Technology companies have some of the most rigorous screening programs for new candidates, new research has shown.
Marketing company Reboot Online took a look at the perceived interview difficulty of NASDAQ-listed companies as reviewed on workplace data site Glassdoor.
Reboot collated the data into industry categories and found jobs in transportation and consumer services had the easiest interviews with an average of 2.48 and 2.60 out of 5, respectively.
At the other end of the spectrum were technology companies which had an average rating of 3.10 out of 5.
“Interviews in this sector are said to test participants' abilities to deal with stress and anxiety, as well as skills and knowledge, which makes it unsurprisingly hard,” Reboot said in its blog post.
“Google is among the companies contributing to this high score with an average difficulty score of 3.3 according to their previous interviewees.
“Following closely behind is NVIDIA with a rating of 3.2, and Adobe with a rating of 3.0.”
Technology companies based in Australia have similarly high interview difficulty scores.
Canva is one of the more difficult companies to interview, with Australian applicants giving the graphic design firm an average of 3.3 out of 5.
Atlassian is similarly difficult with an average rating of 3.1 out of 5 while Afterpay, which also has far fewer interviews to draw from, scored 2.9.
For each of these Australian firms, the interview process is multi-faceted often involving a screening phone call, technical test, and in-person or virtual face-to-face interview.
One Atlassian software engineering candidate said the process took two weeks and began with a 90-minute test using HackerRank – a platform the company uses to test would-be coders.
After the test came the screening call, followed by four separate interviews lasting 45 minutes or more, quizzing the candidate about their technical knowledge, design principles, and how they fit the corporate values.
Despite their time spent testing for the company, the candidate was not offered a job.
Canva has a similarly lengthy interview process which one full stack engineer applicant described as involving a series of technical challenges including “a snake game, digital clock and a ‘UI generator’”.
The company also appears to assess candidates using HackerRank.
Given all the technical challenges these companies throw at their candidates, it’s no surprise they are given such high difficulty scores.
But an interview is not just about nailing the technical challenges and it’s important to be prepared for your next interview and not neglect the importance of soft skills.