ecobee Interview Questions

Application

I applied online. I interviewed at ecobee.

Interview

The process started with a phone interview with a non-technical recruiter who asked about my technical background and what job I was looking for. They insisted on asking for my salary expectations, and when I finally relented and gave them a fair number, they told me that I was being unreasonable. Unfortunately the low-balling starts early in the interview process at ecobee. The salary that they told me to expect only matches the compensation paid by low-quality development shops of Toronto. There is no way they can attract talented developers with that kind of salary, and therefore I definitely could not have see myself learning from and enjoying the work at ecobee.

Interview Questions

Application

I applied through a recruiter. I interviewed at ecobee (Toronto, ON).

Interview

It has been a few months but the reason I am writing this review is my friend and I both interviewed at ecobee and had completely different experiences so I think it really depends on what HR person and team you work with. My process was so amazing and while neither of us got the job his was a bit of a nightmare.

I got an inmail on LinkedIn and an email to my Gmail address trying to gain my interest, both messages were for the same role (from the same girl) but she wrote different messages not a cut and paste which was a good start. That's a lot more than other recruiters bother to do...

Then a phone call with HR (which she was able to do at 6pm) was half technical but she also spent a lot of time talking about the companies story and the background of the team and what I would most likely be working on (the team that works on their commercial product line). She was so honest about things the company is still working on (it sounds like they are trying to adopt a more agile approach for a hardware company and they have a lot of new management) that I really felt like she wasn't just lying to me to get me to interview. I didn’t have to ask specific questions either, she just filled me in on what she thought may help my decision.

I didn’t get further than that call but I received feedback on exactly what areas she felt wouldn’t align with the team and it was very helpful feedback. I even got the questions she asked me and the answers she had hoped for.

Like I said my friends interview was horrible, it was for a different role with a different girl and he had been sent the same message for months on end but he finally responded because I was interviewing. He got bullied into saying a specific salary number in the first call and I guess she thought it was too high because she then asked what he was currently making…she kept asking him what he did and what he wanted to do like she had never read his resume in the first place. Why would you reach out to someone for so long unless you saw a really good match? Aren’t you suppose to be selling us?

Neither of us made it very far but I was reading Glassdoor reviews and it sounds like it really depends who you get at ecobee. Could be great, could stressful and confusing.. Sorry if this is harsh, but for us it was true.

Interview Questions

Application

I applied through a staffing agency. The process took a week. I interviewed at ecobee (Toronto, ON) in June-2015.

Interview

The first round was a timed test. It was already communicated that they expect you to have c++ compiler installed to use for the test. You get a email describing the test from the Technical manager. You have to complete a test and send the solution in 2 hours.

Interview Questions

Application

I applied through a recruiter. I interviewed at ecobee (Toronto, ON) in January-2017.

Interview

Terrible HR! First, a member of HR team scheduled a day to call me and forgot! I sent her a reminder and she said that it was a mistake and she will schedule it for the week after. She finally called me and the whole interview was like 5 minutes. She had no idea what she was looking for and instead, she asked me what I'm looking for. I told her about my experience and expertise, she replied with so much attitude: "we don't have that here" then she said maybe the Mobile team has a position for me and she will let me know about it.
It didn't even take 5 minutes she emailed and mentioned that I'm "too" junior for their mobile team. All my coop terms are mobile development working on apps with 80+ million users, I have launched many apps on store during coop and on my own. I have launched an app that is funded by FBstart program and overall I have 3+ years of experience with mobile development. She even spelled my name wrong! If you think I'm not a good fit why do you even contact me? I'm so glad I don't work for your company. So unprofessional!

Interview Questions

Application

I applied online. The process took 4 weeks. I interviewed at ecobee (Toronto, ON) in November-2018.

Interview

I applied online and had an initial phone screen, followed by two in-person interviews at the main office. One was a personal evaluation/portfolio review and the second was a case-study presentation to wider members of the team I'd be working with. The process took about 4 weeks from initial submission of my application.

Can't speak more highly of my interview experience with ecobee. You may think I'm biased because I got an offer and accepted it but I would still say the same of my experience even if it went the other way.

After submitting my application, I got one of those automatic emails stating that my application had been received – but it went further in detail and explained what to expect from the interview process and the different stages (should you move forward)… very helpful to get that kind of info at the beginning.

