I applied through a recruiter. The process took 4 weeks. I interviewed at Rakuten in Feb 2015
Interview
After applying through a careers website, I was asked to complete a coding test and a prerecorded video interview. The coding test was pretty easy; I had an hour to solve a given problem and test it. It was unsupervised. The prerecorded video interview was really easy since they gave me the questions ahead of time - why are you interested in the company, what's your greatest strength, etc.
Once I passed that step, they invited me to a Skype interview. I was told it was with engineers, so I assumed they would ask me to code or at least come up with a way to solve a problem, but they were more general knowledge questions - 'tell me about this thing on your resume', 'have you ever done unit testing?', etc. Also things like 'tell us about a book you've read recently on a technical topic', which I was not at all prepared for. Also, there were three interviewers crowded around one screen, one of whom had a face mask on and none of whom I could understand clearly. It was not great, and I knew by the end I hadn't passed.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
Tell us about a book you've read recently on a technical topic.
Applied online. Initial screening with the hiring manager. Questions from resume. Technologies used. Java basic questions. Salary expectations. About the role and team. Leetcode question - no coding - just mention the approach. System design question.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
Leetcode question - no coding - just mention the approach. System design question.
Disorganized, no HR reached out to discuss about the administrative details and salary and benefits, the hiring manager reached out directly, scheduled a meeting and asked about HR questions(visa, RTO etc.)
The hiring manager was late for over 5 mins minutes, no apologies, no greetings. Negative experience
The interview covered Python libraries, networking, and my software engineering experience. While questions were basic, they can be tricky for seniors. Review your definitions alongside your past projects to succeed.