I applied online. I interviewed at Hopper (Toronto, ON) in June 2021
Interview
First HR screening about 45 minutes. A generic discussion about the profile match. If you're a good fit, they send you the assignment which is supposed to be completed in 2 hours. It's a big assignment and 2 hours is too little.
The assignment had 3 different sections.
1. Download Hopper app. Suggest recommendations to improve the app. Then pick the top recommendation and access revenue potential.
2. Data analysis. Some live data charts were given to analyze the data.
3. Design a technical solution for them for their existing business problem.
Each section itself is big and Hopper's expectation to complete it in 2 hours is really fascinating.
Somehow, I got it completed in 4 hours and submit it. It was sent by HR to their Tech team for review.
The assignment was selected for the next round where I had to present the assignment to the head of the department.
The interview went really well, the guy was super impressed and he loved what I did in the assignment. And the next day I got a rejection email.
It looks like, through interviews, Hopper is getting free consultations on their real-world problems. They are finding out ideas on how to fix them. The assignment is ridiculous to even before talking to the hiring manager. I made a mistake.
We should start rejecting such companies who are exploiting candidates for their own benefits. After this incident, I said no to all the companies who asked for assignments without having at least 2 rounds of interviews with the hiring team. And there are good companies out there who won't put you through this unjustified hiring process.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
Why Hopper, why this role?
Tell me about yourself?
The interview process was not good. I decided to add this review so if you have a poor experience, you know it wasn't because of you. The first two rounds (Recruiter screen and Hiring Manager interview) were great. But for the third round I met with a member of the broader team. My interviewer seemed unprepared, and the format of the interview was completely different from what the recruiter told me it would be. It was hard to track the throughline with a lot of their lines of questions (even when I asked clarifying questions), and the thought exercises we did were not very well planned out and often meandering. I honestly felt like the interview was set up for failure from the start.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
Questions from the recruiter screen and hiring manager interview were pretty standard - What interests you in the role? Tell me about a time you launched a product with a tight timeline? Etc.
Questions from the third round honestly wouldn't make sense posted here outside of the context of the interview
had a conversation with the hiring manager that followed a structured, standard interview format. The questions were well thought out, directly aligned with the role, mainly to assess my experience, problem-solving skills, and approach to collaboration.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
What's your biggest achievement, and the metrics about it?
screening call, interview with hiring manager, then with a product team member. pretty standard questions, but had to complete a very detailed and involved excercise. they said that i would be compensated $100 for the excercise on the hopper app, but I was not. felt a little tricked and farmed for ideas
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
there were several questions in a case study that i had to create a written document for and submit. due to privacy, i can't reveal the exact questions