Application Process & Interviews at Optiver

Well structured with good feedback

In my year this consisted of a online technical assessment, two phone screens, followed by two video interviews (n/b: this was during COVID so I was unable to interview in person). The process was thorough but relatively fast and the talent team were very helpful and responsive during it.

- Application and resume screening - Online coding assessment - Phone screen - Pair programming interview - Final interview (Behavioural and Technical - System Design)

A number of steps (maths test -> online assessment -> behavioural interview -> technical interview -> final round, if I remember correctly), although the progression through these steps was quick.

The interview process is quite long and meticulous, with interviewers questioning your reasoning for any answer you give. This could come across as negative, but is used to get a deeper understanding of the way you think and solve through problems.

Five steps - resume, online technical, phone call behavioural, phone call technical, and final interview day (on zoom) with two major interviews, one behavioural and one technical. Then invite to office for offer day

Online test then personality interview then 2 technical interviews

All in house, quite lenient

An online quiz, then a phone interview, then a pair coding interview, then a final interview consisting of a technical and non-technical component.

A mix of technical and behavioural interviews that seemed equally important.

Online technical hacker rank, followed by a behavioural phone screen, then a one on one pair programming interview, followed by a system design interview and an in-depth behavioural interview

Very thorough, quite a lot of emphasis on behavioural components.

There is a Hacker rank, phone call behavioural, coding pair programming and final design and behavioural interview.

Technical / coding questions. Behavioural questions to do with teamwork and self motivation / drive.

Phone screen: Descriptive technical questions (i.e. explain x concept), standard behavioural questions (past experiences, why you want to work here, etc). Video interviews: Technical design question (i.e. work through a rough design for something, talk us through your reasoning and solution). Fairly standard, although detailed, behavioural questions.

The technical components were mostly generic probability/brain teaser type questions.

There were some theory questions, relating to architecture and design of a software system. Mostly, there were practical assessments where I had to code a solution and talk through my reasoning. In terms of behavioural, the questions were all to get to know me better.

In initial phone call behavioural, what motivated me to pursue high marks in school etc In phone call technical, textbook computational complexity quiz, but also some opportunity to dive into practical details like cache behaviour. In final behavioural, many quite deep questions, like when I last had trouble someone when working in a team, why choose this company and not something more relevant to studies + hobby clubs, and many follow up questions. Final technical was pseudocode with deceptively simple solution.

What 3 Prime numbers add to 100 where one of the prime numbers is more than a 3rd and less than a half of one of the others

Computer science technical, group work projects

Questions about my resume, my previous experiences working in groups, my technical background and technical questions.

Technical questions around algorithms, simple design questions, then basic behavioural questions relating to my past experience

Cover letter + CV, Hacker Rank, behavioural phone interview, pair programming Hacker Rank, final algorithm/system design + behaviour interview.

technical questions about Java, and system architecture. behavioural questions about your strengths and weaknesses, and any technical experiences you've had where you shown these attributes and how you've tried to improve or faced constructive criticism.

Practice for technical interview with coding questions etc. Be yourself for the behavioural and just try present the best version of yourself

A good intuition on how to put together a technical platform will be helpful. I would recommend reviewing how apps are built (e.g. what components and how they are connected), etc. All at a relatively high level. Strong familiarity with common algorithms and data structures. If you're unsure or make a mistake in the interview, just say so. You can always explain that you've realised your design/idea isn't going the right way, and explain why you think that.

Practise mental maths, and make sure you do some background research on what Optiver does.

Best prepare by truly understanding the basics, have a deep knowledge of software design principles, algorithms and structures.

The very first online technical is quite hard, so grind leetcode. I hear they are getting rid of this hacker rank now - but the later technical have live coding, so you probably still need to grind leetcode. Have some experience either in work or clubs or hobbies to draw on in behavioural, it is very deep.

Be calm, don't stress and think out loud

Be passionate and honest

Study data structures an algorithms. Prepare for phone interview questions by considering possible response examples.

Be yourself, be succinct. Optiver isn't looking for you to fit into a mould like other high performing companies. We want to know you and what you are passionate about.

Do hacker ranks to practice problems, read up on general system design

Have decent knowledge of C++ and be comfortable with algorithms/data structures. Be open to improvements.

Prepare behavioural interview, make sure to know your strengths and weaknesses, and have the evidence to back up these points.