In this article we will look at 10 questions you may face in an interview for most typical jobs at Uber, in driving and in customer service. We will also look at 15 behavioral questions you may face while applying for more advanced roles with Uber, such as Product Manager, Analyst, Software Engineer, etc. Let’s start!
Table of Contents
Why do you want to work for Uber?
Try to praise their brand for something. You can say that you believe in the value of shared economy, and the positive impact it has on our environment, and want to work for the best player in the field. You can also praise their user interface, and explain how the customer experience motivated you to eventually apply for a job in the company.
Perhaps you got a recommendation form someone who’s already with the company. They recommended you the job, praising the quality and innovation the company focuses on. Or they told you about excellent employee benefits (this applies mostly to engineering roles), or about anything else that motivated you to apply.
One way or another, you haven’t chosen this job by accident. Uber is your first choice, you like the company, you understand that shared economy is the future, and that’s why you decided to apply with them.
Can you please tell us something about your experience?
You should refer to any relevant roles you had. Obviously this depends on the job you try to get with Uber. In an ideal case, you should actually tell them a meaningful story.
It starts with your education (in a relevant field), then it continues with some jobs you had (in which you learned a lot of things that will help you to do a great job with Uber), and culminates exactly at this moment–when you are trying to get a job with the company, interviewing at Uber.
As long as your story makes sense, and as long as they see that you learned something in your former jobs and perhaps even achieved something for your past employers, they will be happy about your answer.
What does excellent customer service mean to you?
Whether you deliver food with Uber, or work on an improvement of their mobile app, or have any other role within the company, they expect from you to be obsessed with the customer.
You can say that an excellent customer service means meeting, or even exceeding the expectations of the customers. That it means to have the customer on your mind all the time, to listen to them, to incorporate their feedback in your work, and to basically try to provide a great service each an every time you interact with the customer.
Try to show some enthusiasm when you talk about delivering an excellent service to the customers. They should get an impression that it is natural for you to deliver such a service, that you actually enjoy it.
How do you prioritize your work?
You may deal with several requests simultaneously, whether driving a car for Uber, or working on a project as a member of one of their agile teams of developers and testers.
You have several options for a good answer. One is saying that once you understand the final goal of the project, or the primary goal of your job, you will always do the thing that is most important for achieving the goal.
Another approach is FIFO – first in, first out. Instead of wasting time deciding which thing you should do first, you will simply work on tasks in an order on your to-do list, or taker care of the “oldest” task first, and then continue with the next one. Doing things this way you ensure that nothing stays on your table for too long, and that you won’t subconsciously postpone some difficult or unpleasant tasks–which may be the most important tasks.
Tell us about a time when you were innovative in work.
Uber strives for constant improvement, and therefore they value people who can bring new ideas onboard, people who aren’t afraid to challenge the status quo, suggesting new ways of handling old processes, or even entirely new processes.
Try to talk with enthusiasm about any innovation you implemented, and to not forget to specify the goal you followed with your idea, and whether the results met your expectations.
It’s not a problem if they didn’t, because not being afraid to fail while trying something new is also highly valued at the company.
If this is your first job application, you can talk about an innovative idea from school, or from your personal life (hobby, anything). The key is to show them that you have some innovation in you, and aren’t afraid to challenge the way they do things in the company at the moment.
If a supervisor or superior asked you to do something unsafe that went against the policy, what would you do?
You will get this question in most interviews for manual labor positions with Uber, and for the driving jobs.
The safety policies and regulations rank above the authority of the supervisors and managers at Uber. Say that you would refuse, and refer to the policy as the reason for your refusal.
If they insisted, you would still refuse, and you would actually report the incident to a compliance officer (or to a person one level above the supervisor in the hierarchy of the company).
Ensure the interviewers that you have your own head, and won’t blindly oblige each word of your supervisors. If something is dangerous for you or the customer, or it is against the policies, you simply won’t do it.
What do you want to accomplish in this job?
