I applied online. The process took 2 weeks. I interviewed at Xero (Auckland, Auckland) in Aug 2022
Interview
I had a phone interview initially, followed by a whiteboard interview that involved assessing my understanding of APIs, but with a stronger focus on task organization and handling large requirements. Although I applied as a developer, it seemed like the company was interested in assessing my skills in organizing work effectively. During the interview, I had two interviewers, and unfortunately, one of them displayed an undesired attitude by yawning multiple times. Additionally, there was a lack of clear guidance regarding the task at hand. The interviewer simply stated that they wanted a particular implementation and asked me to organize and implement it while sharing my screen. This approach was unfamiliar to me, and I found it confusing. Consequently, I asked several questions throughout the interview to seek clarification. Interestingly, one of the interviewers demonstrated good technical knowledge, but the other did not inquire about any technical aspects. She or he clearly mentioned you do not need to implement all features in 1 hour but the feedback from the interview was that I did not implement all. Really? Overall, the interview process was subpar due to the absence of proper task explanation and the attitude of one of the interviewers.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
Customer wants this. Organize the tasks and implement it
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 Engineer 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 Engineer 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 Engineer 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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