I applied online. The process took 4 weeks. I interviewed at Xero (Auckland, Auckland) in Apr 2015
Interview
There were two online tests, to gauge my general coding ability and my skill in Java.
There was then an assessment day at Xero. There were two groups of people. We then had a research questions, where you have time to research on a topic that you pick out of a hat and then present your findings to a panel of judges, who ask you questions about it. There is then a 1 on 1 interview to go through what you know and your past experience. After that there was a lunch break where you get to speak to different developers working in the office. My group then got to work with Lego and we had to build something with limited pieces, as we were building something we had extra requirements enforced (eg. to not use a certain piece) and we had to adapt to the changes. Lastly there was another interview with the HR department.
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%
Background check: 4%
Personality test: 4%
Drug test: 4%
IQ intelligence test: 4%
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