I applied through a recruiter. I interviewed at Elsevier (London, England) in Jan 2016
Interview
The interview took 30 min more than initially scheduled (around 1 hour in total) and the manager person took me from basic OOP principles to coding practices and methodologies (no devops questions though, just basic code).
Impressions I had after:
1. Basic company-unicorn-placebo-sales tactic, nothing out of the ordinary
2. Basic "women-cosmetics-sales-tactic" (you're ugly, here buy this lipstick)
3. I was forced to be very defensive in the discussion
4. The guy liked to hear himself talk, didn't matter the subject, basic narcissistic behavior, probably selfie enthusiast
5. Comical references to oneself ("I learned Python in one day" when referring to his skills); on Linkedin he has aprox. 1 year of senior coding xp (suggesting he was born a senior) -> very funny by the way
6. Conflicting feedback by making references to salary expectations suggesting he was open to negotiations, after explaining me why I'm NOT fit for the role (see point 2.)
Overall feeling I had: FEAR
(I have 9+ year of software experience, all java enterprise, major companies, all kind of industries, multitude of roles, no bs on my resumes)
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
equals and hashCode (basic google stuff, guy was manager or something, not a coding person)
I applied through an employee referral. The process took 2 weeks. I interviewed at Elsevier
Interview
2 Tech/management and 1 HR Round. It was great and here they focus mainly on behavior of candidate rather than tech skills. Interview process was smooth and fast. In 15 days received my offer letter.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
Different ways of getting 6 digit unique number from with digits 1 to 60
I applied online. The process took 4 weeks. I interviewed at Elsevier (Amsterdam) in June 2024
Interview
If you ask me, don't waste your time with this company. My first interview was with a tech recruiter, which was long and boring. She asked me to complete an online test, which took 2-3 hours of my time. Despite sending follow-up emails, I haven't received any feedback from the company. Avoid it!
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
Technical experiences, personal and soft skill questions
I applied through a recruiter. The process took 2 weeks. I interviewed at Elsevier
Interview
After completing 2-3 interview rounds, they not only communicated that I wasn't a suitable fit for the job but also treated me dismissively, making the experience disheartening and lacking in professional courtesy