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      Sonovate

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      Software Engineer Interview

      12 Dec 2018
      Anonymous interview candidate
      Cardiff, Wales
      No offer
      Negative experience
      Difficult interview

      Application

      I applied through a staffing agency. The process took 2 weeks. I interviewed at Sonovate (Cardiff, Wales) in Nov 2018

      Interview

      Telephone interview with the development manager - nice friendly and informal chat. Basic background checking and information on the company. Interview over-ran by 30 mins This was followed by a fairly comprehensive technical test. Set aside at least a day to complete. Simple app, but required an angular front end as well as demonstration of back end skills, unit testing, logging etc..(production ready code requested). Feedback was good for technical test, and as a result invited for a face to face. This involved speaking with head of development and HR. Followed by a code review with head of dev and three other dev team members. Much more in-depth overview of the company. Left feeling very positive about the team and the company. Excited at the prospect of joining the company. Interview over-ran by an hour. Asked to return for yet another face to face. This was with the CEO and CTO. CEO started off by getting my name wrong. 10 year career with multiple international organisations ripped apart by the CEO. CEO claimed I had no experience with enterprise level software (despite working for companies producing software used by some of the biggest financial institutions in the UK) and working with one of the biggest law firms in the UK, I could see there was no way to satisfy this person that I was the right person for the role. Very quickly began to dislike the CEO as a potential employer. CEO dominated the meeting with the CTO asking few questions. CEO finished off the interview by claiming that he did not think I had the technical skill to fill the role. Never...ever have I had such a negative reaction to me or my CV. I suspect the CEO hadn't even bothered to prep for the interview in terms of speaking with his team or even reading my name. I was reminded of a recent article i had read entitled 'High Performing Jerks = Culture Crushers!' interview over-ran by 40 mins.

      Interview questions [1]

      Question 1

      I feel that you do not have the technical expertise to fulfill this role.
      1 Answer
      4

      Other Software Engineer interview reviews for Sonovate

      Software Engineer Interview

      21 Sept 2023
      Anonymous interview candidate
      No offer
      Negative experience
      Difficult interview

      Application

      I interviewed at Sonovate

      Interview

      A waste of of time filled with dishonesty. After a brief phone call with one of the company's recruiters, where I clearly stated to him that I refuse to do live coding tests (this is due to the fact I'm on the spectrum, and I find being put on the spot like that extremely uncomfortable). I was told it was a take home test so I agreed to continue. I asked to attend 30 minute interview with their hiring manager. They really came across as if they liked the sound of their own voice. They made a snide comment about the fact I had not done any research about the company before the interview, Red flag number one. They then proceeded to give a explanation of the company and what it does. Then afterwards they explained the take home test, they said that lots of people had failed(red flag number 2) and it should take only two hours to complete (the first lie). The take home test will not take only two hours, It's an extremely extensive refactoring exercise that attempts to cover everything. Try more along the lines of 10 to 15 hours. (Red flag number 3) After that I was asked to attend a final interview. The final interview comprised of a review of my coding test, a logical test (I'll come back to this), a run through of my CV and a Q&A session. The run through of the coding test was fine, the usual questions were asked. Now the "logical test" which isn't of the sort, it's a live coding test where they hit you with a leet code programming question, remember when I mentioned I refuse live coding tests? I did ask the recruiter what this "logical test" was, I was told he didn't know and to just Google it, well I did Google logical tests and was greeted with questions about filling jugs of water up and number sequences. So back to the test, so I was instantly greeted with a coding problem (the sort you see during your time at collage). whilst I attempting to solve the problem I was constantly interrupted by the hiring manager, who was constantly saying things like "think like a computer". After solving the problem I was asked how I would improve on it, I've only just solved it, how am I expected to instantly improve upon it? I was them made to feel like an idiot for not understanding data structures correctly. Yeah, I wasn't told I was going to be tested on computer science based questions involving algorithms which I haven't touched since my university days. Does the company give their developers 30 minute challenges to see if they remember sorting algorithms in their day to day work life at this company? Anyway after this ordeal I was greeted with a Q&A session, but I was pretty deflated so asked a few bog standard questions an left. I was told they had a few more candidates and I should hopefully hear something in a week or so. The next day I told the recruiter I wasn't interested in joining this company. There was too many red flags and dishonesty. What's the point in having such an extensive take home test which proves coding ability, followed up by some live coding test which they try to hide from everyone. I don't appreciate the dishonesty.

