I applied online. I interviewed at HubSpot in Nov 2020
Interview
Applied via LinkedIn and received the same online coding challenge that most people received. A day after completing that, I was contacted directly by a recruiter and we had a chat over phone to schedule my technical interview and go over any questions I had. They also asked me a bit about what I was looking for in my next role.
My interview was delayed a little bit due to many people being out of office for Thanksgiving, but it ended up working out better for me anyway. It was three rounds with three separate pairs of interviewers. My recruiter was super helpful and encouraging which I really appreciated. Questions were one algorithm type question, one system design, and one database design. For non-senior positions, focus mainly on good, concise communication and your ability to quickly respond to where their questions are leading without spelling it out for you entirely. If you can do that, you will do well. Come prepared with a few thoughtful questions to ask each set of interviewers as well. Your conversations with them are important for what kind of impression you make.
A few days later, my recruiter followed up and let me know that there may or may not be a position for me in 2020 because they were narrowing in on their headcount for the year. I was fine with it and waited 2-3 weeks to hear back. My recruiter let me know at that time that a team wanted to extend a position to me after all and I took a week or two to think about it and eventually accept it.
I applied through university. I interviewed at HubSpot (London, England)
Interview
I went through several rounds, including an initial screening, a technical assessment, and follow-up interviews. The process was well structured, but I found the technical part challenging because it required both problem-solving and clear communication under time pressure. The interviewers were professional, and the questions were relevant to the role. Although I did not receive an offer, the experience was still valuable and helped me understand the company’s expectations better.
Coding assessment with multiple levels. levels open up as you pass them. Time constraints looked tight. I could not get through all levels. It was related to Designing banking system.
I applied through an employee referral. I interviewed at HubSpot (Dublin, Dublin)
Interview
Consists of an Online Assessment, followed by 3 rounds (2 System Design, 1 coding)
One of the System Design interviewer was less experienced (with an experienced shadow interviewer). I feel like they didn't drive it correctly, didn't ask me the right follow-up questions and eventually gave negative feedback.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
Online Assessment: Multi-part question involving incremental development of a memory cache database
System Design 1: Design a weather widget to get data from upstream and display to customers
Coding Round: Incremental question involving API calls to get data, parse and do calculation
System Design 2: Design video streaming system (like Netflix)