I applied online. The process took 2 weeks. I interviewed at Xero (Melbourne) in Jul 2019
Interview
First there's a phone screen with an HR team member. They ask you some questions about your background, experience, visa status and expected salary.
Next, there's a technical interview with the team you'd be joining. This is only a high level technical discussion. They will touch on your previous work experience quite heavily. They will also ask questions about OOP concepts. As long as you know what you've done at previous jobs and have an understanding of OOP, you should be okay.
Next, it was a take home coding assessment. It was a small C# application with some bugs and some empty methods. You need to fix the bugs and complete the empty methods. They're looking for modular and well structured code, as well as unit tests.
Lastly, you discuss your solution with the technical team. Be ready to answer why you did stuff a certain way. You also may be required to make improvements to your solution on the spot after discussion. This is the final step, and if everything goes well, an offer will come in the next few days.
Overall, a very positive experience. The recruiter was responsive to my questions and kept me on the loop all along.
I applied online. The process took 3 weeks. I interviewed at Xero (Melbourne) in Mar 2026
Interview
It takes too long. The questions are difficult. Also there is a behavior test, not sure whether this test is useful. The technical questions are good:
Lead technical design and implementation of complex features and systems
Write high-quality, maintainable code and automated tests
Make pragmatic architectural and technical decisions that balance short-term delivery with long-term sustainability
Coding assessments: Can be live or take-home. pair programming with a given codebase.
Behavioral + teamwork: Interview with non-engineers (e.g., PMs) to probe how you work in teams, handle conflict, and resolve issues.
I applied online. I interviewed at Xero (Sydney) in Jun 2025
Interview
There were 4 rounds.
1) Chat with internal recruiter to check your values, experience and aspirations.
2) Coding challenge: Test conducted on HackerRank. Not overly hard but wouldn't say its simple. The engineer overseeing the test (Cath) was a legend and made me feel at ease.
3) Execution & Cross-Functional Collaboration Discussion: Chat with someone from a non-engineering team. Expect questions around your way of working, challenges you've faced and how you resolve conflicts.
4) Culture Fit & Team Interview: 2 senior/lead engineers check if you fit their teams. Expect questions about your technical background, your exposure to the technologies these teams use and challenges you've face.
Even though I didn't get the job I walked away having learned a lot and the feedback provided by the internal recruiter (Raisa) was very detailed and will help me in my future endeavours.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
Write a function that takes in 2 string. Return true or false if a condition is met.