Chef Software Interview Questions
& Process

I had a phone and in-person interview with the hiring manager and an analyst, and it went pretty well. Then I had a final call with their SFDC developer, but she wasn't able to make her original interview time slot when I was there. This is when I noticed a communication gap between her and the hiring manager. The call wrapped up early because she seemed like talking to me was a chore.

I got referred by someone who works there and then applied online. Someone got in touch pretty fast for a first phone call, and we talked about basic stuff and why I was interested in Chef and what would make me a good fit. After that, they said I'd have to come in for an in-person interview. They explained the in-person interview pretty clearly and simply. I got some material beforehand and was told to prepare a presentation. On the day, I started by giving the presentation to the sales team. Then, there was a Q&A session to check if I knew the topic. After the presentation, I had a few more interviews, some one-on-one and some with a couple of people. The whole thing took about 3.5 hours. Honestly, the vibe was awesome and the day just flew by!

The hiring process wrapped up in about two weeks. It kicked off with a video call phone screen with the hiring manager, followed by a sequence of video interviews with team members. There was also a coding exercise, which was pretty straightforward. The interviews with the team members were great; I genuinely enjoyed the whole experience. The interviews weren't focused on technical skills but seemed aimed at assessing cultural fit, like experience with remote work, tools used, and mentorship or learning approaches. All the interviewers were really open and forthcoming, and I got the impression they were ready for lots of questions. Chef is a truly amazing company, full of incredibly bright people, and I haven't felt this enthusiastic about a company in ages, so the outcome was quite a letdown.

I had a phone interview that started 10 minutes late. They began with some basic questions about my experience and interest in the company. However, the interviewer seemed unprepared and there were a lot of pauses. They questioned my commitment to the role because my background isn't primarily focused on this type of position. The questioning felt condescending and like they were trying to push me away. They suggested I call back once I decide to make a career out of this field. I get that a background change can be a concern, but I don't think that warrants immediate doubt before I have a chance to explain myself.