This article was written by Vannaro Lim, who is the Technical Recruiting Manager at PowerToFly Partner Checkr, and it was first published on February 13, 2017. Go to Checkrs page on PowerToFly to see their open positions and learn more.
Interviews are tough! Most companies follow an archaic process that does not properly assess an engineers talent. Interviewers often test things that aren’t related to the job, like basic computer science or data structures that aren’t used anymore. That is not something anyone would want to go through. A good interview should let you show off your skills and decide if you want to work there.
We’ve all spent countless nights studying for interviews without knowing what questions will be asked or not. Our goal at Checkr was to improve the process from an engineering point of view and get rid of all the things that make us cringe when we’re interviewing people. That is why we put a lot of thought and empathy into designing our interview process. Our goal is to make it to be indicative of who you are as a software engineer. The hardest thing isnt finding talented engineers, its finding engineers that people want to work with. Our ideal candidate needs to embody Checkrs core values:
Interviewing at Checkr can be an exciting yet nerve-wracking experience. With competition for jobs being fierce, you want to make sure you’re as prepared as possible. One of the best ways to do that is by studying the most commonly asked Checkr interview questions.
In this comprehensive guide. we’ll cover everything you need to know to crush your Checkr interview. including
- An overview of Checkr and their interview process
- Frequency of common Checkr interview questions
- 27 actual Checkr interview questions with sample answers
- Top tips for acing your Checkr interview
Let’s get started!
About Checkr and Their Interview Process
Founded in 2014, Checkr is a San Francisco-based company that provides background check services for businesses They use technology and automation to make background checks faster, more accurate, and less biased.
Checkr has a team of over 1000 employees and has raised over $400 million in funding. They work with major companies like Uber, Instacart, Doordash, and more.
The Checkr interview process typically consists of one or two technical phone screens followed by four onsite interviews. The onsite interviews are usually a coding challenge, a system design discussion, a behavioral interview, and a conversation with your potential manager.
The interviews will assess your technical abilities, communication skills, problem solving, leadership, and culture fit. Expect questions on data structures, algorithms, object-oriented programming, and SQL database knowledge. The behavioral questions will evaluate how you’ve handled various work situations in the past.
Now let’s look at the most frequently asked questions so you know what to prepare for.
Frequency of Common Checkr Interview Questions
Here is an overview of some of the most common Checkr interview questions and how often they are asked, according to analysis of over 100 interview reviews:
-
Behavioral questions (65%) – Tell me about yourself, reasons for leaving jobs, strengths/weaknesses, how you handle conflict, etc.
-
Coding challenges (55%) -Algos, data structures, OOP design, debugging, building basic apps, etc.
-
System design (30%) – Design Instagram, Facebook Messenger, Uber, etc.
-
Database knowledge (25%) – SQL queries, database modeling, schemas, normalization, etc.
-
Company specific (20%) – Why Checkr, familiar with products, biggest challenges, etc.
This data gives you an idea of the key areas to study before your interviews. Let’s look at some real interview questions.
27 Checkr Interview Questions with Answers
Here are 27 actual Checkr interview questions that have been asked according to Glassdoor and Prepfully, along with advice on how to answer each:
Behavioral Questions
1. Tell me about yourself.
Highlight your tech background, relevant work experience, and key skills/strengths. Mention why you want to work at Checkr specifically.
Example: “I’m a software engineer with 5 years experience building scalable web apps in Python and JavaScript. I’m drawn to Checkr because of your mission of making background checks more fair through technology, and I have experience in background verification systems. I’m a detail-oriented programmer and problem solver passionate about building world-class products.”
2. Why do you want to work at Checkr?
Show you understand Checkr’s business, mission, and values. Express interest in the specific role and team.
Example: “I’m excited by Checkr’s mission of bringing fairness, objectivity and transparency to background checks through technology. The work you’re doing to reduce biased outcomes is really important. I also love the engineering culture here and how you empower engineers to build novel solutions. The Backend Engineer role is appealing because I have 4 years of Python experience and could thrive in this environment.”
3. What are your salary expectations?
Give a reasonable salary range based on your experience level and research of Checkr salaries on Glassdoor. Say you’re open to discussing details later once your skills are understood.
Example: “Based on my experience and skills, I would expect a salary in the range of $110,000 – $130,000 for this role. I know Checkr offers competitive compensation and benefits, so I’m open to understanding the details of the offer once we’re further along in the process.”
4. What are your greatest strengths?
Share 2-3 strengths relevant to the job like coding languages, technical skills, soft skills, ability to work on a team, quick learning, attention to detail, etc. Provide specific examples.
Example: “Two of my biggest strengths are my technical abilities in Python and my problem-solving skills. For example, at my last job I built an automated recommendation system in Python that improved sales by 25%. I’m also adept at breaking down complex issues methodically to find elegant solutions.”
