I applied online. The process took 2 weeks. I interviewed at Xero (Melbourne) in Jul 2019
Interview
First there's a phone screen with an HR team member. They ask you some questions about your background, experience, visa status and expected salary.
Next, there's a technical interview with the team you'd be joining. This is only a high level technical discussion. They will touch on your previous work experience quite heavily. They will also ask questions about OOP concepts. As long as you know what you've done at previous jobs and have an understanding of OOP, you should be okay.
Next, it was a take home coding assessment. It was a small C# application with some bugs and some empty methods. You need to fix the bugs and complete the empty methods. They're looking for modular and well structured code, as well as unit tests.
Lastly, you discuss your solution with the technical team. Be ready to answer why you did stuff a certain way. You also may be required to make improvements to your solution on the spot after discussion. This is the final step, and if everything goes well, an offer will come in the next few days.
Overall, a very positive experience. The recruiter was responsive to my questions and kept me on the loop all along.
I interviewed at Xero (Auckland, Auckland) in Mar 2026
Interview
The questions are difficult. Coding assessments: Can be live or take-home. pair programming with a given question. Behavioral + teamwork: how you work in teams, handle conflict, and resolve issues.
I applied online. The process took 3 weeks. I interviewed at Xero (Melbourne) in Mar 2026
Interview
It takes too long. The questions are difficult. Also there is a behavior test, not sure whether this test is useful. The technical questions are good:
Lead technical design and implementation of complex features and systems
Write high-quality, maintainable code and automated tests
Make pragmatic architectural and technical decisions that balance short-term delivery with long-term sustainability
Coding assessments: Can be live or take-home. pair programming with a given codebase.
Behavioral + teamwork: Interview with non-engineers (e.g., PMs) to probe how you work in teams, handle conflict, and resolve issues.
Software Developer applicants have rated the interview process at Xero with 3 out of 5 (where 5 is the highest level of difficulty) and assessed their interview experience as 82% positive. To compare, the company-average is 57.5% positive. This is according to Glassdoor user ratings.
Candidates applying for Software Developer roles take an average of 17 days to get hired, when considering 11 user submitted interviews for this role. To compare, the hiring process at Xero overall takes an average of 23 days.
Common stages of the interview process at Xero as a Software Developer according to 11 Glassdoor interviews include:
Phone interview: 24%
Group panel interview: 20%
Skills test: 16%
Presentation: 12%
One on one interview: 12%
IQ intelligence test: 4%
Personality test: 4%
Drug test: 4%
Background check: 4%
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