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Interview Prep: Software Engineering

We're so excited you're interviewing with HubSpot!

We know interviewing can be intimidating. That's why we're here to help. Below are some tips for preparing for our interviews and coding assessments, and some information about what to expect.

Advice from HubSpot recruiters.

Come in curious.

Remember, you’re in an interview to ask questions as well as answer them. We always provide some time in interviews for candidates to ask questions, so take advantage of it. What do you want to know about HubSpot? Your questions could be technical questions, business questions, or culture questions.

Think about what you want to do.

We have a ton of different teams at HubSpot working on very different kinds of engineering. Think about what kinds of problems you want to solve and products you want to work on and let the recruiters and interviewers know that. If you aren’t sure what teams you are most interested in, ask your interviewers about the different teams!

No brain teasers.

We don’t ask “brain teaser” questions. We don’t care how many golf balls fit inside a 747, we care how well you can write and understand code, work with other people, and figure out real problems.

Work naturally.

If you can, use your own laptop so that you have a coding environment you are comfortable with. Also, feel free to use Google/Stack Overflow to solve the problems during the interview.

Tell your story.

What have you done that you’re really proud of? What are the toughest problems you’ve solved? What background do you have to give the interviewers to show just how tough that project was?

Be honest and take your time.

Think about the question and talk through your thought process. Verbalize every step of your solution. How do you interpret the problem? What tradeoffs are you considering? If you need more information, say so! We’re less interested in what you know and more interested in how you think.

Be yourself.

Of course it’s a good idea to be professional in an interview, but that doesn’t mean you should feel like you have to be emotionless. If you’re nervous, it’s OK to say so. If you’re excited, show it!

Additional resources:

Wait, there's more!

Before you go prep for your interview (you're going to be awesome!), check out HubSpot's Product Blog. Read about the remarkable work we get to do, and the culture we love.