The Process - Technical Roles
Below is an overview of our interview process within our Software Engineering team.
First stage - screening with our Head of Talent #
The first thing you’ll do is have a 30 minute call with Mark, our Head of Talent. The objective of this call is to learn more about your career history, your experience, and for Mark to tell you more about the company and role. It’s an opportunity to ask those early questions to help you understand if this is the right role and company for you.
We recommend preparing to talk through your experience, covering any gaps in your career history, and talking about your skills and achievements that lend themselves well to the role you’re applying for. Make sure you prepare your questions!
Top tip: It’s a get to know each other session, make sure you research us!
Second stage - Meet the Engineering Manager #
A 30 minute video call with Garry Shutler, our CTO. He’ll look to find out a bit more about you, what interests you as an engineer, your approach to growing software in a holistic sense, and the kind of support you need to do your best work.
He can also answer any questions you have about the Engineering department and Cronofy as a whole.
Top tip: This is the chance to understand how Cronofy works behind the scenes. Make sure you ask searching questions to work out if this is a technical environment that you want to be part of.
Third stage - coding exercise and discussion #
We’ll ask you to do a coding exercise which shouldn’t take more than 60 minutes to complete. It’s not about building a complete product – it’s more of a conversation starter for a deeper technical discussion.
If you have exercises that are open source or from other roles you are applying for, we’re happy to use those if they’re suitable, rather than making you create something from scratch.
Once we have received and reviewed your exercise, we’ll schedule a call with Garry and one of our Senior Engineers. This also gives you the chance to talk to another member of the team.
This call takes around 45 minutes.
Top tip: This is a great opportunity to showcase your technical skills in any language. If you need to take your time with this, please do! Make sure you keep in communication with us if you need more time.
Fourth stage - panel interview #
We’d always prefer this to be a 2-3 hour face-to-face session, but appreciate that might not always be possible. This interview is split into three main sections with breaks in between, and you’ll be joined by Garry our CTO and at least one of our Senior Engineers.
The sections are:
Work history #
This helps us better understand your professional background.
A “whiteboard discussion” #
This gives us another example of how well you communicate - if the interview is in-person this will entail you describing how a system you’re familiar with works. In a remote environment you could prepare a presentation or share images before the call – whatever you are most comfortable with.
Culture add #
This helps us understand what you would bring to Cronofy and what Cronofy would bring to you, and see if those are aligned.
Top tip: Expect us to test you here. To make sure your answers are what we’re looking for, check out our assessment criteria!
Final stage - Offer #
When we make an offer, we’d give you the opportunity to speak with anyone in the business either before or after making your decision on whether to accept. This isn’t part of our selection process, but we’ve found it helps future employees learn more about the culture and whether this is a place they want to work.
Top tip: While not essential, you could get some value out of speaking to other members of the team you’re joining.