Booking.com Frontend Engineer Interview Questions
& Process

So I had my first call with the recruiter, which actually got rescheduled twice, but that's fine. The recruiter seemed a bit out of their depth, like they weren't sure what they were really looking for, asking super generic questions, like reading off a list, such as asking about my familiarity with HTML or relative/absolute positioning. I mean, what else would I say other than I'm comfortable with it? Then, because my past experience was with a B2B company that doesn't handle millions of users daily, the recruiter needed to check if they could move forward, mentioning Booking.com's scale. I get it, but it's a frontend role, not backend, so the scale isn't directly my concern in terms of handling requests. They said they'd check and get back in a day or two. It's been almost a month now and I still haven't heard anything back. It takes a minute to send a simple rejection email, so it's pretty disappointing not to get any kind of response.

I applied on the website and got an invitation for a coding assignment on HackerRank. It covered Event Delegation, Algorithms, and CSS layout based on an image. After passing that, the recruiter set up a phone interview. They asked about my experience and A/B Tests, and also about the business side of e-commerce. I admitted I hadn't worked on the latter, so the recruiter said I wasn't a fit. I argued my case, highlighting my 10 years of experience and Booking.com's reliance on content, suggesting they focus too much on A/B tests instead of front-end quality. Surprisingly, he advanced me. The next stage involved two interviewers. The first task was to write a simple HTML form in one minute. Then, I had to write a vanilla JavaScript validation for it within 10 minutes, using only a notepad. Afterward, they asked for suggestions to improve Booking.com. I reiterated issues with the front-end: messy CSS like using margins for alignment, bad gradients on images, wasted space, and inconsistent styling across pages. They seemed organized but siloed, creating a Frankenstein site where A/B test results trumped code quality. A few days later, I got a generic rejection email, reinforcing my view that HR doesn't value candidates. I've vowed never to reapply to this disorganized company with outdated evaluation methods.

The interview process was very comfortable and relaxed. All interviewers were polite and patient, making it easy to communicate even with language differences. It was interesting to talk with them and learn about Booking, the country, and their experiences in Amsterdam and the company. Be prepared for interviews that might last over 4 hours, as they provide water and energy chocolate in the room. You'll meet more than 6 interviewers, but it's not as daunting as it sounds because they create a comfortable atmosphere. A friend from Booking or your HR contact might show you around the office. You might even get an answer on the same day.