Valorem Reply Interview Questions
& Process

This was one of the worst interviews I have ever attended. It was really a bullying experience with two interviewers. The first interviewer, AC, was extremely rude and wouldn't even let me finish my answers. He had a very annoying attitude and seemed to want a very specific answer. I felt pressured to give that exact answer no matter what. This was a very negative and bullying experience.

The entire interview process spanned 3 weeks. It started with a staffing agency where I had 2 initial conversations. Originally, I was being considered for a Business Analyst role, which led to a conversation with a manager in that department. He then suggested I'd be a better fit for the Digital Strategy group and referred me to someone there. I then had two more 1:1 interviews with people from the Digital Strategy team. I got the offer just two days after my final interview. The interviews were mostly conversational, focusing on behavioral questions, and there were no case-style questions. Everyone at Valorem Reply was really friendly and seemed genuinely interested in getting to know my background, skills, and aspirations to ensure I'd be a good fit. They also made sure to allocate plenty of time for my questions, openly discussing the company culture and the projects Valorem Reply undertakes.

It started off great, I was really pumped about the work they were doing and felt it was a spot on fit. The interviews themselves were great, and I felt like it was a positive experience for both sides. But then... they have you take this "cultural fit test," which takes like 2 hours, and then an hour with a psychologist. The test was awful, and a lot of the questions were way more political than I think is appropriate for work. Like, I feel like you could tell how someone votes based on their answers. The psychologist interview was "fine"... but honestly, why? I guess they must have had some bad hires in the past, but this isn't the way to fix it. It leaves a really bad early impression when you're trying to get good people to join. So, I guess I didn't pass the culture test and psych eval. That positive experience just soured instantly, and I never heard back. I'm proud of my career history, and I'm pretty sure I wouldn't have achieved what I have or built the work relationships I have if this psych test was actually a good measure. In a way, it worked out because I dodged a bullet and got a great job at a company that doesn't do this kind of thing because they actually know how to interview and find great people.

A recruiter contacted me on LinkedIn. We had a brief 20-minute call about the company and the role. Then, I completed a personality survey, which had 5 parts, each taking about 20 minutes. The recruiter mentioned they wanted to keep the process moving quickly. I finished the survey on Monday and had an in-person interview on Wednesday. This interview was with two lead developers, not a manager. The first part was a casual chat about fitting into the company culture, and they concluded I seemed like a good fit. The second part felt a bit like being in The Matrix with a very monotone interviewer. I was given a scenario: I'm interacting with a customer who wants to upgrade an existing app. The interviewer acted as the customer and I had to ask questions to understand the requirements for this upgrade. They noted down my questions. Afterward, I had to whiteboard a database design for an inventory system, adding the new tables needed for the upgrade. I hadn't designed an inventory system before, but database diagrams are straightforward. I left feeling I performed well, though I thought having a manager present might have led to an offer, as they are often more people-oriented than developers. The focus on being a 'team-player' and 'fitting in' seemed at odds with being evaluated on solo performance in a short time frame. I had asked the recruiter if whiteboarding would be involved, and they said no. Despite my portfolio and experience in various technologies, and practicing whiteboarding, this interview was still unexpected.