QA Software Engineer Interview Questions
& Process

The hiring process involves a few steps: first, an HR interview, then a pre-tech interview, followed by a practical test where I had to implement a small project. If the project feedback was good, there would be two more interviews before an offer. The first two steps were nice, but after I submitted the project, things changed. I got rejected, which is fine, but the feedback was really bad, like just 'negative feedback, good luck, bye'. I asked for proper feedback but never got it. It felt like a missed chance to improve and have a good discussion about my skills. So, overall, the experience wasn't great, not because of the rejection, but because the feedback was so poor, even when I asked for more.

The interview process involved a phone interview, an online programming test, and an assessment day. The phone interview was mainly to confirm personal details and career aspirations. The online programming test was quite straightforward, with a provided PDF containing all necessary information. The assessment day featured group exercises in a relaxed atmosphere. Candidates also had individual interviews. Initially, I wasn't prepared for the 'competency based questions' asked during the assessment day because I hadn't thoroughly reviewed the PDF attachment in the invitation email, which contained preparation resources. My advice is to carefully check all provided materials for similar roles. There was some conflicting information; the email suggested bringing laptops and discussing university projects and tech knowledge, but we didn't use computers, and only competency questions were asked. I focused my preparation on technical aspects as hinted by the email. After not being selected, I found the PDF accurately described the assessment day and offered links to helpful resources. If I had prepared stories showcasing my experiences and learnings, I would have performed better. Researching 'competency based interview questions' and how to answer them is highly recommended. If you have a long journey to the assessment day, consider traveling the day before. Preparing answers for common competency questions is crucial; it's advised to use rehearsed stories rather than imagination, as sleep deprivation affects recall less than creativity. Some Glassdoor reviews mentioned technical assessments during the assessment day, suggesting a possible mix of technical and competency elements.

So, to kick things off, there was an aptitude test with 20 questions. Right after that, we jumped into a simulation which had about 15 tasks. The catch? Not enough time to finish them all, and it lasted for about 4 hours. We had to pick a project manager ourselves for the day, and they were in charge of prioritizing. But if the project manager didn't do a good job, they'd get swapped out, which actually happened. So, I'd say if you're going for this, make sure you've got solid people skills and can think fast. You'd hope to have those if you made it to the assessment day anyway. On top of that, there were two 30-minute interviews with directors who really grilled me on why I wanted to be in IT and why I hadn't transitioned sooner, so definitely prep for that. To wrap up the day, we had to present what we'd accomplished. Out of 12 people on my assessment day, 4 got offers. Three of us took them, but the other person, who was the project manager, decided he actually wanted to go into project management instead.