A year earlier, a recruiter reached out to me via LinkedIn about an online event Atlassian was holding online. When internship applications opened, a recruiter reached out encouraging me to apply.
1. Submit CV and apply.
2. Hackerrank coding test - consisted of 5 coding questions with varying difficulty. I struggled to finish them all within the time limit and was only able to complete the first 2 (most test cases passing). Stay calm, be sure to manage your time well, and prepare by practicing questions on Hackerrank or Leetcode. A few hours after submitting, I received an invitation for the next stage.
3. Phone Interview with Recruiter - just a short get-to-know-you phone call. Many questions about my interest in Atlassian, my previous experience, my knowledge about the company and their values. Definitely do some research beforehand, prepare some responses, and practice speaking about yourself if you haven't done many interviews in the past. Immediately was told whether I would progress to the next stage.
4. Technical Coding Test - depending on which internship you apply for (mine was Front End), you'll do a pair programming question with a developer. I was given a picture to imitate in the browser and used vanilla Javascript to implement this. If you've read all the helpful advice Atlassian gives to their applicants (they provide plenty!), make sure you practice coding out loud. They want to hear your thought process and how you go about the solution. Mention specifically if there are alternative solutions, what they are and justify why you chose this particular one. Be sure to ask if you need clarifications, let them know if you get stuck, and if you think your solution is missing anything, ask if they have any ideas on how to improve your code. If you feel yourself getting flustered or pressured, take a few deep breaths - after I did this, I had a clearer mind to continue the question. This round was actually quite enjoyable! A week later, I was invited to proceed to the next stage.
5. Three Interviews - System Design Interview, Values Interview, Management Interview.
For the System Design Interview (Front End), I had to discuss how to go about implementing an application. They give you a link to a whiteboard with a text editor to complete the question. Ask plenty of questions - I cannot stress this enough! If you feel you do not understand something, then ask for clarification or ask them to speak more slowly/clearly (one of my regrets during this interview). I suggest brushing up on API's, their structure, etc. I also received general questions about web applications, testing, and security. The questions are designed to see the depth of your experience with web development, however, they don't expect you to know everything as an intern.
Values Interview - quite an enjoyable chat about my previous experiences. The questions are mainly "Tell me about a time when..." structured around the Atlassian values (do your research on these!). Practice talking about your different experiences working, studying, completing projects, etc. pointing out how these relate to the values.
Management Interview - Another fun discussion about my previous experiences and my views on different things. Discussed my thoughts on teams (very important to Atlassian!), learning, trends, completing projects, and more. Honestly, not sure how you can prepare for this. I feel like going through all of the previous stages kind of warms you up for this last interview. I believe these last two interviews are designed to see your fit in the company. For advice, I'd just say be confident in your value as an intern and remember that you are capable.
Overall, quite a lengthy process but a worthwhile experience (offer or not). Despite being an interview process, I actually learned a lot. Responses from recruiters were very quick, scheduling was quite smooth (they understand you have study & work commitments as a uni student and are happy to work around this) and feedback is given at the end of the process. I definitely felt valued as a person overall, rather than just the technical skills I had to offer.