Xero Senior Developer interview questions

The initial call with the recruiter was friendly and professional. The second stage involved a two-hour session with two senior engineers. The process started with a brief discussion about my experience, followed by a review of a provided app to identify potential issues and improvements. After that, I was given a new requirement to implement an additional feature in the existing app. The task itself was fairly straightforward, and I was instructed to work as if it were a normal day, collaborating with two team members: a junior engineer and a product manager. However, the "product manager" was actually a senior engineer observing the implementation, which felt unnecessary. I completed the task within the given time, added a test, and explained what else could be tested. There were also standard questions about scaling the solution, which I answered. Despite everything seemingly going well, the feedback I received was that I was "not senior enough." This was surprising, as I didn’t feel the interviewers demonstrated significantly greater expertise, given that they already knew the expected solution. It was the first time in my career that an interview felt successful, yet the feedback seemed somewhat off. Overall, it was a decent experience, but I got the impression that the outcome may have been influenced by personal bias rather than objective assessment. In hindsight, I’m glad I didn’t receive an offer—I wouldn’t want to work at a company with that kind of culture.

A recruiter reached out and scheduled a first interview with the Engineering Manager. The manager asked a few non-technical, job-related questions but seemed disinterested. What was supposed to be a 30-minute interview ended in just 10 minutes, and unsurprisingly, I was rejected. The recruiter was keen to provide feedback and asked for my availability for a call. I shared my available time but never heard back.