I applied online. I interviewed at Spotify (Stockholm, Stockholm) in Feb 2020
Interview
Video interview with two people, one was playing phone almost all the time. First it was some basic questions about terms in c++ then a coding exercise. All questions were easy and answered. I do not quite understand why I did not proceed to next step. Maybe I was a little nervous and splatter a little bit ? I felt they will fail me when one guy said that my code was working but will fail in some cases, I have reviewed the code several times, run several different tests and checked the code online later, I believe it will not! It made me feel really bad as they just said that in some cases the code will fail but cannot point out which cases. It feels more like an excuse. It was just a simple sorting problem! After that they said that my interview was overtime (1.5 hr) but it was not! Cannot believe these kind of things happened.
In conclusion, the interview was not difficult but I will not apply again as I do not feel they really respect the candidates or me at least and I do not agree with their criteria and attitude to candidates. I guess what they want was just to behave like some interview books. I think they want to learn the recruiting methods from US companies but lose the essential. It might work for new graduates but not the experienced guys. I do not feel the interviewers have very solid knowledge or competence during the interview as well.
One of the most disrespectful interview processes I've ever been a part of. First stage was a call with a recruiter, which went fine although there was more than a whiff of wannabe silicon valley waffle from his end.
I progressed and was booked in for a 2nd stage with an engineer. However on the day of the interview it was cancelled as I was told there were scheduling conflicts. Ok fine, it happens. The interview was rearranged for the following week - when the same thing happened again! Interview cancelled on the day due to scheduling conflicts. Booked in again for the following week (third time lucky?) and this time it wasn't cancelled on the day. BUT I joined the call and no-one showed up! After 10-15 minutes I emailed the recruiter who told me the interviewer was off sick but apparently hadn't told anyone?
Finally at the fourth attempt I had my interview with an engineer. It was 75 minutes and consisted of a discussion about a recent project as well as some technical questions and a leetcode task (2 largest elements). It seemed to go ok and I was told I would hear back soon. However after 2 weeks I hadn't heard anything so I decided to email the recruiter asking for an update. That was almost a month ago and as of yet I've still heard nothing back. I'm fine with not passing an interview but I expect at least a cursory "thanks but no thanks" but apparently even that is asking too much.
This whole experience has left me almost glad I wasn't progressed - if this is an insight into life at Spotify I'm happy to not work there. This kind of behaviour shows a complete lack of respect for candidates and their time, so I dread to think how they treat their employees.
I applied online. I interviewed at Spotify (New York, NY) in May 2026
Interview
Spoke with a recruiter, was ghosted after the interview. He asked all the standard questions - why Spotify, expected level, salary expectation, what are the priorities, why left previous company, etc.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
What was the most complicated project you were working on in your previous company?
Initial HR Call and screening, then arround two weeks later leet code task, followed by on-site architectural/design test and the final culture fit check with HR/Managers. Overall the process was 3-4 weeks.
