Yahoo Interview Preparation Tips

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Resume Selection & Screening: While Yahoo tends to only recruit at the top 10 – 20 schools, other candidates can still get interviewed through Yahoo’s job board (or – better yet – if they can get an internal referral). If you’re one of the lucky ones selected, your interview process will start off with a phone screen. Your phone screen will be with a senior employee (tech lead, manager, etc). Onsite Interview: You will typically interview with 6 – 7 people on the same team for 45 minutes each. Each interviewer will have an area of focus. For example, one interviewer might focus on databases, while another interviewer might focus on your understanding of computer architecture. Interviews will often be composed as follows: ü  5 minutes: General conversation. Tell me about yourself, your projects, etc. ü  20 minutes: Coding question. For example, implement merge sort. ü  20 minutes: System design. For example, design a large distributed cache. These questions will often focus on an area from your past experience or on something your interviewer is currently working on. Decision:  At the end of the day, you will likely meet with a Program Manager or someone else for a general conversation (product demos, concerns about the company, your competing offers, etc). Meanwhile, your interviewers will discuss your performance and attempt to come to a decision. The hiring manager has the ultimate say and will weigh the positive feedback against the negative. If you have done well, you will often get a decision that day, but this is not always the case. There can be many reasons that you might not be told for several days – for example, the team may feel it needs to interview several other people. Definitely Prepare: Yahoo, almost as a rule, asks questions about system design, so make sure you prepare that. They want to know that you can not only write code, but that you can design software. Don’t worry if you don’t have a background in this - you can still reason your way through it! What’s Unique: Your phone interview will likely be performed by someone with more influence, such as a hiring manager. Yahoo is also unusual in that it often gives a decision (if you’re hired) on the same day. Your interviewers will discuss your performance while you meet with a final interviewer.

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Resume Selection & Screening:

While Yahoo tends to only recruit at the top 10 – 20 schools, other candidates can still get interviewed through Yahoo’s job board (or – better yet – if they can get an internal referral). If you’re one of the lucky ones selected, your interview process will start off with a phone screen. Your phone screen will be with a senior employee (tech lead, manager, etc).

Onsite Interview:

You will typically interview with 6 – 7 people on the same team for 45 minutes each. Each interviewer will have an area of focus. For example, one interviewer might focus on databases, while another interviewer might focus on your understanding of computer architecture. Interviews will often be composed as follows:

ü  5 minutes: General conversation. Tell me about yourself, your projects, etc.

ü  20 minutes: Coding question. For example, implement merge sort.

ü  20 minutes: System design. For example, design a large distributed cache. These questions will often focus on an area from your past experience or on something your interviewer is currently working on.

Decision:

 At the end of the day, you will likely meet with a Program Manager or someone else for a general conversation

(product demos, concerns about the company, your competing offers, etc). Meanwhile, your interviewers will discuss your performance and attempt to come to a decision. The hiring manager has the ultimate say and will weigh the positive feedback against the negative. If you have done well, you will often get a decision that day, but this is not always the case. There can be many reasons that you might not be told for several days –

for example, the team may feel it needs to interview several other people.

Definitely Prepare:

Yahoo, almost as a rule, asks questions

about system design, so make sure you

prepare that. They want to know that you

can not only write code, but that you can

design software. Don’t worry if you don’t

have a background in this - you can still

reason your way through it!

What’s Unique:

Your phone interview will likely be performed

by someone with more influence,

such as a hiring manager.

Yahoo is also unusual in that it often gives

a decision (if you’re hired) on the same

day. Your interviewers will discuss your

performance while you meet with a final

interviewer.