I applied online. The process took 1+ week. I interviewed at Canonical (Boston, MA) in Mar 2024
Interview
Application Assessment, Written interview, Psychometric Exam, Interview from Manager and Talent, if you are lucky enough to make it past that point, then you need to meet with high level executives.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
Don’t waist your time applying to this company. They have no regards for your personal time! First step is to apply to the company as you do with any other company (resume, cover letter and references). After doing this, I was sent an email from the hiring manager letting me know that he reviewed my resume and application. After this, I was moved forward to the next phase of the hiring process which consisted of a formal written interview. After spending a day putting together a twelve-page comprehensive document and submitting the written interview as a PDF document anonymously, I was sent an email asking me to take a mandatory Psychometric assessment exam. I spent another forty minutes of my time taking this silly test (confident I did well on this exam). After spending more than ten hours between the application, written interview and online exam, I got an email this morning saying they reviewed my application and are not moving further with my application. I sent them a twelve-page document and they sent me two sentences letting me know that I was no longer being considered. They have no consideration for my time, not even a phone call. They should have to compensate me for all the time I committed to them when they just lob two quick generic sentences at me telling me that I am no longer being considered. What a joke! I was obviously qualified to make it to the written interview, and take their silly online exam, but don’t even warrant a phone call or email from a person. Your hiring process is terrible and you have lost out an outstanding, qualified, loyal candidate who would have been a valuable asset to your company for years to come. Your loss!
I applied online. The process took 1 week. I interviewed at Canonical (Houston, TX) in Sept 2024
Interview
The process was fairly short, but each step took quite a bit some time. The very first written assessment is going to be 8-10 pages long. The next test is 45 minutes long. My only critique on the first assessment besides being extensive (but I understand it's about getting the right people and the people dedicated to put in the extra time and effort) is to get rid of the high school questions. I hold multiple grad and undergrad degrees and a long career so why should my high school self matter?The 45 minute assessment I do not believe is a good indication of your skills to perform the job.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
How did you rank in your high school, in your final year in maths and hard sciences?
Which was your strongest?
I applied online. The process took 4 weeks. I interviewed at Canonical
Interview
Annoying.
It starts with the written answer portion. Many on here talk about the high school questions, which are pretty silly but some of the questions I understand as they speak to your background. It does show that you actually looked at the company and understand who they are and what they do. No issues with that.
The actual silliness is in the psychometric testing they do. Things such as rotating letters to see if they match or figuring out who is heavier, Bill or Tom or answering which number of three is furthest from the middle number. Sure, call it an intelligence test but I can safely say, in my 30 years of professional experience doing this exact same work I have never been faced with determining the moronic issues these tests set before me.
And yes, I was turned down after being told I was advancing (which was odd) but the form letter advising that they receive 80,000+ applications each month? Are you seriously trying to say you receive close to a million applications in a year. I appreciate you trying to puff yourself up but I doubt it.
But the big tell here is, these exact same jobs are listed every day, every week, every year. Are they real or do people hate working there so much that, after getting a job they instantly regret it? I have no idea nor, apparently will I but it is strange. I really feel that I wasted my time on a non-existent job.
Word of advice to Canonical. if you want to get the right person, stop with the silly interview process that has nothing to do with the role and actually talk to people. And maybe examine exactly WHY you have this job perpetually listed.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
Who do you see as competitors to Canonical and in what ways do you think Canonical needs to change in order to be a more effective competitor?
