Yapstone Software Engineer Interview Questions
& Process

I applied online and after a phone screen, I was invited for an onsite interview. I was kinda hesitant to take a day off for it because of the reviews I saw on glassdoor, they looked fake with tons of 1 and 5 stars but hardly any in between. I probably should have just skipped it. The onsite itself had 4 interviews, some were okay, others were pretty bad. The first one was a SQL design and query interview, which I think went fine. The second interviewer asked about random, obscure design patterns. I mentioned I knew and used singletons and MVC but couldn't name others off the top of my head. The third interview was the only one that felt like a real "problem solving" interview where I wrote code, and that went well. The last interviewer seemed lost and was using the same question sheet as the second guy. This sheet had basic questions on Java (like access modifiers) and SQL (like indexes). They gave me a rock as a thank you gift when I left, I was more excited about getting lunch after the whole ordeal.

I cleared an online test and then got a call for a face-to-face interview. The first 3 rounds went well and I was feeling positive about it, but then I encountered an interviewer who seemed immature. They were very impatient, which was surprising given their position in top management. They asked very specific, bookish questions about obscure parts of Java that are not commonly used, expecting answers likely found online. I have extensive experience (9+ years) in e-commerce and order management, having worked with a leading OMS product. Although I don't have direct experience with payment systems, I understand their application in the order lifecycle. It would have made more sense not to shortlist me if they saw my resume. The interviewer lacked the maturity to see how my commerce background could offer insights for their payment system's product development, especially as they aim to enter the e-commerce and retail market. I was initially very interested in the company, but this experience changed my mind. After the interview, I did more research and found reviews mentioning that many hires in high positions came from Western Union, and I suspect this interviewer was one of them. It was amusing to read reviews calling some employees 'minions from Western Union'. I'm actually glad I didn't end up joining Yapstone, especially in such an environment. I believe it's crucial for interviewers to also 'sell' the company to the candidate, just as the candidate tries to impress the interviewer.

Applied through LinkedIn and got a recruiter call. Then had a phone interview. After that, I interviewed with the hiring manager in person. Then I had more interviews over two separate days with several people, including a product manager and a director. The early interviews covered my background, my grasp of the development lifecycle and Agile, and tested my technical knowledge in Java, SQL, and Linux. The later interviews were with more senior folks.