Big tech interviews, company by company

What these interviews have in common

Across the companies that publish their process, the same four moves appear. A screening conversation with a recruiter about the role and your background. A conversation with the hiring manager about your actual work. A job-related exercise, which may be code, an analytics task, a written piece or a portfolio. Then a set of shorter interviews with teammates and cross-functional colleagues, after which the recruiter and the interviewers compare notes against the role’s criteria rather than swapping impressions.

Uber describes that last step plainly: “Our Recruiters partner closely with the hiring team to review your performance against specific job criteria.” That is what to prepare for even at the companies that say nothing: specific, checkable examples beat general enthusiasm, because the people in the debrief have to write something down.

What differs is disclosure. Here is what each company publishes on its own site, checked in October 2026.

Uber adds the caveat that applies to every row: “This outlines the general interview process, however, steps and details within those steps may vary based on the specific role, location, and business needs. For the most accurate details, please reach out to your Recruiter.”

Meta: a published funnel, and a rule about AI

Meta publishes a hiring process page with named steps: preparing for the process, applying for jobs, getting the initial call, preparing for the interview, interviewing for the job, receiving an offer. It says “For most roles at Meta, the first step in the interview process is an initial call with a recruiter”, and that “The process typically consists of a recruiter conversation, initial screening and a full loop interview.”

What gets assessed is broad: “At Meta, the hiring process typically involves multiple rounds of interviews where you’ll be assessed in areas such as your technical background and problem-solving abilities.” Many roles add a task, since “you may be challenged with sample tasks such as writing code, solving algorithms or creating a case study”. And the number worth planning around: “The typical interview process usually takes about 2 to 3 months.”

The most consequential thing Meta publishes is its position on AI in interviews, because it is the opposite of most employers. “Yes, many of Meta’s interviews now include an AI assistant built into the interview environment. Candidates are expected to use this AI assistant as part of the interview.” Meta specifies where: “Candidates use the built-in AI assistant in CoderPad, which includes Claude, ChatGPT, Gemini, and Meta’s models”, and sets the boundary: “No outside AI tools or assistance are authorized, only the tools available within the interview environment may be used.”

If you have an interview at Meta, practising with an assistant in the loop is not cheating, it is the format. Practise what the format actually tests: asking the model for the right thing, checking what it gives you, and saying out loud why you kept or rejected it. Meta’s culture page supplies the values behind the behavioral half, including “Move fast”, described as “We build and learn faster than anyone else”, and being direct: “We create a culture where we are straightforward and willing to have hard conversations with each other.”

Uber: the most detailed process published by anyone here

Uber publishes a hiring process page plus an interview guide with eighteen role-specific companions, covering backend, frontend, mobile, data, machine learning, security, engineering management, product, sales, sciences and internships. If you have an Uber interview, read the guide for your discipline first.

The stated rubric is one sentence, and it is the most useful line on the site: “We hire people who live our values, excel in our key competencies, and know how to deliver results.” Three buckets, so three kinds of preparation.

The published funnel starts with a 30-minute virtual conversation with a recruiter or sourcer: “You’ll start by connecting with someone from our talent team. This conversation focuses on your experience, the role, and how you could help move our mission forward.” Then a 30-minute conversation with the hiring manager: “Next, you’ll meet the person leading the work.” For technical roles, “this step looks at how you build and solve”, and you may work through a shared problem with the interviewer in real time.

Many roles add an exercise: “We’ll often present you with a job-related task or work simulation to help us understand your functional knowledge and problem-solving approach”, which could be an analytics assessment, a written assessment or a portfolio review. Then the team round, published as four meetings of 30 to 60 minutes, virtual or in person, focused on “collaboration, decision-making, and how you contribute”.

Uber also publishes two logistics nobody else here does. It names the platform, “We use Zoom as our video conferencing tool for all interviews”, and the assessment tooling, “We use HackerRank and SHL, among other tools.” And a small kindness worth knowing in advance: “your Talent Coordinator will virtually walk you into your interview”, checking your camera and microphone before handing you to the first interviewer.

Salesforce: camera on, onsite before an offer, three roles a year

Salesforce publishes a How we hire page with a four-step funnel labelled Explore, Learn, Apply and Interview, and it answers the three questions candidates most often get wrong.

On the questions themselves it says: “Our hiring teams want to learn about real-life situations and may ask questions that are behavioral, competency-based, or situational.” All three reward prepared examples, so the most efficient thing you can do is write out five situations from your own work and rehearse telling each in about ninety seconds.

The format is virtual by default. “Throughout the interview process, most conversations will take place in a virtual setting over Google Meet”, and here is the rule that catches people out: “Candidates are expected to be on camera during each virtual interview per Salesforce hiring policies.” Test your camera, and plan your background. Salesforce also states that “an on-site interview at a Salesforce office will be required prior to receiving an offer”, so budget the travel time.

