Some people think interviewing at Wix is “rocket science” - but our interviewing process is designed to set you up for success and prepare you for your journey at Wix. Don’t believe us? Just ask some of our recently hired employees in Ukraine!
Hello!
I’m Maksym Kramarenko, and I’m the Frontend Guild Manager at Wix. You can learn about the Frontend Guild in our WTFED podcast, and about Wix on our website.
As part of my job, I often communicate with candidates - I have over 350 interviews under my belt. In the process, I noticed that quite often there were prejudices from people about the state of the wartime labor market and about finding work for juniors & switchers with little or no work experience. Just recently, one of TLs, Andrii Mokhovyk, spoke at a meetup and mentioned that there are open positions in his team.
Someone in the audience said "interviewing at Wix is rocket science".
I wondered how many good engineers would have joined us if it weren't for this myth.
So we talked to people who recently joined Wix and were candidates not too long ago. We and the Recruitment team interviewed 6 teammates, who shared their personal stories. They were very different, but also had a lot in common.
Myth #1: "Big product companies left Ukraine"
Stepan Samko (Frontend Engineer at Editor Platform, Kyiv): I wasn’t actively looking for a job, but I was following the market - I have a list of world-class product companies I’m interested in, including Wix, but it seems that they were not focused on growing in Ukraine and I haven’t seen opportunities for cooperation for quite a long time. Then I saw a post on Twitter by Nir Zohar (Wix’s COO), where he emphasized the Ukrainian team as a core Wix team, and that the company plans to open 45 new positions in Ukraine. I applied - and here I am.
Yelyzaveta Zavalko (Frontend Engineer at Wix Editor, Kyiv): The Wix environment immediately stands out against my previous one. At first I had no idea how important the Ukrainian office and its expansion are to Wix. I was impressed that despite the war and danger, the top manager of my team came from Israel to see us, discuss product development and have fun with us. Such informal communication helps to build friendly relations with teammates at different levels and accelerates onboarding.
Myth #2: "You shouldn't start a long and complicated hiring process"
Mykyta Sadok (Backend Engineer at Achievements, Kyiv): I went through 4 stages of interviews at Wix - it seems like a lot, but each stage was necessary. The list of requirements was abstract and general - deep knowledge in the field of Computer Science and some experience of working as a backend developer. The interviews matched: at none of the stages was the knowledge of Java or other JVM languages tested. The technical interview was focused on fundamental knowledge of Computer Science - solving an algorithmic problem and answering several engineering questions. The interviewers were interested in communication, and I received the most positive feedback. One of the most memorable stages was the HR interview, the final one. I didn’t think it was necessary, since I already talked to the recruiter - but now I consider this interview very important, since that’s when my values and attitude towards work were assessed .No matter how good a candidate is, no one wants to be on the same team with toxic people.
Denys Zaitsev (Android Engineer at POS/Stores, Dnipro): I had a very positive experience in the hiring process. At the beginning, I was surprised that Wix had as many as 5 rounds of interviews: 3 technical, one with a Product Owner and one with HR. But it all makes sense, because Wix doesn't have a trial period, just an onboarding process. Therefore, when you have already received an offer, you can be sure that you’re really the person the company was looking for!
Vasyl Velmyk (Frontend Team Lead at Editor, Kyiv): Wix had 5 stages in the hiring process, plus a short intro call at the beginning. It gave me the opportunity to get to know the company, and the company to get to know me. I realized that Wix is bigger and more powerful than I had previously imagined: it's a stylish, technological company with millions of users; and I used the products myself.
There’s a cool onboarding process within the company, where you work with different teams on different projects for several months. It wasn’t easy, but this experience was extremely useful down the line: you know where to go, who and where to look for when questions arise during work.
When I got involved a little, I began to notice that the approach to engineering and business is something completely new to me. The approach to writing the code impressed me the most. Everything is almost standard - sprints, tasks, code, technologies, code review, tests, CI, delivery - but it’s seasoned with a special Wix sauce, which helps to work on such a scale. What I'm really excited about is the approach to measurement and hypothesis testing - everything’s based on data and metrics. Sub-projects and new features are reminiscent of the launch of small startups in the process of work.
Myth #3: "It’s very difficult to find a job without experience in IT"
Yelyzaveta Zavalko (Frontend Engineer at Wix Editor, Kyiv): My journey in IT began with the decision to enter the faculty of computer engineering. I studied many technologies and understood the basics of computer logic. It was this that helped me further immerse myself in the technologies of the concert sphere, where I worked with sound and light (device settings, connections & control). For example, most light programs have to be programmed step by step, just like writing code. Over time, I realized that I wanted to write code, so I quit and joined Wix.
The onboarding process lasts several weeks, but it takes much longer to grasp the scale of the company. A little more than 6 months have passed since I joined Wix, and I’m still learning something new about the structure with each task and immersing myself deeper and deeper. There’s also an opportunity to develop within the guild - if you wish, you can go to another team and get experience with another product.
Myth #4: “There’s no point in applying for a job without relevant experience (Scala/React/etc.)”
Mykyta Sadok (Backend Engineer at Achievements, Kyiv): Studying at KNU, I had already gained some experience with the Go programming language, so I was looking for positions for an engineer with a suitable stack. However, none of the positions appealed to me. I already had two friends at Wix who said a lot of good things about the company. I had no experience with Java or other JVM languages - but as it turns out, this isn’t a requirement for a candidate for a Backend Developer position.
After going through all the stages of the interview, I was excited to work on the Scala programming language, which is completely new to me and difficult - but Wix has a well-thought-out onboarding plan for backend engineers that ensures the smoothest entry into the company and work processes. From my first day to the first task in my team, a month of onboarding passed, during which I got to know Scala, the company's technologies and processes. Also, after a certain time in the company, the Server Crash Course is held - a week-long course with speakers from various Wix products, which deepens the knowledge of how the company's ecosystem functions even more. I already started working on a product in a team with sufficient knowledge of technologies to perform tasks. I was accompanied by my mentor (aka my team leader), who introduced me to the intricacies of the project and the details of Scala.
Myth #5: "Switchers in Hi-Tech have a hard time finding a job right away"
Pavlo Vyshnevetskyi (Backend Engineer at Table Reservations, Kyiv): Before the war I worked as a pyrotechnician, but I realized that there would be no fireworks in the near future - so a change of profession was necessary.
After analyzing directions and searching for what’s interesting, I chose the direction of the backend and decided to try to master everything on my own. JavaRush helped me get started, then I spent a lot of time on Udemy and HyperSkill for practice. My advantage was free time: I could devote 8+ hours a day to studying. About 3 months later, I tried to get an internship at several companies, and received an invitation from one company that provided training for engineers; I spent the next 6 months there. At the end of the internship, there were no real projects, so I had to search again. I watched a lot of mock interviews, solved LeetCode and read the theory.
I already had a bit of history with Wix, working as a pyrotechnician - I took part in the opening of the company's office. When I saw the vacancy, I immediately applied, and then it was time to show everything I've learned/done in the last year: algorithms and computer science. It took me 3 weeks to complete the first step of my journey and become a Junior Developer. I’m currently working at Wix, and I’m not leaving my studies.
