Feedbacks Have Been My Roadmap.
In this post, I would like to tell you about my adventure of joining Trendyol Group. First, Trendyol rejected me during my first interview (October 2021). Then, I interviewed 11 different companies in total, both domestically and internationally.
First Interview:
The first interview was an introductory meeting. While human resources discussed the company’s values, the two team leaders discussed the internal team structure and the technologies used. Next, I briefly spoke about myself and my experiences. If this stage is positive, the project submitted in the next step is expected to be completed.
Project:
They sent a GitHub repository with the base state and details of the project. After submitting it within four days, the project is reviewed by those working in that team at Trendyol. If the majority of the team finds the project appropriate, the next stage is a project interview.
Project Interview (Technical Interview):
The technical interview is held with three people from the team. This was the step I was most anxious about, but the people who took my interview were amicable, and the interview was like a technical discussion. I once again felt I was in the right place at this stage. The questions asked were of excellent quality. It was a genuinely informative interview. Although I did it in the project, there were questions that I could not answer because I needed to learn how it works in the background. There were also questions to which I never knew the answer; at this point, I asked them to tell me the answer and took notes. At the end of the interview, they said I could always contact them whether I got accepted or not.
I was rejected at this stage on my first attempt. Although I could write clean code with good architecture, I still needed to become technically proficient.
Feedback Part
After I was rejected from the Trendyol interview (October 2021), I asked for feedback from Batuhan Saka, who attended my interview, and Emre Ergün, my current team leader, to better understand where I was lacking and improve myself on these topics.
Their feedback has been my roadmap.
So how did I evaluate this process, and how did I improve myself?
The feedback was mainly about improving my basic iOS skills (how cell reusing mechanism works etc.) before focusing on architectures, unit testing, etc. So, I started researching these issues in detail. I developed at least one project for each subject, and we reviewed these projects with my friends. Thanks to this, I had the chance to see how much I have improved.
Interviews Part
I started interviews with domestic and foreign companies regarding interview experience and to see how much I have improved. I took English-speaking lessons three times a week for 3–4 months. I interviewed many companies and took notes on what I had difficulties with in each interview and what I did well. I determined topics for myself, developed small projects and gained experience. I tried to learn to write testable and clean code as much as possible by focusing on issues such as Protocol Oriented programming, dependency injection, unit testing, and UI testing. Over time, I realized that I was more comfortable in each interview, developed more, and increased my command, which was one of the situations that motivated me the most.
I had interviews in many different ways, such as writing live code, technical speaking in English, and preparing case projects. I got many acceptions and rejections from these interviews. These made me realize that I had improved technically compared to my early days.
Although many different companies accepted me, my goal was to work at Trendyol.
Bootcamp
Toward the beginning of the summer, I was called for an interview for Trendyol Internal Bootcamp. We had a preliminary interview with an HR and a manager about how I developed myself in these six months. Then, with the positive progress of the process, they sent me a case again. Taking into account the feedback I received after the previous meeting, I completed the project and sent it. Afterward, I learned that I also passed this stage and went to the technical interview stage, which I was rejected before. At this stage, we examined my project in detail with the interviewees. I had a more comfortable interview with the effect of my experiences. I received a positive response and was called for the final stage director interview. It was an interview where I was sure there was no hierarchy in Trendyol, and that sincere communication could be easily established.
The whole process was positive in the end, and I joined the iOS-Meal team.
It’s been six months since I started working here, and I can say that when I see the team spirit, knowledge sharing, and good communication inside, I understand better that my efforts are rewarded.
Thanks for reading, If you have any thoughts or comments about the post, feel free to contact me. I hope it was a good article.
If you want to think beyond development with us, you can apply to our open positions and follow our Trendyol Tech and Trendyol Group medium accounts here.
Go Trendyol Go!