5. What is your greatest weakness?
Choose a small weakness not crucial for the job. Highlight what you’ve done to improve.
Example: “In the past, I sometimes struggled with public speaking because I would get nervous. However, I’ve pushed myself to take every opportunity to speak publicly at company meetings and tech events. Through practice, I’ve become much more comfortable presenting.”
6. Tell me about a challenge you faced at work and how you overcame it.
Share a concise story demonstrating resilience, critical thinking, and results.
Example: “When our mobile app crashed right before a big launch, I stayed calm and quickly diagnosed the issue. After identifying it was due to our API being overloaded, I suggested we optimize our API calls and implement a queue. This solution worked flawlessly, and we met our launch deadline.”
7. Why are you leaving your current job?
Stay positive. Focus on seeking growth opportunities, not escaping your current job.
Example: “I’ve learned a tremendous amount at my current job, but after 4 years I’m ready for a new challenge. Checkr is doing incredible work that aligns with my values, and this role would allow me to grow my skills in Python and scalable architecture. I’m excited by the chance to have an even bigger impact here.”
8. Where do you see yourself in 5 years?
Present an ambitious yet realistic vision that leads to a leadership role.
Example: In 5 years, I see myself becoming a team lead capable of managing engineers and product delivery. I hope to master niche technical areas like cybersecurity compliance. My goal is to be leading complex development projects that require cutting-edge skills.”
9. How do you handle working under pressure?
Describe your successful approach to managing stress and high-pressure situations.
Example: “I actually thrive under pressure. When deadlines are tight, I stay laser-focused on the most vital tasks to ensure they get done first. I also communicate with my team and manager early if extra help or resources are needed. My calm and solution-oriented approach has served me well on many past projects.”
10. How do you handle a disagreement with your manager?
Show you can disagree professionally and find solutions. Focus on facts and mutual understanding.
Example: “If I disagreed with my manager, I would schedule a 1-on-1 to discuss our perspectives calmly and logically. I would make my points fact-based and focused on the business objectives. My goal would be to fully understand their viewpoint while clearly communicating mine. We could then hopefully find alignment on a solution we both support.”
Coding & Technical Questions
11. Design a parking lot.
Provide an object oriented design focusing on key classes, attributes and methods. Explain tradeoffs.
Example: The key classes would be ParkingLot, Level, ParkingSpot, Ticket, ParkingAttendant and Vehicle. The ParkingLot class would contain the levels. The Level class would contain spots and pricing logic. Spot class would track occupancy status and vehicle type allowed. Ticket would store plate, spot and payment details. ParkingAttendant facilitates ticket payment and refunds.
The benefits are encapsulating the parking behaviors into the classes and spots. This makes adding features like multiple parking rates easier in the future. The downside is potentially high complexity. I would optimize the design by only creating needed abstraction.
12. How would you design an ATM?
Cover major functionality like customer authentication, connecting to the bank, dispensing cash, updating accounts, and printing receipts. Focus on usability, security, and reliability.
Example: The ATM needs secure authentication of debit cards and PINs, network connectivity to the bank to check balances and complete transfers, a cash dispenser, a deposit slot, a printer, and software with banking functionality and an intuitive interface.
I would ensure user sessions expire quickly for security. To improve reliability, I would design comprehensive error handling for network failures and hardware issues. For usability, I would provide guidance during the experience and make the interface multilingual.
13. Explain inheritance in object oriented programming.
“Inheritance allows a new child class to reuse behaviors and characteristics from a parent class. This helps reduce code duplication. The child class inherits the methods and properties of the parent but can also override or extend them with new functionality.”
14. How does a hash table work?
“A hash table stores
What we look for in a candidate
We want to hire someone who likes to learn and explore things that are outside of their comfort zone. It is someone who can demonstrate a high degree of drive and grit tempered with authenticity. Someone who cares about making real, meaningful connections in order to build a community that welcomes everyone and helps the whole team succeed, not just themselves We value those who exhibit honesty and appreciation from the simplest solution to the most complicated one. Checkr works best for people who value different backgrounds and know that diversity isn’t just an idea, it’s a way of life.
Our Web Application Team working hard =)
“Who you are at home is who you should be at work. We want the best version of you and want you to be comfortable here. “.
— Khoi Ho (People Ops)
Communication, communication, communication! This is the key to success at Checkr. Engineers who can explain their ideas, help us understand how they do things, and most importantly, ask for help when they get stuck are what we need. We’re here to help! We want your interviews to show off the best of what an engineer you are. Do not be afraid to ask questions. This will help the person interviewing you understand your issue better and give you the right advice to succeed. We want you to be part of the Checkr team.
Environment Setup
For the in-person interview, here’s what you’ll need to make sure everything goes smoothly:
- a working datastore
- a dev environment that works with the web programming language of your choice
- a testing framework
We dont mind what languages and tools youre using, just use the ones youre most comfortable with!
