I applied online. The process took 3 weeks. I interviewed at Coolblue in Nov 2021
Interview
I applied carefully and filled application form with all details.
- And i got email for hr call and we make it after 1 week application.
- Hr call was just a standart call and it was good.
- And second interview was call with Engineering manager and HR. Actually it was a meeting that company wants to learn more soft skills about you. Are you fit to company culture? It was also easy and good.
- Then i got the frontend assessment and it was easy to do. In assessment email and readme file they said to limit myself to 4 hours for development. I really wanted to this company and limited myself to doing it 4 hour.
- And i completed project with all required features like accessibility, responsive. I also used semantic html elements, all accessibility items. Then i tested with lighthouse, NVDA,JAWS and Screen reader. In my opinion project was senior level.
- I entered technical interview with 2 seniors. And they asked me first about frontend and its future i told my ideas. Then i shared my screen to them. They didn't ask me too much questions and they didn't talk with me too much. They found small mistakes like tabindex usage, and h1-h2-h3-h4 usage and order. I used h2-h4 and they told me to it needs to be h1-h2 or h2-h3.
- Then we switched to javascript side. They asked me question mark element what is it doing? I explained.
- Then one of the developers asked me why used nesting in scss and i explained.
- Then interview finished. I guessed i got the offer. Because it was just 40 minutes (10 minute meet, 10 minute my question and 20 minute interview). And they just told me h1-h2 and tabindex mistakes. So i was waiting good results.
- 1 day later i got call from HR. HR told me to you are not good in HTML basics. I shocked when i hear this.
- Because i just made 2 small mistakes. I used semantic, utility first classes, i used role accessibility features everything. But they are telling me to i am not good at basic. Actually it was just excuse. In interview and feedback as you can understand they didn't give me to real reasons.
I explained everything with details because i really wanted to work this company. I had 5 days to preparation to technical interview and i worked maybe 5-6 hours after work in everyday. I was waiting questions but they didn't ask me any question about frontend related. I hope they can make better this process. Because if they say me to we choose different person i could say ok.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
What was the you previous experiences about frontend?
Prima, eerst een CV en motivatie indienen, dan een telefoongesprek, daarna een sollicitatiegesprek en daarna een case. Ik vond dat er voor een junior functie erg de nadruk lag op de kennis die je al elders had opgedaan, in plaats van de capaciteiten die je hebt.
I applied for Team lead position for which relocation was possible. They claimed in the description that they are experts of relocation taking care of A to Z. I was impressed with their honesty and the description provided.
Spent around couple of hours to fill the application which included below questions
Why do you want to work at Coolblue?
What do you think would be the best part of being a Team lead?
After filling the application I was pretty confident about getting a call but to my surprise I recieved following response
We've carefully reviewed your application, and unfortunately had to conclude that we can’t continue with the application procedure. This is due to the amount of effort the relocation process would take, given the country you're applying from. They claim they are experts of relocation but reject application because it take more effort for them. I haven't seen such discriminatory email before just because I belong to a country my application is reject.
This response comes from a company which claims their culture is DARE TO CHANGE ,ANYTHING FOR A SMILE.
It's pretty understandable not every one can be relocated but when the firm claims they are experts of relocation and then not decide your application based on skills you possess and simply reject because it takes more effort. This a serious red flag and I would advise anyone who are looking for opportunities like this beware companies take advantage of candidates aspirations, make them spend time to apply and then finally reject because you are from this country. What would have helped is a list of countries they can't sponsor candidate from.
Unhappy with this I emailed their CEO and didnt get any response. Don't work for a company which doesn't stand for what they value. Save your valuable time instead of applying
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
How do you ensure that your team continues to improve? Tip: Use examples, for example of results you have achieved.
What song do you want to add to the playlist for Friday drinks?
Do you have any questions for us? (optional)