The right answer depends again on the job you try to get with them. If you apply for a position of software engineer, or business development manager, you can pick a specific goal, a specific improvement to their app or interface or anything, and say that you’d love to improve that aspect.
Since you understand that millions of people use Uber products daily, with each improvement you actually make things easier, faster, or better for millions of people. That’s no small achievement in my book…
If you apply for a job of a driver or other role that is rather simple, you can say that you do not dream about big achievements. You simply want to do a good job day after day, and find satisfaction in it. As long as you enjoy what you are doing, you do not need to dream about some huge achievements.
Tell me about a time you had to work hard to please a client.
Uber wants to win the entire market, to defeat all competitors, and to simply be the best. This is possible only when they manage to offer the best prices, best application, and an excellent service–even to difficult customers.
As you can imagine, you’ll deal with all kind of clients while working for Uber, especially if you will be driving and delivering.
Some will praise you and thank you, while others will say bad things to you. The key is to show the hiring managers that you will try hard, that you are ready to go above and beyond for the customer, that you won’t be easily discouraged.
You should also try to talk with enthusiasm when narrating this situation. They should get an impression it is natural for you to try hard for the customers, and that you have a good feeling from the extra effort.
At the end of the day you may hate difficult customers, but while interviewing for a job, you should tell the managers what they want to hear…
Do you have any questions ?
You do not necessarily have to force a question. If things went well, if you discussed everything important with the hiring managers, you can simply thank them for a great interview.
At the same time, however, most people at Uber are passionate about their work. And they like to talk about it. That’s why it is a good idea to ask about a specific product, feature, goal, or anything similar.
It will help you to connect with the interviewers on a rather personal level, and such connection can prove priceless at the end of the interviews…
Behavioral (scenario based) questions you may face while interviewing for a job at Uber
Just like any other successful company, Uber receives dozens, or even hundreds of job applications, anytime they advertise a managerial or engineering vacancy. As you can imagine, the interview process is more sophisticated in this case. You will have to pass a series of interviews (online or face to face, it makes little difference), and they will ask you mostly behavioral questions.
Let’s have a look at 10 of them, commonly asked at Uber:
- Tell us about a time when you felt overwhelmed with work.
- Tell us about a conflict you had with a colleague in one of your former jobs.
- Describe a situation when you had to motivate someone in work (for example your colleague from the same working group).
- Describe the most difficult decision you’ve ever made.
- Tell us about a time when you faced an ethical dilemma at work.
- Give an example of an occasion when you used logic to solve the problem.
- Have you ever worked on a project that ended up a failure? Describe it to us.
- Tell me about a time you had to comply with a policy or procedure that you did not agree with.
- Describe a situation when you had to meet a tight deadline.
- When you worked on multiple projects, how did you prioritize?
Special Tip: If you struggle with behavioral questions, or remain silent when facing one in an interview–something you cannot afford if you want to get a job with Uber, consider having a look at the new eBook I wrote, Ace your behavioral-based job interview. Multiple great answers to 31 scenario-based questions will make your life much easier on the big day, and help you stand out from other job applicants.
Conclusion and next steps
Interview with Uber can be both easy and difficult, depending on the job you try to get with them. The company is growing quickly, and they struggle to find enough drivers and customer service workers. If you apply for a job in this department, it is typically enough getting ready for the basic questions–as long as you show enthusiasm and motivation in your interview.
If you apply for a managerial or engineering position, however, you have to prepare for a more sophisticated and complex interview process. You will typically face many behavioral (scenario-based) questions, and you may have to pass one or two tests of your programming skills (when applying for software engineering job).
Anyway, success is not a question of luck. Prepare for the questions, do a good research about the company, and give it your best shot. I hope you will succeed, and wish you good luck!
Matthew
May also help you prepare:
- How to overcome interview nerves – Get rid of anxiety and deliver your best on a big day–you will certainly need your best with Uber.
- Salary negotiation tips – Get what you deserve, or even more. Learn how to negotiate a better salary at the end of your interview.
