HelloFresh Backend Engineer Interview Questions
& Process

I had a first HR screening interview, and unfortunately, it was a highly disappointing experience. From the very beginning, the HR representative mentioned he wouldn’t be turning on the camera, which immediately affected our communication. Following his suggestion, I also turned mine off. This was my first experience with an HR interview where both parties had their cameras off, and it made it incredibly difficult to focus on the conversation. As a result, the interview did not go well. The HR representative asked a series of repetitive and irrelevant behavioral questions, almost like a robot reading from a script, which didn't feel tailored to the conversation at all. The notes during the interview were taken by an AI bot, further distancing any human connection in the process. To add to that, he also said that the company expects employees to work from the office three days a week, which didn’t align with my expectations, so I wasn’t too disappointed when the interview outcome was negative. This has been my only HR interview rejection.

I applied online through the company's career site and then got scheduled for the first interview. In the online interview, the interviewer let me ask questions first. She said she would answer them if I passed to the next stage. I didn't ask for any confidential information, just general interview questions. She was very impatient and reluctant and said my answers were very shallow. Frankly, I didn't pass this stage, but even if I had, I didn't think of continuing.

The whole thing took about 4 weeks. First, I had a chat with tech HR for about 30-35 minutes. We mostly talked about my background and if I knew certain things, like SOLID principles, but no real technical questions, it was pretty laid back. Then came a coding test, which was a bit challenging because I'd never done TDD before, but it was comprehensive and realistic, testing if I could build a REST API without a framework, which I thought was a great way to assess skills unlike random coding challenges. Someone else reviewed it, and they decided to move me forward. Next, I interviewed with the head of a department for about an hour. We talked about my experience and how I found the test, the difficulties, and what they liked. It was a good conversation since we had similar academic backgrounds. My favorite part was talking to the Director of Engineering, who asked hypothetical and cultural questions. He gave me feedback on my answers and how I approached them, and it was just a pleasant chat.