Brambles Interview Questions
& Process

Brambles reached out to me on Linkedin with the job profile. I didn't apply. Then, I went through three interviews. They made it seem like they were really into me and wanted me to write an essay on a specific topic. I did it. They apparently liked it and said I'd hear back the next week. I followed up after 3 weeks. Their response was super short and rude, saying 'don't write to us, it's rude'. Then, nothing. It's been almost 2 months now. I emailed again anyway. They replied fast: 'I forgot to tell you that we're not interested in your profile!' They have zero respect for candidates. I even wonder how they can be a 'Top employer'.

So the interview for the Senior React Developer gig at Brambles was pretty set up, like 4 parts to it. First, there was this quick chat that took about 30 minutes. Then we went deeper into my past work and did a technical test for an hour, covering JavaScript, CSS, and React. After that, there was a full-on technical interview for another hour where I had to do some coding problems that were not too hard, some hands-on React stuff, and we talked about system design too. The last part was an hour-long chat to see if I'd fit in with the team. It all went pretty smoothly, and the people I talked to were cool and professional.

My chat with HR was great, but the interview itself was terrible. It took them two weeks to give me any feedback. They thought I only knew 'IT' vocabulary and lacked knowledge in other areas, despite my extensive experience in business roles and my business degree. I've never actually worked in IT. I handled their two questions about acronyms correctly, even though they didn't specify which departments the acronyms belonged to. I gave a brief overview of the company, which they didn't appreciate. They've been at Brambles for over ten years and seem to think it's the only thing that matters. It's a shame. They also seemed worried about my 'limited time at big companies,' as I've worked for startups in about half of my previous roles, yet they're looking for someone to bring a startup-like, agile approach to their company. It felt like they were being racist, too; I'm not from their country, and they gave me weird looks. Ultimately, it felt like they were grasping at straws to find reasons not to hire me. I wouldn't recommend this company.

I applied for this role at the end of December and received an email for the first interview in mid-January, with only about 24 hours' notice. The interviewer joined the call from their car, saying they had forgotten about the scheduled interview. The interview itself was mostly standard behavioral questions and a discussion about the project/function. After the interview on January 12th, 2023, I still haven't heard back about the second stage as of February 27th, 2023. I've since withdrawn because the company showed a lack of respect for my time, which was clear from how they handled the interviews and the overall process. I'll avoid this company in the future.