What Was Your Quora Internship Interview Like?

Comparing with other companies internship interviews, the experience of the Quora internship interview is definitely the greatest one!

Unlike other companies, which usually have a 2-round algorithm/coding phone interview, Quora has an impressive one coding phone interview and one onsite interview. I must say that I really enjoyed the onsite interview process, which helped me to understand Quora more deeply.

The Quora Onsite Interview: January 9, 2019

My onsite interview day was on Wednesday, January 9, 2019. It was a memorable day indeed, and the entire process was composed of five major parts:

1. Meet and Greet

I arrived around 10:30 and checked in. I was met by Taylor Nanz, who took me on a tour of the company. There was a big map at the entrance that recorded the hometowns of each employee. It was an excellent feature and a testament to the company's diverse workforce. Additionally, I visited the working environment of the engineers, discovering two buildings: Building 650 for the entire Engineering team, and Building 605 for the company canteen and other teams such as IT. What was most impressive was Quora's extensive collection of books, each recording valuable answers from Quora's website, with over 50 books available!

2. Algorithms

After the meet and greet, it was time for the coding part. The coding session typically lasted one hour, with a usual set of either two algorithm problems or one algorithm problem followed by a follow-up problem. It was incredibly rewarding to solve the problems face to face with the interviewer. We solved the problems collaboratively, just like a team of colleagues.

3. Practical Interview

The practical interview was the unique highlight of Quora's interview process. I really enjoyed this part. The interviewer provided me with a computer pre-configured with the development environment of my chosen language, and I had to implement some small features shown in the user interface within one hour.

4. Lunch

I had lunch with Siyuan Fu, a friendly and engaging individual who shared his daily experiences at Quora and answered my questions about the company.

5. Behavioral Interview

I had my final interview with Zhen, the Engineering Manager at Quora. I discussed my previous internship experiences with him, explaining why and how I implemented my internship project. Zhen then asked me a series of questions about Quora, which was likely a culture fit interview.

It's true that Quora has high standards for interviews, but I truly appreciate the culture at Quora and the entire interview process. Quora's commitment to fostering a collaborative and supportive environment shines through in each step of the interview.