Orbitz Worldwide Interview Questions
& Process

I first met the recruiting team on campus and then had a campus interview the next day. The questions included typical behavior questions and two basic algorithm questions. After that, I moved to the next step, which was a coding challenge to be completed within 2 days, followed by the onsite interview. The onsite interview had two parts: one focused on behavior and the other on technical aspects. The technical problems were not too difficult, mainly requiring clear presentation of ideas. The interviewers were very kind and friendly, making the entire process comfortable without stress or exhaustion. However, I ultimately accepted an offer from another company and declined this opportunity.

The hiring process was great--great communication along the whole way. I got a phone call with a hiring manager and they bought me in and I interviewed four people, including the hiring manager. I knew something was wrong when they asked me questions like "What do you like to do?" and "How do you feel about data" I was not asked one technical question. Then I met the hiring manager and she gave me a case. Although they were literally all white and similarly-aged and from the Midwest, they were all nice and I felt positive, though in the back of my mind, I was confused by why it was so easy. This can't be right? Well, the next day, I got an email saying I did great, but they were hiring an internal candidate. Now it's easy to assume that because I didn't get the offer, I'm bitter. This is really not the case because if the interview was hard or I didn't get along with the interviewers, then I get it. I'm not qualified. This is like my 900th rodeo, and I've had plenty of bad interviews. That being said, WHAT THE HECK. If Orbitz knew the entire time that they were hiring an internal candidate, WHY INTERVIEW ME. Why make me take off a (precious) day off work, why make me waste 4 hours being interviewed by people who don't even ask serious questions? And the thing is, I actually read another similar incident on Glassdoor and didn't think it would apply to me. But it did. The problem with Orbitz HR is that they have to interview external candidates to get their quotas in. But they have no intention of hiring you. It's just good for their internal metrics. And I don't blame the HR people--maybe that's what the higher ups told them to do. But to the hiring manager: I can hope you sleep well at night. I hope you enjoy doing this to people. I hope your internal candidate is everything you ever wished for.

I sent in my application online. About a month later, I got an email to set up a phone interview. The recruiter seemed really swamped and suggested scheduling for 1-2 weeks out. On the interview day, she called me much earlier than I expected because of the time difference, so I had to ask her to call back later. The interview itself was okay, though I felt the recruiter could have been a bit more courteous. A week or two after, they let me know they were moving forward with another candidate.

The interview started with a phone screening, followed by an in-person interview about a week later. Scheduling was a bit tricky because they kept shifting the available times for the onsite interview and also the available shifts. There were three interviewers: two men and one woman. The men seemed more engaged and like they'd actually read my resume, while the woman stuck to a script of standard questions. I didn't have a great impression because of the constant changes to the interview schedule and the job availability.