      Interview questions [1]

      Question 1

      A long winded take hime coding test followed up by leet code style live coding exercise.
      Answer question
      avatar
      Sonovate response
      2y
      Thank you for taking the time leave such comprehensive feedback. We have read this fully and want to provide the comprehensive response it deserves. It is regrettable that you have come away from the experience of our interview with the sense that you had been deceived . It is a balancing act to try and give candidates the information they need, to have the best opportunity to give the best impression of themselves, while also remaining fair and consistent in our approach. I have spoken our hiring team to give more detail on the methods of assessment in our interview, so that they can be better prepared to support applicants going through the process in future; making sure that we can accommodate any reasonable adjustments that may be required at interview stage. Let me attempt to respond to each of your points in turn; I always ask candidates what they know about the company, as I’m always intrigued to see how close they get to the right answer. As I mentioned in our conversation, it’s normally frowned upon to not know much about a company that you are looking start a career with. However, it is difficult to understand what we do so I try to put candidates at ease by letting them know that it is particularly difficult in our case, before going on to give them a full explanation with examples. The purpose of the initial call is for candidates to have a clear understanding of our business so that they can make an informed decision about working with us. I’m sorry if you felt this came across as anything short of an attempt to reassure you. Regarding the take home test. I advise all candidates to spend no more or less than 2 hours on the exercise and to provide some text on what they would have done with ore time. It is a refactoring exercise and so it can be difficult to know when you are finished. It is true that more fail our test than pass it. I tell candidates this so they are under no illusion that it is a pass/fail scenario. Hopefully coupled with the information they have gathered from the wider conversation, they are motivated to give it their best shot. I’m mindful that candidates maybe asked to do lots of code tests when applying for jobs, so again this is an attempt to give them the best chance of doing well. Finally let me address directly the code test that you found most uncomfortable in our hiring process. We refer to it as a logical test, rather than a code test as the purpose of it is not to solve the puzzle, but to understand how you approach it and whether you are comfortable interacting with other engineers. We place a great deal of emphasis on pair programming here and it is vital that candidates are able to think out loud, listen to help and feedback etc. We are not testing your knowledge of syntax, so we don’t refer to it as a code test. We could for example have run the same session using a whiteboard and pseudo code. The interviewing team weren’t aware that you would have found this uncomfortable and so I can only apologise. Interviews are very nervous and unnatural situations and we try to do our best to make candidates feel relaxed as best we can during the entire process. Let me take this opportunity to thank you again for the detailed feedback on our interview process and again to let me reiterate our regret that were left feeling deceived in anyway. We will of course take steps to continuously improve. You came across very well and very likeable, getting much further than most candidates in our process. You are clearly a talented engineer and I wish you all the very best in your career.

      Software Developer Interview

      4 Apr 2017
      Anonymous employee
      Cardiff, Wales
      Accepted offer
      Positive experience
      Difficult interview

      Application

      I applied through other source. The process took 2 weeks. I interviewed at Sonovate (Cardiff, Wales)

      Interview

      I was initially headhunted via LinkedIn by an internal HR manager, and sent my CV. I was then invited to participate in a simple phone discussion with a lead developer two days later, in order to gauge whether I was worth bringing in for interview, or not. It was a short (~15min) conversation which was reasonably relaxed and informal. I was then immediately invited to my first interview, following the phone conversation, which was scheduled a further 5 days later. This interview was mostly technical, and involved a lead developer, the CTO and myself. It was then followed by a short, simple technical test. It was then a further week before I was scheduled for my final interview. This interview is where things got difficult. The interview was with the head of HR and the CEO of the company. Whilst they are both extremely amicable people, the interview was very direct and quick. Every inch of my CV was scrutinised and picked apart, and I felt that I had to defend every single life choice I had made until that point. It lasted just over an hour and the grilling barely let up throughout the entire thing. Even though it was extremely difficult, it definitely came across that the CEO was looking for the best he could get. You could really tell he wanted to weed out anyone who he didn't think would do well at Sonovate. It actually wound up being very rewarding in terms of interview experience, as well as a sense of having worked for the offer. I then received my offer informally the same day, and formally a couple of days later.

      Interview questions [1]

      Question 1

      Why are you looking to leave your current employer? What's to say you won't do the same to us, a year down the line?
      Answer question

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