I applied through a recruiter. The process took 4 weeks. I interviewed at VMware in Jul 2014
Interview
The hiring process was conducted through a recruiting firm and all interviews were scheduled through them directly. There were a total of two interviews, both over the phone.
The first interview was a basic "why do you want this" and "what is your experience" with the woman who would be my manager. She seemed extremely new to management (this might have been her first interview) and didn't conduct the interview professionally at all, so it was a breeze.
My second interview was conducted by the director of the department, who was much more professional. He only wanted to know why I wanted the job. One question and the interview was over. About 30 minutes later they called with an offer.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
The questions were very standard. "Why do you want this job" and "Walk through a process improvement you have performed."
I applied through a recruiter. The process took 2 weeks. I interviewed at VMware (Sofía, ) in May 2014
Interview
I got in contact with VMWare through a recruiter and it was a very pleasant experience. Initially I received an e-mail with a problem that I had to resolve in under 1h. That went well (solved it in linear time) then the official interview began by having VMWare to setup the context via a phone call. Then we scheduled a face-2-face technical interview which spanned across 5 - 6h and 5 sessions.
- First session was basic algorithmic (received a simple problem) + talks on complexity (big oh), data structures and algorithms
- Second session was some language specific & platform specific knowledge (C#/.NET) check where we discussed on how things work under the hood
- Third session was another algorithmic talk with a bit more complex problem that also involved parallel processing
- Forth session was about behvaioral skills (it was a customer facing role-play) + Software design & architecture
- Fifth session was about internal VMWare projects, culture and so on.
The interviewing crew were highly professional, and problem solving with them face 2 face was a pleasant experience. I had to write fully functional code on white-board and notepad++
I applied online. The process took 4 weeks. I interviewed at VMware
Interview
I was contacted by a VMware recruiter about a week after submitting my application.
There was an initial phone screening with a verbal skills test. I answered a series of questions related to Windows administration, general networking and technology, and a few command line questions. There was some confusing wording on a couple of the questions, but when the recruiter saw that I was getting to the point he gave me little hints to help compensate for it.
I only missed one or two of these questions, after which time I was told that a Skype interview would be set up and that I would be contacted with further details. The next day I had an "in-person" scheduled over Skype for the following week.
The interview began with an introduction from the hiring manager, followed by questions from two Senior TSE's. Questions were regarding ESXi, vSphere, storage, and network, as it relates to datacenter connectivity and VMware products, particularly. They ranged in difficulty, and when I got to the point where I did not know an answer I would let them know.
There were a few about Windows administration, but not many, and a few general questions just to gauge my experience. This process went well and I was able to answer most of their queries without any issue. This took a little over 40 minutes and it was slated for 30.
In speaking with the hiring manager, I was told that I should sell myself and let him know just why I was their guy. This was easy since I believe in the company and their products, and had with me a natural enthusiasm from the hiring process as a whole. I was asked questions about customer service and how I had handled accounts in the past, and was also asked how I might be viewed by my current co-workers, boss, and clients. When it was my turn to ask questions, I was sure to hit on every point of interest about the company or culture that I had. I kept a prepared list that I referred to. I was sure to engage the manager in his own realm of expertise so that I could learn more about him and the company.
This portion took a little over an hour. The entire interview was scheduled to be an hour and a half, so when the manager had to go it was because of overlapping schedules. I asked if I could follow up and if I had answered everything as fully as I could. I was given an email address and told that I would be in touch with their decision.
I also followed up with the recruiter to let him know if they chose someone else that I would still be interested in any other positions they had, be it something suitable for my experience.
After about a week and a half I was contacted by a recruiter at the local office where I would be working and was told that I was selected out of the candidates to join the team. I was extended an offer, pending background check. I did try to negotiate salary, but was told that the offer was well thought out on their part based on my experience. I agreed with this (only having asked for a little more out of protocol) and accepted the offer.
The background check took about 8 days to complete.
It was exactly 4 weeks from the time of the Skype interview to my first day. VMware culture is wonderful and it is truly a great place to work!
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
"What does APD mean?"
Something about, "Name an interface that allows for applications to communicate with web based content or software"... the answer is API, but the question is more strangely worded.