Experience
Everything You Need To Know About Our Tech Recruitment Process
Working on a hotel search website that helps millions of travelers save time and money means that trivago talents can have a significant impact on our product and the travel industry as a whole. Majority of our roles at trivago are focused on tech, so we thought it might be helpful to share some insights into our tech recruiting process. This will give you an idea of what you should expect or prepare once you’ve submitted your application. In general, once you’ve applied to one of our tech roles, you can expect these four steps to happen:
However, there can be some supplementary steps depending on the role’s requirements and complexity. Although the recruiting process timeline depends on various factors e.g. availabilities, etc., you can generally expect the process to take between 4-6 weeks.
But first things first! (Start taking notes…)
trivago is a publicly listed company based in Düsseldorf, Germany and a technology leader in the hotel and alternative accommodation price comparison industry. Our metasearch platform compares prices from major booking sites, making it easy for travelers to find hotels they want at a price they’ll love.
Now that you’ve got the business overview as part of your preparation, let’s take a look at the actual recruitment process!
Application: No Robots Here
We usually receive a high number of applications, especially for tech roles, and all of them are manually reviewed by our recruiters! Don’t be concerned if you don’t get an answer from us right away, as it takes time to look through your CV and the answers you give to our application questions, especially those relating to your knowledge of AI and how it might impact your role. What else can make your application stand out? Well, make sure we can find a link to your GitHub repository and keep your application crisp and clear.
After reviewing your application, we typically start our process with an introductory call. The purpose of this call is to introduce ourselves, provide an overview of the role and team, and get to know you better before moving to the next stage of the process. We are also happy to clarify the next steps of the recruitment process during this initial call.
Technical Assessment: Show Us What You’ve Got
Clean code principles, good communication, and explaining the “why” behind your choices are the keys to success.
If you pass the first step, you’ll receive a technical challenge to complete. Our technical assessments are coding challenges designed to give you insight into what your daily work could be and the challenges our engineering teams face. Our challenges vary in complexity according to job function and seniority.
They are typically either in-house developed take-home case studies or designed through our partnering platform Codility. You’ll usually get around a week to work on your submission. We’re always very accommodating with the deadline as the point is not to rush you but to ensure you submit qualitative results. When you submit your solution, a designated pool of engineers will review it within a few days and provide us with feedback which we will consolidate and share afterward.
Every challenge has a list of standards and criteria that you need to meet to get to the next step. Clean code principles, good communication, and explaining the“why” behind your choices are the keys to success. We don’t expect the perfect solution but are keen on seeing your train of thought. Afterward, the hiring team decides whether to move your application to the next step based on the collective feedback.
Technical Interview: Let’s Dig In
If you pass the case study review, the next step is usually a technical interview with our engineers, which could take up to 90 minutes. Depending on the role and the teams involved, there may be one or two technical interviews. The number of interviews is determined by the complexity of the position and the specific areas each team needs to assess.
There are two types of technical interviews that typically take place. In some instances, you’ll be asked to present the case study you completed in the previous round to the hiring team. This involves building on your insights and discussing the thought process behind your results. In other cases, you will be invited to perform a live coding session with the technical team using the Codility platform. The type of interview you will have depends on the role, but don’t worry—your recruiter will explain everything in detail beforehand.
To prepare for the technical discussion you can check our tech blog to read about our use cases and different engineering approaches. In most of our job descriptions, you can also find the current tech stack used by the team. If not, you’ll find our complete tech stack listed on the tech blog. We would suggest to check it out as some questions will most likely be around that specific tech stack. Carefully review the requirements listed in the job description as some questions might be aimed towards those. The hiring teams also want to see your approach and mindset towards solving problems and dealing with pressure. Even though this step is mostly focused on the technical aspects, we’re also interested in finding out why you think this is the right opportunity for you and why you’re motivated to join our team.
Final Interview: Seal The Deal
Once you pass the technical round of interviews, the final interview may be split into two parts. The first part could involve up to two representatives from the teams you would regularly work with, while the second part is primarily with the team lead and/or the head of the business unit. For lead roles, an HR Business Partner may also be involved. During this stage, we will focus on your soft skills and previous experiences – examining how you collaborate in teams, present your ideas, and what your expectations are for the role. Be prepared to impress us with concrete examples of how you demonstrate our core values, interact with colleagues on specific projects, handle conflict situations, and approach problem-solving. We also encourage you to have a good idea of your salary expectations in line with the living costs of Düsseldorf where we’re based.
To prepare for the final interview, we recommend checking our career page where you can find more details about our culture and values and get insights into how we work. We also have our social media channels and Youtube playlist that will give you an inside peek into what’s it like to work here.
Offer Stage: You Got The Job
After your interviewing process is over, we’ll analyze and discuss the feedback with the hiring team to make sure that the best decision is made. If the feedback is positive, we‘re going to give you the “good news call” and also fill you in on the details and next steps. During this stage, our Talent Support team will be your point of contact for all questions regarding your contract, relocation, and visa (if necessary).
Once you’ve accepted the offer, you’ll be connected with our Talent Support team to finalize the rest of the paperwork. Need a work permit to work in the EU? Don’t worry, we’ve got you covered! This talented team deals with new hires from outside of the EU every day and will be able to guide you through the whole process. Of course, the cost related to your visa will also be covered by us.
We know it takes some effort, time, and energy to take on a new opportunity and challenge – especially if it’s at a new company, or even more so in a new country or continent. That’s why we’re here to help prepare you by sharing important insights into our recruitment journey. We hope this will increase your chances of becoming part our team and mission to empower people to get more out of life!
Want to learn more about tech at trivago while you’re at it? Be sure to visit our tech blog!
