When the Loom team hires new people and talks to current employees every day, they use short video messages as part of the hiring process. Using Loom helps the Talent team stay human, especially as the company changes.
With more than 100 people working for Loom, we need to make sure we don’t lose the personal touch as we grow. Video messaging has been our not-so-secret tool for supporting a growing company with intention and empathy.
We use Loom for all of our Talent needs, from finding candidates to hiring them to closing deals and to send exciting and boring news to individuals and the company as a whole. We can help potential and new team members with these short videos, and they also help us explain important Talent details in faster and, dare we say it, more fun ways.
Interviewing at Loom can be an exciting yet nerve-wracking experience As a fast-growing tech startup, Loom is selective in its hiring process and aims to bring on employees who exemplify their core values of empathy, craftsmanship, and customer delight
To help prepare for a Loom interview, I’ve compiled a list of the most frequently asked questions, along with advice for crafting strong responses From software engineering roles to sales and marketing, these questions aim to assess your technical abilities, communication skills, and cultural fit Read on to get insight into the Loom interview process and set yourself up for success on the big day!
Most Common Loom Interview Questions
Here are some of the most frequently asked interview questions at Loom you’re likely to encounter:
Tell Me About Yourself
This common opening question is a chance to briefly introduce your background passions and what excites you about the role at Loom. Keep it succinct and focused on your most relevant experiences. Be sure to weave in Loom’s values and why the company appeals to you.
Why Do You Want to Work at Loom?
Hiring managers want to gauge your genuine interest in Loom. Go beyond describing it as an innovative company or talking generically about growth potential. Share specific details on Loom’s products and mission that resonate with you or teams/initiatives that excite you. Convey a passion for the role and how Loom aligns with your career goals.
What Are Your Strengths and Weaknesses?
Highlight strengths relevant to the role like technical proficiency, attention to detail, teamwork, etc. For weaknesses, choose non-essential skills you’re actively working to improve on. Shift the focus to the progress you’re making in overcoming that weakness.
Tell Me About a Time You Faced a Challenge and How You Handled It
Use the STAR method – situation, task, action, and result. Describe the specific challenge, your role, the actions you took, and the positive outcome. Emphasize skills like problem-solving, leadership, perseverance, and collaboration. Challenges can be professional or personal.
Why Should We Hire You?
Confidently share one or two key strengths or accomplishments that make you an excellent fit for this role at this time. You can draw from your overall experience, passion for the role, cultural alignment, or a problem-solving mindset you’ll bring.
What Questions Do You Have for Us?
Come prepared with thoughtful questions that show your understanding of Loom and enthusiasm for the role. Ask about challenges faced, new initiatives on the horizon, company culture, professional development opportunities, leadership’s vision, etc. Avoid questions about salary, benefits, or basic info easily found online.
Other Common Questions:
- Walk me through your resume
- What excites you most about this role?
- How do you evaluate success?
- What are you looking for in your next role?
- What is your preferred work style?
- Tell me about a time you disagreed with a decision. How did you handle it?
- What interests you about our product?
- Where do you see yourself in 5 years?
- What is your salary expectation?
Loom Software Engineer Interview Questions
In addition to the general questions above, software engineering candidates can expect more targeted technical and coding questions such as:
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Explain your experience with front-end, back-end, or full stack development. What excites you about this role?
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Describe a technical project or accomplishment you’re proud of. What did you learn? What would you do differently next time?
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Tell me about a time you got stuck working through a technical problem. How did you approach it?
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What programming languages are you most proficient in? How did you become skilled in them?
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How do you stay up-to-date on the latest technologies and best coding practices?
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What engineering processes or principles guide your work? (e.g. agile, test driven development, security)
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Give me an overview of the architecture for a web application you’ve built or worked on.
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Explain how you would design a new feature for Loom’s video messaging product.
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Here is a coding challenge/technical question. Walk through your approach to solving it.
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What questions would you ask if you were designing a new product or feature?
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How have you contributed to or learned from being part of an engineering team? examples?
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What do you think makes for well-crafted, maintainable code?
How to Prepare for a Loom Interview
These tips will help you have a stellar interview and show why you’re the right fit for the role:
Research the company and role extensively – Learn all you can by exploring the Loom website, product demos, blog, engineering blog, press coverage, founding story, leadership bios, Glassdoor, LinkedIn, etc. Know the space they operate in. Understand the role’s goals and required skills.
Reflect on your experiences – Identify key accomplishments, technical projects, challenges overcome, and quantifiable results you can reference to showcase your abilities. Make connections to the role’s responsibilities.
Craft your STAR stories – Write down and practice 2-3 compelling stories using the STAR method above. Vary technical vs. interpersonal examples. Time yourself to keep answers succinct.
