Getting hired at a fast-growing tech startup like SeatGeek is no easy feat. With its innovative platform that’s disrupting the live event ticketing industry and a cool company culture, SeatGeek is an employer of choice for many candidates. But that also means the interview process is highly competitive.
If you have an upcoming SeatGeek interview, there are some common questions you can expect and should prepare for. In this comprehensive guide, we provide examples of the top SeatGeek interview questions along with tips to help you craft winning answers.
Overview of SeatGeek’s Interview Process
The SeatGeek interview process typically follows these stages
- Initial phone/video screening interview
- Take-home assignment or code sample test (for some roles)
- 2-3 technical & behavior interviews via video call
- Panel interview with future team members
- Final interview with hiring manager
Some candidates have reported going through as many as 7-8 rounds of interviews in total.
The process aims to thoroughly assess your technical abilities, problem-solving skills, cultural fit and more through a mix of open-ended behavioral questions, hypothetical scenarios, technical assessments and coding challenges.
While it can be extensive, candidates describe the SeatGeek interviewers as friendly, engaging and transparent about what to expect. With proper preparation, it’s very much possible to stand out and make it to the finish line!
Now let’s look at some of the most commonly asked SeatGeek interview questions and tips to answer them like a pro
Top SeatGeek Interview Questions and Answers
Tell me about yourself
This open-ended question is commonly asked at the start of the interview to get a broad sense of your background and skills. Avoid rambling or reciting your whole resume. Instead, highlight 3-4 key experiences or accomplishments that make you uniquely suited for this role.
Example answer: I’m a product designer with 5 years of experience designing mobile apps and web platforms in the e-commerce industry. Most recently, I led the UX design for a popular meal-kit delivery service app. We focused on maximizing ease of use and order conversions. I’m especially passionate about leveraging design principles to solve real user problems and create seamless digital experiences. Given SeatGeek’s focus on building an unmatched mobile ticketing platform, I believe I can contribute my expertise in mobile UX and app design to help enhance your customers’ experience.
Why do you want to work at SeatGeek?
With this question, interviewers want to gauge your genuine interest in the company. Show that you’ve researched SeatGeek and are excited by their product, technology, values and mission.
Example answer: I’m very excited by SeatGeek’s vision to create a platform that makes attending live events simple, affordable and fun. The seamless mobile-first experience stands out in the industry. I’m also impressed by your use of technology like Deal Score to help users easily find the best ticket deals. Having been an avid concert-goer myself, I’m attracted to how you’re transforming the live event experience through innovation. Beyond the product, I love SeatGeek’s collaborative culture that empowers teams to do their best work. If I had the chance to be a part of this mission-driven team, it would align perfectly with my personal and professional goals.
What do you know about SeatGeek?
Since you’ll be representing SeatGeek if hired, interviewers want to confirm you’ve taken the time to learn about the company. Do your research beforehand on their products, customers, business model, company values and culture.
Example answer: From my research, I understand SeatGeek is a mobile-focused ticket platform for live entertainment events. Beyond just listings, it uses technology like Deal Score to help customers easily find the best deals. Users can also buy and sell tickets conveniently through the app. Major differentiators are the intuitive mobile experience and innovative features like interactive seat maps. With over 50k partners across sports, concerts and theater, SeatGeek has a massive inventory. The company seems to pride itself on customer-focused values, transparency and a collaborative work culture. If I had to sum it up – SeatGeek is disrupting the ticket buying experience through technology.
Why do you want to leave your current job?
If you’re currently employed, interviewers may ask this to better understand your motivations. Focus your answer on positive reasons like seeking new challenges or growth opportunities rather than negativity towards your current role.
Example answer: I’ve learned a lot in my current role but after 3 years I’m ready to take on more responsibility and leadership opportunities. SeatGeek would allow me to utilize my skills in a new domain while accelerating my career growth. I was also drawn to the innovative, transparent culture which aligns with my personal values. Most importantly, I see huge potential for me to contribute meaningfully to SeatGeek’s long-term mission. The chance to push myself, continue learning and be part of a purpose-driven team really excites me.
What are your strengths and weaknesses?
This common question aims to gauge your self-awareness. Discuss 2-3 relevant strengths backed by examples. For weaknesses, choose something minor that you’ve been actively improving on. The key is to frame them constructively.
Example answer: My biggest strength is my problem-solving ability – I can break down complex issues methodically to arrive at solutions. For example, when our product had severe bugs right before a big launch, I led debugging efforts by systematically isolating parts of the code to uncover the root cause in less than a day.
As for weaknesses, I tend to get impatient with long meetings that could’ve been an email. I’m working on this by being more mindful of others’ communication preferences. Overall, I believe my analytical skills and initiative are well-suited for this role. I’m excited by the problem-solving challenges SeatGeek tackles on a regular basis.
How do you evaluate success and failure?
This question reveals your self-awareness, resilience and attitude toward personal growth. Talk about how you reflect on wins and losses objectively as learning experiences to improve continuously.
Example answer: For me, success means accomplishing goals that align with my values and have a positive impact. For example, when I led a new customer service initiative that doubled our satisfaction score, it felt hugely successful. On the flip side, failure represents an opportunity to grow. If a project I lead misses the mark, I reflect on the factors and make changes before the next attempt. I don’t dwell on failures. Instead, I gain insights so I can improve and be more effective in the future. This mindset has helped me become resilient and successful over the years.
Tell me about a challenging work situation or project and how you overcame it.
Past examples of overcoming obstacles demonstrate important traits like problem-solving, resilience and ability to manage pressure. Choose an example relevant to the role that highlights your strengths in action.
Example answer: As the sole UI developer in a startup, we needed to deliver a completely revamped app UI before our next funding round. However, two weeks before the deadline, our product lead quit unexpectedly. This put the entire launch at risk. I immediately stepped up to fill the product leadership void while balancing my existing developer duties. Through relentless prioritization, checkpoints with design and dev teams and 20-hour days, we launched the flawless UI on time. It was incredibly rewarding to see my leadership and commitment ensure we hit our goal against the odds. This experience showed me what I’m capable of even in high-stakes situations.
Where do you see yourself in 5 years?
Interviewers want to gauge your long-term goals and career ambitions. Show you’ve thought realistically about your growth and development within the company.
Example answer: My goal is to become an expert in mobile app development and be leading large-scale projects. Given SeatGeek’s tremendous growth trajectory, in 5 years I hope to have grown along with the company into an engineering management role. I’d love to be leveraging my technical and leadership skills to drive important initiatives across the organization. I also hope to be a mentor to junior developers by then. Alignment between personal and company values is crucial to me, so if SeatGeek still embodies a collaborative and transparent culture in 5 years, I see myself thriving here.
Why should we hire you?
Summarize your most relevant qualifications and strongest traits that make you the best candidate for this role. Cite specific examples to back up your claims.
Example answer: You should hire me because I’m an expert in Ruby with over 5 years of experience scaling production web apps. For example, at my last startup, I built backend systems in Ruby on Rails that powered a website serving over 500k daily users without downtime. I’m extremely passionate about SeatGeek’s mission of transforming the live event ticketing experience. Combined with my proven technical skills and ability to thrive in a fast-paced environment, I believe I’m the ideal candidate to help drive product development and innovation. Simply put, I know I will make immediate and long-lasting contributions to SeatGeek’s continued success.
What questions do you have for us?
What Questions To Ask As A Candidate? – Interview Tips From SeatGeek!
FAQ
Why do you want to work at SeatGeek?
Why should we hire you?