I interviewed at Sonar (Bochum, North Rhine-Westphalia)
Interview
General questions regarding past experience.
Was asked simple code related questions during screening interview.
Did not pass screening interview. Interviewer handled the interview well, was nice and helpful.
Overall good experience.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
Was asked simple questions about dictionaries in screening interview
I applied online. The process took 4 weeks. I interviewed at Sonar in Jul 2025
Interview
HR call, then online assessment on Codility (two easy-medium leetcode-style problems, to be solved in 1h+).
Then 45-min live coding of an easy problem and some questions about design patterns.
Then 3h live-coding, in 3 sprints, implementing a CSV parser. The problem was easy, the focus was on clean-code, SOLID principles, making everything as configurable as possible.
Then a 30-min cross-functional interview with a personal from another team, asking about my experience and how I would handle different situations.
Then, 20 min discussion with the CIO, Andrea Malagodi. I was rejected after this round.
His general tone was pretty arrogant overall, I felt it after the first seconds. After I told him at my current job we come 1 day per week to the office, he sneered and told me at Sonar the policy is 3 day/week, and he recommends employers to come even 5. I should have asked him why, but was too nervous to think of anything. I also told him I wanted to switch jobs because I felt I have plateaued at my current company, to which he replied "you were only for 2 years at your current employer".
Then came the rejection email, that simply said that there was not enough "alignment" between me and the role, which is very vague, also considering that the previous feedback after each of the previous rounds was detailed and positive.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
Tell me how you handled a difficult colleague.
Why do you want to join Sonar?
What are your streangths / weaknesses?
I applied online. The process took 3 weeks. I interviewed at Sonar (Singapore) in Apr 2025
Interview
I went through first 2 rounds of interviews.
However, after the second round, I received an email informing me that the position had been closed due to a sudden change in the hiring budget. This was surprising and disappointing, especially after investing time and preparation into the process.
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