Our selection & interview process
We know that the process for applying for a new job can be nerve-wracking, and we want to help make it smooth sailing by letting you know what you can expect from our team.
Check out our typical selection and interview process
Step 01: Application
A member of our team will review your application and be in further touch if we’re able to move forward with consideration for a first round of interviews.
Step 02: Pre-recorded Interview
We’ll send along a link for you to conduct your first interview using pre-recorded questions & answers you can complete from the comfort of your own home at a time that works best for you.
Step 03: Live Interviews
Virtual or in-person, we’ll have you meet with members of the Vendasta team in a few sets of interviews with your Hiring Manager, People Operations, and more as applicable.
Step 04: Reference Check
A member of our People Operations team will collect reference information from you to begin initiating contact at this stage.
Step 05: Offer
We hope to be able to make you an offer to join the Vendasta rocketship!
Tips for interviewing with Vendasta
Personal Bio
Have a quick ‘who are you’ ready to go. We often kick off our interviews with this ice breaker and being ready with a short & sweet summary of your background, education, and even hobbies can go a long way.
Question Preparation
Reflect on and have specific examples ready for more behavioral-based questions such as “Tell me about a time when…”.
Prepare Questions
Prepare questions for the interviewer. We always aim to allocate time at the end of each interview for you to ask us any questions you may have. Feel free to write yours down ahead of time so you don’t forget!
Be Yourself
Vendasta is a place where we want everyone to feel welcome, and we want to get to know the true you in our conversations.
Research & development selection and interview process
- 01. Application Review
- 02. Coding Assessment
- 03. Technical Interview #1
- 04. Technical Interview #2
- 05. Culture Add Interview
- 06. Offer
01: Application Review
When we receive your application, an Engineering Manager (EM) will review it. This review will focus on your experience as highlighted in your included resume and will take into account the level of the position that you’ve applied for.
Vendasta posts engineering positions of varying levels, so the EM will take that into consideration when reviewing your resume. As with most organizations, we have a range of engineer levels which is typically based on the individual’s experience in the industry. If the EM sees something demonstrating that you may be a good fit for Vendasta, and the role they’re hiring for, you’ll advance to the next stage of the hiring process.
Keep in mind that you may also be considered for a position that you didn’t specifically apply for. This could mean a position on a different development team or a different engineer level. At the end of the day, we are looking for developers who we feel can make a positive contribution to the organization.
02: Coding Assessment
We want to make sure that you have a good foundation in writing code so you’ll be invited to complete a virtual coding assessment at your convenience. The assessment consists of two problems for you to solve within a set amount of time. The remote coding platform we use to conduct your assessment will allow you to choose a programming language that you’re comfortable with.
Afterward, the platform will assign a score based on your solution, and the EMs will review your work by watching a playback of your code written. This will give us great insight into how you approached the problem, and how your solution evolved over the course of being written. You may be tempted to just write your code in an IDE that you use regularly and paste your solution into the platform, but we would suggest that you write all your code in the platform so we can see your solution from inception to completion.
Even if you’re unable to complete both problems or are unable to deliver a working solution, the EM may still see a reason to invite you to the next phase of the interview process.
03: Project and Experience Discussion
The first technical interview can be conducted in person or remotely depending on your location. Of course, we’d love to meet in person if you’re in the Saskatoon area, however, we do accommodate remote meetings.
This meeting will be an opportunity for your and your interviewers to discuss your experience and the projects you’ve worked on. Be prepared to speak about the technical details of your projects such as architecture, infrastructure, process, and team dynamics. We also love to dive into the reasoning behind the decisions made during your projects, as well as any trade-offs that were necessary. Though not required, you’re free to bring in any diagrams or support material that you feel may be helpful in talking about past projects. You’ll also have the opportunity to sketch things out on a whiteboard if necessary.
This interview will be conversational in nature and a great way for you to highlight some of your successes and learnings as an engineer.
04: Coding
The next technical interview will allow you to demonstrate your problem-solving skills from a software development perspective. The type of problems presented to you will depend on your level of experience, and at the discretion of the interviewer.
You may be presented with a series of problems and be asked to solve them using whatever programming language you’re comfortable with. This will be done live during the interview using the same platform you’ll have already used during your Coding Assessment. The interviewers will observe how you approach the problem and how you translate your ideas into code. You’ll be encouraged to communicate while you’re working through the problem so the interviewers can understand your thought process. There are no trick questions here, and the interviewers are not looking to trip you up – they are there to lend you the assistance along the way.
You may also be given a problem where the focus is not on producing code, but instead to talk about how you would design a system to solve the problem. The interviewers will be looking for insights into the architecture and design decisions that drive your solution. Expect this to be conversational, and feel free to use this as an opportunity for whiteboarding sessions to produce diagrams and pseudocode.
This interview will wrap up the technically focused part of our hiring process.
05: Culture Add Interview
The culture fit interview is conducted by a member of our People Operations team. The interviewer will be looking for how well aligned you are with Vendasta’s leadership principles and core competencies. The goal of this interview is to talk about your previous experiences as they relate to the working culture of Vendasta, answer any questions that you may have about our teams, our culture, our perks, and benefits, and find out anything else that will help to ensure that we’re on the same page about what you’re looking for in a work culture
The results of this interview will be shared with the Engineering Manager, who will use this information along with the results of the technical interviews to make a final decision on whether to make an offer to you.
06: Offer
After all interviews are conducted, People Operations may begin to conduct your reference checks via phone or email with the contacts you’ve provided. We aim to have a maximum 5 business day turnaround time before we’re able to provide any last updates or an offer.
Ready to get started with one of our talented teams?
What is next?
Want to learn more about Vendasta & our culture?
Learn more about our company and culture at one of our Ideas on Tap events, or check out our mission statement and culture guide.
Want to learn more about our section & interview process?
Want to get a head start on learning about our products?
Join Vendasta’s online academy to learn more about our software.