Application Process & Interviews at IR

The interview process involved completing a programming assignment. This is followed up by a phone interview where I was asked several technical questions and about the assignment. Finally an onsite interview occurs that takes half the day. The onsite interview involved playing a board game, followed by a lunch provided for free by the company, a technical interview and a debriefing as well as having a quick tour of the development floor.

I was asked technical questions regarding object oriented programming and design. I was also asked about my knowledge regarding agile software development practices, and my ability to cope in a small team environment and conflict resolution skills. Lastly, I was asked about my goal in the short and long term.

In the onsite interview, I was asked to write on the whiteboard in pseudo-code an implementation of Conway's game of life. In the phone interview, I was asked technical questions such as what is polymorphism, inheritance, what is a deadlock, as well as the difference between class and object.

Be technically adept in terms of object oriented programming and a programming language of choice (typically Java, C# or C++). Socially be confident but humble and able to communicate clearly regarding both technical and non-technical subjects.

Practice programming and ensure that you explain yourself clearly. Don't be afraid to take up the whole whiteboard and write down all the conditions/requirements needed by the question. Draw up a simple class diagram before diving into the pseudo code.

The easiest way to get hired is to be a qualified software engineer and a friendly, relatable person. So long as you know fundamental programming practises, skills and theories you should do fine.