On how many roles to chase, it says “we recommend applying to no more than three roles within a 12-month period”. That is advice rather than a cap, but it tells you the expected behaviour is a few targeted applications, not fifty. Salesforce also discloses that it “uses an automated employment decision tool to help our recruiters assess and evaluate candidates’ resumes”, which is a good reason to mirror the job description’s own language in yours.

For the values half, Salesforce publishes five: trust, customer success, innovation, equality and sustainability, with trust named first: “Trust is our #1 value.” If you are interviewing for an admin or developer role, pair that with specifics from the product you would work on, since the technical questions follow the job description rather than a published list.

IBM: assessments come before the humans

IBM’s application process page is the clearest description anywhere of an assessment-first funnel: apply online, IBMers with expertise in your field review your application, “We might ask you to complete one or two assessments, which can vary depending on your role”, then an interview or an assessment centre, then a decision.

IBM names three assessment types. A technical one: “Complete a set of multiple-choice questions or coding challenges depending on the role you applied to.” A recorded one, which is what people mean by the IBM video assessment: “Answer a series of interview questions using your webcam and microphone to help us get to know you better and evaluate your skills.” And a language one: “Respond to multiple-choice questions in a text-based format to help us understand your level of English proficiency.”

Clear the assessments and the next step may not be a one-to-one interview at all: “you may be invited to schedule an interview (phone, video or in person) or an assessment center visit (group exercise and in-person interview)”. If you get the assessment centre, prepare for a group exercise, which is a different skill from answering questions well.

On the interview itself IBM is specific: “To assess your skills and abilities, we use what we call structured or behavioral interviews. We ask you questions related to the technical skills and behaviors required to be successful in the role.” Its preparation advice puts the emphasis in an unusual place: “think of specific examples of when you have proven your skills and behaviors related to the role, but most importantly, think of outcomes. What did you achieve? How did you measure your success?” It also warns you may be asked about short, mid and long term career goals, and for technical roles it recommends practice tests on coding practice sites.

One more line worth carrying into any of these interviews: “Remember that while we’re interviewing you, you’re also interviewing us.”

Airbnb, Netflix and Oracle: thinner, but still useful

Airbnb answers the process question in its careers FAQ and nowhere else: “Just like working here, the interview process is both rigorous and fun!” The format varies by job: “Depending on the position, it may involve taking a test, making a video, or joining us for an event.” You will meet several people, because “we make it a priority for candidates to meet with multiple individuals on the current team”, so that both sides can ask what they need to. And on the wait, Airbnb aims “to respond to everyone within 3-4 weeks”, against a stated volume of “about 15,000 applications each month”. Its four published values give you the themes: champion the mission, be a host, embrace the adventure, and be a cereal entrepreneur, the last described as “We’re determined and creative in transforming our bold ambitions into reality.”

Netflix publishes no process at all, but it publishes the most detailed culture document of any company here, and that document is the interview. It describes a “Dream Team” modelled “on a professional sports team, not a family”, names behaviours it values, including “You willingly receive and give feedback; you are open about what’s working and what needs to improve”, and explains practices you will hear by name: extraordinary candor, farming for dissent, disagree then commit, and the keeper test, stated as “if X wanted to leave, would I fight to keep them?” Read it first, and come with examples of giving hard feedback and of changing your mind.

Oracle has a Getting Hired hub, but it describes no stages, only links to advice from its own recruiters: “Preparation is all part of landing the job.” One line there is worth repeating to anyone hesitating over a posting: “Not sure you’re the ‘perfect’ candidate? You can still land your dream job without checking every box.” For database or developer roles, since Oracle publishes no question list, the dependable preparation is the job description plus the official documentation for the products it names.

Apple, Nvidia and Tesla: when the company publishes nothing

Three of these companies publish no interview process at all, and it is worth saying so clearly, because that gap is where invented question lists thrive.

Apple’s careers site has no how-we-hire page, and its job site’s help pages sit behind an Apple ID sign-in. What it publishes is values: “The values we share at Apple inspire the work we share with everyone.” Nvidia is the same. Its careers and Life at Nvidia pages describe the work and the culture, saying “We’re an eclectic, passionate group of professionals dedicated to solving some of the world’s biggest challenges”, with nothing about stages or formats.

Tesla publishes a careers page built around its mission, “Our mission is to build a world of amazing abundance”, and its working style: “We’ve replaced corporate hierarchy and bureaucratic conventions with open communication and a collaborative working environment.” The only sentence it publishes about interviewing is procedural: “Let your recruiter know if you need an accommodation at any point during the interview process.” So if you are hunting for Tesla interview questions, or trying to find out whether your round is a Tesla panel interview, Tesla itself does not say, and your recruiter is the only reliable source.

The plan for all three is the same. Ask the recruiter what the stages are, how long each is, who will be in the room and whether there is an exercise; they answer that question all day. Then prepare from the job description, taking each listed requirement and writing one example that proves it, with an outcome attached. Add two or three stories that match the company’s published values, since those pages are the only rubric these employers put in public. And prepare for a panel, because it is common across the industry: address the person who asked, look at the others while you answer, and keep each answer under two minutes.