Nationwide Building Society Software Engineer Interview Questions
& Process

It was a two-step process. A recruiter first reached out to introduce themselves and invite me to the interview process. The first interview involved a coding question similar to LeetCode, but the emphasis was on the thought process, allowing for verbal explanation or pseudocode, alongside general questions about my background. The second interview also included a coding question, more technical questions, and some competency-based questions aligned with their values. I liked that the process was mostly efficient, the interviewers were friendly, and the questions seemed relevant and not overly hard. The initial recruiter was very supportive and seemed willing to make reasonable adjustments for my disability, but I was disappointed that they couldn't offer much beyond extra time. I was also left waiting for nearly three weeks for feedback after following up twice; after the first follow-up a week later, I was told I had good feedback but they were waiting for another candidate to complete their final interview. Overall, it wasn't a bad process and was better than some I've experienced, but it could be improved, especially regarding support for candidates with disabilities and communication, as the end was a bit disappointing.

The interview process felt quite random and unstructured. While the interviewers suggested business casual attire, they didn't adhere to it themselves during our Ms Teams calls. What was supposed to be a non-technical initial chat turned into a deep technical dive, which I was fine with. However, the competency round lacked prepared tests or structured technical questions, devolving into just a conversation. There was no feedback or scoring, making it feel like a closed group. Despite positive signals throughout, the rejection was unexpected. They promised more structured feedback but only provided a 'No'.

After submitting my application, I got an email saying I had three days to finish the online assessments. These included two Situational Judgement tests, a Numerical Reasoning test, and a Verbal Reasoning test. These tests are pretty standard, and practicing beforehand helps. Once I passed, I had a Strength-based interview over the phone with the HR manager. The interview questions were pretty general, and I was expected to share examples of when I showed the company's values. To do well, I'd suggest looking at the PRIDE values and preparing examples for each. The HR manager was really professional and made it a good experience.