Anticipate likely questions – Review common interview questions for your role above. Draft outline responses rather than scripting word-for-word. Prepare for behavioral and technical questions.
Brush up on coding skills – Software engineering roles will likely include a coding challenge. Practice algorithms, data structures, and language syntax to stay sharp.
Plan relevant questions to ask – Jot down 5-10 thoughtful questions that show your passion for Loom and desire to contribute. Revisit and pare down your list beforehand.
Learn your resume thoroughly – Be ready to expand on every accomplishment and experience. Refresh yourself on details in case you’re asked to “walk me through your resume”.
Get your story straight – Align on consistent messaging for your background, strengths, interests, areas of focus, and reasons for pursuing this opportunity.
Practice aloud – Do full mock interviews with specific questions. Practice in front of a mirror or record yourself to sharpen your delivery. Ask for feedback.
Prepare for virtual interviews – If interviewing remotely, test your connection, audio, video, and screensharing. Reduce background noise. Keep good lighting and eye contact.
Review your online presence – Google yourself and tidy up social media accounts to showcase your professional brand aligned with company values.
Get plenty of rest – Arrive well-rested, hydrated, and focused. Aim for 8 hours of sleep the nights before. Avoid caffeine jitters.
Ace Your Loom Interview by Demonstrating Your Fit
In the end, Loom is looking for people who are passionate about their mission to make work communication more thoughtful, effective, and human-centric. Beyond just technical proficiency, they seek candidates who embody empathy, craftsmanship, and delighting customers.
Show that you’re excited by their product, business model, and company culture. Ask thoughtful questions that advance the discussion. Share relatable stories that highlight your strengths, collaborative nature, and problem-solving abilities.
With preparation and practice, you can confidently convey why you’re an outstanding match for the role and Loom’s values. Now you’re ready to have an engaging interview experience and move forward in the hiring process. Best of luck!
Managing the recruiting process
The recruiting process is complicated, no matter how much you streamline it. We use Loom to teach team members (called “Loommates”) about our new hiring process and to get interviewers ready for candidates.
Loom videos also keep us moving forward with fewer real-time meetings. We train Loommates how to use our ATS tool to manage the recruiting funnel and input referrals. We tell interview panelists ahead of time why we’re hiring, what the new employee will bring to Loom, and what to expect during our “Superday” on-sites for the best candidates (see example below). We also show hiring managers the best candidates’ LinkedIn profiles and keep them up to date on our progress with regular video messages.
I recorded a recruiting status update on an open role on the Talent team.
At many other companies, job candidates are given work that they have to send back to the recruiter using Google Docs, Sheets, or another tool that they used to finish the work.
At Loom, we sometimes ask people who want to work here to finish the assignment and send it to us with a five-minute loom. So, we can see how each candidate presents their project, which will give us a sense of who they are and how they work. By adding a “Loom step,” we can speed up the interview process without sacrificing care or understanding of the candidate.
Our Recruiting Coordinator, Ashley Yip, recorded this (excellent!) Loom video as part of her take-home exercise.
Cold outreach emails
People who work for recruiters usually send cold emails that start with something like, “We’d like to talk to you about x role.” ”.
At Loom, we send out video messages to a hand-picked list of potential candidates for the jobs. Our looms are personalized and one of a kind. They make an impression and lead to higher engagement scores from the get-go.
Hiring managers often leverage looms to announce job openings on Twitter and LinkedIn. People will find these videos interesting, and they will help them understand the details of each role.
Plus, because you’re sharing the information in a personal way (and on personal social media accounts), everyone feels more connected to the chance from the very beginning. People who comment, react, and share the posts make the job opening known to more people, which increases the number of people who apply.
Drawer in Loom interview questions
FAQ
What kind of questions are asked in tech interview?
What is L2 interview in lti?
How many rounds in ltimindtree for experienced?
What is the interview for L&T freshers?
How do you answer a job interview question?
In your answer, you’ll want to reassure them you’d have things under control (both in what you say and how you say it), describe a specific system or method you’ve used (bonus points if you can tie it to the role you’re interviewing for), and explain how it benefited you and your team. Just make sure your answer is succinct and, well, organized.
What questions do interviewers ask about your work style?
When an interviewer asks you about your work style, they’re probably trying to imagine you in the role. How will you approach your work? What will it be like to work with you? Will you mesh well with the existing team?
How do you answer a wide-open question on a resume?
To make this wide-open question a little more manageable, try talking about a positive trait, a story or detail that reveals a little more about you and your experience, or a mission or goal that makes you excited about this role or company. Possible answer to “What should I know that’s not on your resume?”
What questions do employers ask during an interview?
While we can’t know exactly what an employer will ask, here are 10 common interview questions along with advice on how to answer them. The questions include: Could you tell me something about yourself and describe your background in brief?: Interviewers like to hear stories about candidates.
