Interview Guide for Salesforce Engineering

General Info

• We will ask you to complete 4 sections in this test. The sections will include multiple choice questions, open ended questions and a coding task (code review). 

A few things to cover before you start

• Familiarise yourself with the Hackerrank environment first so you can do your best on the day. Make sure you check both sections, before and during the interview. The goal is to eliminate any unnecessary surprises. We want you to focus only on the task at hand.

• The tasks are timed so make sure you set your working environment accordingly and you won’t be disturbed.

This is no secret but the interviewing environment is slightly different from your day-to-day work. With this in mind, make sure you spend some time on preparation. Those who practice, perform better.

Take a look at the Interview Preparation Kit and warm up a little before your big day.

The interview will focus on your expertise in the Salesforce Apexprogramming language. You will be expected to demonstrate a strong understanding of best practices and design patterns in your coding.

In the interview, we’ll begin with a brief introduction, followed by a technical section where you’ll be tasked with reviewing and constructing a solution to a problem provided to you. The final part of the interview will involve a discussion of your approach and reasoning behind your solution.

Worth remembering:

Address all requirements in the task;

Be ready to share your screen during the interview;

Have you camera turned on;

Cover test coverage for happy and sad paths;

Interview Structure

Introduction | 5 min

A brief introduction from the interviewer along with details about the team. This will provide you with an opportunity to introduce yourself to the interviewer.

Live Coding Session | 30-40 min

You’ll be given an opportunity to showcase your coding skills. You’ll be presented with a scenario where you’ll be reviewing some existing code and based on your findings, you’ll be asked to come up with a solution using Apex. This will be a chance for you to show off your understanding and abilities in the language. We suggest you brush up on those to make your skills shine during the interview.

Solution Walkthrough | 10 – 15 mins

This part focuses on your solution. We would like you to explain your thought process during our interview, and any considerations or alternative options you had in mind when working on it.

Assessment rubrics | What interviewers look at

Coding – try to complete the tasks by adhering to Salesforce’s best practices and design patterns, to showcase your expertise in the Apex programming language.

Problem Solving – As there is a time limit associated with this interview, try to get the main task accomplished even if it means you’re not producing the best code. Be sure to communicate this.

Communication – Ask questions, and discuss your thoughts or any problems you’re having. Engineering is collaborative – so is the interview.

Testing – Testing code is important and something we do at Deliveroo. Show us how you do testing or talk through it if there isn’t enough time.

This interview looks at how you handled specific challenges in the past to assess if you will be a good match for the role. Some of the areas we address are:

• Communication 

• Team management 

• Leadership 

• Problem-solving

• Flexibility and can-do attitude Initiatives and growth mindset

• Organisation and self-development 

• Decision making
  

We care about our culture as much as we care about our products! Have a look at our Deliveroo Values:

Live and breathe our marketplace 

Being deeply immersed in all sides of our marketplace, and each and every neighbourhood we serve.

Play to win

Setting bold targets and seeing them through with tenacity, creativity and grit.

Celebrate difference

Advocating for respect and fairness for everybody, understanding we are all individuals on a unique journey.

Champion big and small innovations 

Innovating no matter what our role is, and celebrating achievements no matter the size.

Obsess about operational excellence

Leaving things better than we found them, investing both our time and money in the things customers care about.

Be curious and intellectually honest

Thinking deeply and debating each other with respect while keeping our biases in check. 

Take a look at our few examples

Tell us about a time when you failed to meet a deadline. What did you fail to do? What did you learn? (Before answering have a think about)

• The root cause.

• Why did it seem like a good idea at the time? 

• How did you apply what you learned afterwards?

Describe to us a specific task or a challenge that you were facing and how you made sure in successfully completing it. What were the key factors of this success? (Before answering have a think about)

• Be clear up front about your objectives and wider context.

• Reasons you chose those particular strategies and tools to complete it.

• Any measures you had in place to monitor your progression?

• Main obstacles that you had to address and things learned along the way.

   

Provide an example of the time when you had a difference of opinions with one of your colleagues regarding a project you both worked on and how did you arrive at the conclusion. (Before answering have a think about)

• Specify the situation, differences of opinions and other important context. 

• What data, tools or information you used to support your idea?

• How this discussion ended and impacted your future cooperation?