Deloitte

Role

Java Developer - Operate

How It Srarted

I submitted my resume directly to Deloitte via LinkedIn, drawn by how closely the industry aligns with my university major and previous work experience. This field is one I’m familiar with and passionate about, making it a natural fit for my background.

Interview Process

The first round of the interview was conducted through a digital interview format. The questions were designed to assess various aspects of my skills and experience, with a mix of different question types. Based on my notes, the breakdown of the question formats was as follows:

  • 2 video response questions
  • 11 written (typed) responses
  • 3 multiple-choice questions
  • 1 multi-select question

I recorded three specific typed-answer questions that stood out during the process:

  1. Explain why your background and experience would be a good fit for this job.
  2. Tell us what has been your best work achievement to this point in your career. What made this achievement important?
  3. Describe a difficult task you were faced with and how you addressed it.

A Few Thoughts

This was my first interview conducted entirely in English, so I felt quite nervous throughout the process.

The limited preparation time—only one minute to think and a single chance to re-record—made it challenging to deliver my answers naturally, especially for the video responses. I suspect I didn’t perform as well as I could have in those sections.

However, I believe my written (typed) responses were relatively strong, as I had more time to organize my thoughts.

Despite this, I ultimately received a rejection email, which was disappointing. Still, the experience taught me a valuable lesson: I need to significantly improve my English-speaking skills.

Moving forward, I see this as an opportunity to grow and better prepare for future interviews.

Affirm

Role

Software Engineer II (Merchant Data Platform)

How It Started

I was directly contacted by a recruiter from Affirm via LinkedIn, who invited me to submit my resume. It felt like a great opportunity, so I jumped at the chance!

Interview Process

According to what I found online, Affirm’s interview process typically consists of four stages. I’m currently in the first stage, and I’ll break it down below:

Affirm Interview Stages

  1. Initial Screening (Completed – Moving to Next Stage)

    2025/03/07

    It started with the recruiter reaching out on LinkedIn. After I submitted my resume, we scheduled a call to discuss my background, skills, and interest in Affirm. It’s mostly about getting to know each other and seeing if there’s a good fit.

    2025/03/14

    • Progress Update: Moving forward in the process!

    Interview Summary:

    Today at noon, I had my initial screening interview with the recruiter on Zoom. Luckily, the camera wasn’t required, which helped ease my nerves a bit. As a non-native English speaker, I was quite anxious, so I prepared a list of potential questions in advance.

    At the beginning of the call, I greeted the recruiter briefly. He seemed very nice, but he spoke quite fast, which made me even more nervous. I mentioned that I had some notes prepared, and he was okay with it. I then proceeded with my self-introduction.

    Questions Asked:

    • What are you looking for in this role?
    • What are your salary expectations?
    • Do you have any questions for us?

    Additionally, he explained that they are looking for a candidate with Java experience and some understanding of Python.

    It was a nerve-wracking experience, but I’m glad I prepared! Now, I’m looking forward to the next steps.

  2. Technical Assessment

    • From what I’ve read, this stage usually involves a coding challenge or technical exercise to evaluate my problem-solving and programming skills. I’m preparing for this next step!

  3. Technical Interviews

    • This stage seems to involve deeper technical discussions, likely with engineers from the team. I expect it’ll include coding problems, system design questions, or a dive into my past projects.

  4. Final Round (Behavioral + Team Fit)

    • The last stage appears to focus on cultural fit and behavioral questions. I might meet with senior team members or managers to talk about my experience, values, and how I’d contribute to Affirm.

A Few Thoughts

  • I’ll keep updating this as I progress through the stages. If anyone has tips for interviewing with Affirm, I’d love to hear them!