| April 29, 2015
In Cheat Sheet, a regular series, hiring managers for the most coveted positions pull back the curtain on the often lengthy and complex audition processes they put job candidates through. This week, leave the suit at home and learn to think out loud if you want to impress managers at Pinterest.
First Round:
A 30-minute phone interview to gauge candidates’ interest. “If they haven’t worked on a project in an internship that they can talk about, we might ask some general computer science questions to ensure they’ve had some type of training in algorithms and traditional data structures.” Strong applicants may be sorted into one of two tracks (the product side, or the platform side).
Second Round:
One or two 45- to 60-minute technical phone interviews with an engineer. “We’re looking to assess their technical skills and whether they can write clean, efficient, bug-free code, solve for optimization, and look at the big picture.” The questions are “constantly changing” and sometimes specific to Pinterest, like how to make user searches generate a certain number of pins.
Third Round:
Candidates visit the San Francisco headquarters. In two hourlong technical interviews, candidates do coding exercises on a whiteboard and laptop, respectively. An open-ended interview gets at real-world skills, and in a 30-minute “culture interview,” candidates show their fit with the “startup mentality.”
Do arrive early. "That sounds obvious, but with traffic—we’re in the heart of San Francisco—planning ahead is really important."
Do solve coding problems out loud. “Some engineers might be used to being siloed and working independently. Showcase your skills by talking out loud throughout the process.”
Don't overdress. “We’re a really casual environment, so wearing something comfortable is definitely recommended.”
Don't panic if a problem stumps you. “We’re really trying to assess your thought process, so if you get stuck or make a mistake, don’t stress out—nobody is perfect.”
Don't stop thinking when the interviewer stops talking. “We’ll leave time for candidates to ask questions, and sometimes people don’t prepare for that, so make sure you have a couple of questions lined up.”
