About Handshake's Hiring Philosophy

Handshake is a mission-driven company focused on connecting students and early-career talent with employers, and that mission shows up strongly in how they hire. Candidates repeatedly describe the process as transparent, well-organized, and genuinely respectful, with recruiters who send study guides and prep materials ahead of time. As one accepted candidate put it, showing genuine enthusiasm for the company, its culture, and its mission will get you very far.

For the Software Developer role, Handshake leans heavily on realistic, hands-on evaluation rather than abstract algorithm puzzles. Expect object-oriented design problems, full web-stack coding, pair programming, and a system design conversation. The stack skews toward Ruby on Rails and full web application work, so being comfortable building and extending a real app matters more than memorizing niche LeetCode tricks.

Quick Stats

* Typical process: 4 to 5 rounds, roughly 2 to 3 weeks

* Format: Recruiter phone screen, live technical screen, and a ~4 to 5 hour virtual onsite (often splittable across 2 days)

* Core focus: Object-oriented design, full-stack web coding, pair programming, system design, behavioral and culture fit

* Difficulty: Moderate (company-wide average 2.97/5); challenging because of the multi-part onsite and take-home app work, not trick questions

What Handshake Looks For

* Clear thinking out loud and collaborative problem solving during pairing

* Ability to build and extend a real full-stack web application

* System design judgment (they provide a study guide and expect you to hit key checkpoints)

* Genuine enthusiasm for the mission and strong teamwork instincts

"Handshake is incredibly mission driven, showing genuine enthusiasm for the company, its culture and its mission will get you very far!" (Software Developer candidate, accepted offer)

Round 1: Recruiter Phone Screen (~30 min)

What to Expect

The process opens with a friendly recruiter call, typically around 30 minutes, covering your background, interest in the role, and logistics. Handshake's recruiters are known for keeping candidates informed at every step and for setting expectations clearly. This is also where you can ask about the process and, if relevant, the salary range. Come ready with a crisp intro and a real answer for why Handshake specifically.

Example or Reported Questions

* "Tell me about yourself"

* "How did you get into software engineering?"

* "What kind of teammate are you?"

* "What would your teammates say is your greatest strength?"

Tips

* Lead with mission fit; multiple accepted candidates credit their enthusiasm for Handshake's mission as a differentiator.

* Keep your intro tight and let the recruiter guide the conversation without over-steering it toward your own question list.

* Rehearse this quick pitch and "why this company" framing in Nora's Standard Mode so your opener feels natural, not scripted.

Round 2: Technical Phone Screen (~60 min)

What to Expect

Next is a live coding screen with an engineer, often via screen share or a tool like codeinterview.io, lasting about an hour. A very common format is an object-oriented design problem, and the "vending machine" question shows up again and again. You will be expected to talk out loud and explain your reasoning as you go. Difficulty is manageable, but blanking under pressure is a real risk, so practice narrating your thought process.

Example or Reported Questions

* "Code a vending machine that needs to track inventory and return correct change in denominations of 5, 10 and 25 cents."

* "Design a vending machine and make change"

* "Implement merge sort"

* "Print out the word version of an integer (Ex. Input = 123 / output = 'one hundred and twenty three')"

Tips

* Master the vending machine OOP pattern (classes, inventory tracking, change-making logic); it is the most reported single question here.

* Narrate constantly. One candidate noted the interviewer had her "talk out loud throughout to explain my thought process."

Round 3: Coding Project and Pair Programming (~2 hrs)

What to Expect

Before the onsite, Handshake sends a small take-home assignment and asks you to get a working web app running on your own machine. During the onsite, you spend roughly an hour extending it solo, then another hour pairing with one or two engineers to add features and debug together. Work is frequently in Ruby on Rails and centered on real full web-stack tasks (frontend, backend, and sometimes unit tests). This is a core round where collaboration and clean, workable code matter more than clever one-liners.

Example or Reported Questions

* "Build a basic twitter clone from scratch"

* "Create scaffolding for a simple CRUD app"

* "How would you adjust the logic of the existing GET request to display records in a similar logic to reddit/Twitter (most recent records with the most upvotes at the top)?"

* "Design a Reddit like webapp"

Tips

* Come to the onsite with your take-home app already running and clean; you will build on it live.

* Treat pairing as real collaboration: ask questions, share your reasoning, and be receptive to your partner's ideas.

* Practice explaining tradeoffs while you build in Nora's Technical Mode so the pairing feels like a working conversation, not a solo performance.

Round 4: System Design Interview (~45 min)

What to Expect

A dedicated system design (architecture) round with one or two engineers, usually 45 minutes. Handshake provides a detailed system design primer/study guide beforehand, and candidates note the interviewers expect you to "check some boxes" from that guide. Reported prompts include designing large consumer-scale systems. Cover data models, APIs, scaling, storage, and tradeoffs clearly, using the framework they hand you.

Example or Reported Questions

* "Design a system like Spotify"

* "Design the architecture for a music streaming service"

* "Design a machine and how to handle multiple input/outputs"

* "Design a twitter clone"

Tips

* Read the provided system design study guide closely; interviewers grade against its checkpoints.

* Structure your answer: clarify requirements, sketch high-level components, then go deep on data, scaling, and tradeoffs.

* Rehearse designing Spotify- and Twitter-style systems out loud in Nora's Technical Mode to lock in a repeatable structure.

Round 5: Hiring Manager and Behavioral (~45 min)

What to Expect

The onsite closes with a behavioral and culture-fit conversation, usually with the hiring manager (and sometimes a director of engineering or program manager). Expect classic "tell me about a time" questions focused on teamwork, conflict, and how you handle setbacks. Handshake weighs collaboration and mission alignment heavily, so bring concrete STAR stories that show how you work with others.

Example or Reported Questions

* "Tell me how did you deal with a conflict in your team before?"

* "Tell me about a time a project didn't go well."

* "What was a time when you struggled with something you were working on? How did you resolve it?"

* "Talk about a time that you broke something or something did not go according to plan and what the outcome was?"

Tips

* Prepare 4 to 5 STAR stories covering conflict, failure, and teamwork; several reported questions map directly to these themes.

* Tie your examples back to collaboration and mission-driven work, which Handshake clearly values.

* Drill these behavioral prompts in Nora's Behavioral Mode so your STAR answers stay tight and specific under follow-up questions.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

1) How many rounds are there?

Typically 4 to 5: a recruiter phone screen, a live technical screen, and a ~4 to 5 hour virtual onsite made up of a solo-plus-pair coding project, a system design interview, and a hiring manager behavioral round. Handshake often lets you split the onsite across two days.

2) What topics are most common?

* Object-oriented design (the vending machine problem is very frequently reported) and full-stack web coding, often in Ruby on Rails

* System design (Spotify/music streaming, Twitter/Reddit clones) plus behavioral stories on teamwork, conflict, and failure

3) How long does the process take?

Most candidates report about 2 to 3 weeks end to end, with several noting the timeline stretched only because of their own scheduling. Recruiters are generally responsive and can expedite if you have a competing offer.

4) How should I prepare?

* Nail the vending machine OOP pattern and be ready to build/extend a full-stack web app (favor Rails if you can).

* Read Handshake's provided system design study guide and practice Spotify- and Twitter-style architectures against its checkpoints.

* Prepare STAR stories on conflict, teamwork, and things that went wrong, and lead with genuine mission enthusiasm throughout.

* Use Nora AI to rehearse: Standard Mode for the recruiter screen, Technical Mode for live coding and system design, and Behavioral Mode for the hiring manager round.