The interview process was poorly organized and unprofessional. Across 5 rounds, multiple interviewers used the exact same question, showing a clear lack of coordination. As a candidate with a PhD in Machine Learning, I was given feedback that my machine learning knowledge was insufficient — yet one of the interviewers was unfamiliar with basic ML terminology and apologized at the end of the interview for his limited English proficiency, which made technical communication nearly impossible. The overall experience suggested a significant mismatch between the stated requirements and the actual evaluation criteria, and raised serious questions about the interview process design and interviewer preparation.
1
Positive experience
Difficult interview
Application
The process took 3 months. I interviewed at Zalando (Berlin) in Oct 2025
Interview
They had overall about 5 Interviews.
There is firstly a 30min introduction.
Then a first 1 hour technical interview. If passed you'll go to, final rounds of interviews consisting of 4 interviews: coding, knowledge depth, collaboration, scope and impact.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
Explain a project and go into details.
Explain a situation where you had difficulty communicating.
I applied online. The process took 3 months. I interviewed at Zalando (Berlin) in Oct 2025
Interview
The process involved a 30-minute HR screening, followed by the hiring manager round and then four final rounds: (1) Science Depth, (2) Science Breadth (coding), (3) Scope (product-focused), and (4) Collaboration. It felt extremely exhausting - especially having four ‘final’ rounds - only to receive an automated rejection email at the end. The interviewers were very pleasant and the HR team was prompt, but the overall process took nearly three months, which feels disproportionate given the offered salary.
