Housing & Development Board Interview Questions
& Process

So the interview process has 5 rounds in total. First off, there's an automated technical assessment. Then, you'll have a take-home assignment. After that, it's a live coding assessment, followed by another technical interview round. Lastly, there's a cultural round to wrap things up. It's quite a lengthy process, especially considering it's for a 2-year contractual role and HDB isn't exactly a top-tier tech company that pays big bucks for Software Engineers. The interviewers were really nice though, and the interviews were pleasant. But honestly, they should consider reducing the number of rounds because every person goes through this and you might not even get selected for a contract role. They seemed to really focus on backend questions, even though the role is full-stack.

The Contracts Executive role is typically for polytechnic graduates, while university graduates are usually considered for the Contracts Manager position. I attended an interview as a university graduate, and it was pointed out that I was overqualified for the Executive role and should have applied for the Manager position instead.

After applying, I got an interview invite. Before the actual interview, there were 2 assessments to see how I'd handle demanding residents who want to buy homes they might not afford. We did these assessments and the interview in turns with other candidates. Then came the interview with 4-5 really friendly interviewers. I heard back about 6 weeks later.

The process started with an informal chat with the deputy director, which lasted an hour and had good vibes. Then, two weeks later, I had a timed assessment that took 90 minutes. It was pretty tough, especially for a fresh grad. A week after that, I had the final interview with a panel, which was scheduled for 15 minutes. Unfortunately, the interviewers seemed cold and uninterested, only asking me 3 questions. They also started 30 minutes late, which I didn't appreciate. I decided to reject the offer due to the final interview experience and the fact that the offer package wasn't as competitive as others I received. I think HR should be present during these panel interviews to ensure candidates don't feel uncomfortable.