impact.com Interview Questions
& Process

The interview expectations for interns are really bad. They expect interns to have 5+ years of work experience before even applying. The questions asked were super specific but also really vague, which didn't leave much room to talk about my actual experiences since everyone's background is different and not always a perfect match to what they're asking. I applied for an internship to gain experience and do my best, but I left feeling really put down. The interviewers even said things like, 'What you're doing is very academic, and we're looking for something more corporate.' That comment felt so dismissive. I thought I was applying for an internship, not a senior engineer role! Internships are supposed to help bridge the gap between academic experience and the industry. Programming is pretty much the same everywhere, like math where 1+1 is always 2. It's another one of those companies with the catch-22 problem where you need experience for an internship, but the internship requires you to have experience already.

I went through the interview process for a CSM role on two different teams. Both interviewers had their cameras off. One was late and kept their camera off the whole time. The other had Wi-Fi issues and was also off-camera. The company stressed the importance of a good internet connection and being ready for remote interviews. But the interviewers weren't prepared, making it a bad experience. An interview should be a joint effort, not just the candidate making sure things go smoothly. Interviewers should also be held to the same standards. I used to think highly of this company, but after these experiences, I'm glad I won't be joining a place that expects one thing from candidates and doesn't deliver on its own expectations.

The whole thing took about a month and a half, with 3 rounds. It started with a recruiter chat, then I got a coding test in Java, Springboot, and Maven. After I passed that, Round 1 was a chat about my resume and a coding challenge with follow-ups. They asked some tough questions, but I nailed them. Then they asked me to come to Columbus for an onsite. Round 2 was a 1.5-hour panel interview with 4 people. They started by asking about my resume and overall experience. Then came technical questions on SQL, Sessions/cookies, and Java Regex. We also talked about their current projects and how I'd handle certain scenarios and expected technical challenges. Round 3 was a call with a product owner and a principal software engineer, which felt more like an HR thing. I think they didn't like my answer about the toughest challenge, as I went too technical. The PSE mostly grilled me on Kafka follow-ups, which felt off-topic. The PO left early, but the PSE and I kept talking about the company and my interests for a while. I waited over a month for an update, and they kept saying I was still being considered, even though I followed up weekly. Finally, they rejected me, saying I had good technical skills but lacked product experience, which I still don't get why it took so long to tell me.

I'm happy to share my experience with Impact.com's hiring process. I was a bit unsure if they'd consider someone without a partnership background, but it turns out they do! They really value your willingness to learn, so don't let your past experience hold you back. The process is pretty simple, but watch out for time zone differences, which can make it feel longer. First, you'll have a recruiter call to talk about your experience and salary expectations. Then, you'll meet your hiring manager for some technical and 'what if' questions. It's also cool that you get to meet a team member to really understand the role from someone in it. After that, there's a presentation where you'll tackle a partnership-related task and meet three people – just be confident and do your research. Finally, you'll meet with a director for a more technical discussion about current KPIs and role expectations. The recruiter team did a great job keeping things moving, with short gaps between interviews. There might be a small wait for the final decision, but they got back to me in about a week with an offer! I wanted to share this in case you were thinking twice about applying. Go for it! Impact.com is welcoming and supportive.