-level questions about how data structures work. Interview was conducted by two devs. It seemed formal and the atmosphere was rough.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
Why array elements are instant access when you know their index?
The first stage was quite a hard test task. Then I was invited to the second stage for an interview which did not go well for me. The conversation was conducted in a friendly atmosphere
Reached out by hr and scheduled first round. Everyone I met are very friendly but their interview is not typical and the algorithm question I got is a bit tricky.
So the first round has two parts. First part they ask some java, oop, design and db related questions. They cover quite a lot topics. This requires some time to prepare if you want to cover everything. Just from a candidate point of view, I feel it’s not worth to spend time preparing so much for one single company in a hunting season because you probably won’t be asked elsewhere. Second part is a algorithm question but a tricky one. I don’t remember exactly but it’s like you have the answer immediately after you understand the questions, but you tends to overthink because of the context.