I got a great talent acquisition rep who did my initial phone screen was there every step of the way forward. Very accommodating with time and scheduling and quick to provide feedback and follow-up updates in a timely manner after each stage.

The 1:1 personal evaluation/portfolio review was pretty typical. My interviewers were from the team I'd be on with design and UX backgrounds. They mostly asked questions related to my experience, process, user experience and problem solving.

The final interview was a case-study presentation to 3-4 members from the team(s) the applicant would be working with. I feel enough time was given to prepare for this interview (1 week) and the questions asked in the case-study were appropriate and not too vague – with the general theme of getting you to show your thinking/design process.

Interview Questions

Application

I applied through an employee referral. The process took 2 weeks. I interviewed at ecobee (Toronto, ON) in November-2018.

Interview

In one word, impressive. The HR reps were attentive and considerate of my time. At one point there was an interview call that had been scheduled, but they forgot to CC me on the email, and when they called and figured out I was unprepared they immediately rescheduled at my convenience. In fact they were accommodating of my schedule (I had a job while I was interviewing) throughout the entire process. The technical interview was particularly enjoyable, it was a pair programming exercise with a twist. They had me work on my own project. I have been through many interview processes that end up using up a lot of my time and mental resources. However, this was not only enjoyable, but I left having learned a few things AND having progressed on my own project. All around a great experience

Interview Questions

Application

I applied through an employee referral. The process took 2 weeks. I interviewed at ecobee.

Interview

I applied through a referral. The entire process took about 1.5 weeks and was one of the smoothest interviews processes I’ve had. The stages were: (1) phone screen with HR that was primarily background/behavioural but included a few technical questions; (2) behavioural interview with a manager; (3) 2h technical interview that included a 30min chat with 2 other senior members of the team. Everyone was really professional and nice throughout the entire process. I also had a unique case as I received another offer shortly after my second interview and they were very accommodating and moved quickly so I could finish the process before my other offer expired, which was great.

I believe the way a company interviews their candidates says a lot about their culture and how they treat their employees. Not only was the process transparent and accommodating, but it was clear they cared deeply about getting to know me as a person before accepting me onto the team, and I had a fantastic experience overall.

Interview Questions

Application

I applied through an employee referral. The process took 2+ months. I interviewed at ecobee (Toronto, ON) in January-2019.

Interview

The process started with a quick phone call with the Talent Acquisition Specialist. The questions were standard ones that are often asked in phone screens (Why us? Why are you looking to leave your current role? etc). After that, the next step was to talk to the manager of Web Development for a technical phone call. This call was more a discussion about technical topics, especially those that were mentioned in my resume, rather than specific technical questions. The final interview at ecobee's office was a pair programming interview where I brought in my own personal project and worked through it with two developers that would be on my team. This was an enjoyable experience because I was working on a project that I built myself, so it was easy to talk about it. It also showed me what it would be like to work with these two developers. Overall it was a very positive experience. Everyone that I spoke with during the process was very helpful in answering my questions and the interviews were scheduled in a timely manner.

Interview Questions

Application

I applied through a recruiter. The process took 3 weeks. I interviewed at ecobee (Toronto, ON) in January-2018.

Interview

I was contacted via InMail - Linkedin. Did a screening interview with HR which was a fairly straightforward. Typical screening questions and got a gauge on what the culture is like. it was short and sweet.

Then I had to do a case study presentation to the panel the week after. They gave me great feedback and things that I did well and can improve on.

The entire process was very smooth, straightforward and HR kept me up to date on each of the steps. Overall, I had a great experience.

Interview Questions

Application

I applied online. The process took 2 weeks. I interviewed at ecobee (Toronto, ON) in February-2015.

Interview

After a week or two after a phone interview, I was invited in for an in-person interview. Since I was coming in from over 500km away, they were very accommodating on time.
Overall the in-person was super casual, but informative. I spent about an hour talking back and forth with my potential manager as well as the person who's role I was taking over (as she was being promoted).
They asked typical sales questions from a few sheets of paper which even they admitted to being ridiculous. But overall it was a great conversation which felt more like I was telling my in-laws about my experience and less like my career depended on it.

But note: Since my interview we've bolstered our HR department and interview procedure may not be as relaxed as they were when I was interviewed.

Interview Questions