Shopify Hiring Process: Job Application, Interviews, and Employment

This post provides detailed information on the hiring process at Shopify Inc. including the job application and interview requirements candidates will need to meet to be employed by the company, as well as the various career opportunities available at the company.

Shopify Hiring Process

The Shopify recruitment process involves the following stages:

Job Application Process

The first thing to do when you want to apply to Shopify as a job applicant is to register as a member on the official website.

To apply for a position, you must create an account on the Shopify careers page. After that, you will choose your job posting and click ‘apply’.

Then you will be asked to enter the basic information of your account, including your education background, work experience and work location information.

Job Assessment Test

Shopify carry out written test in order to check your skill level and experience. For R&D applicants, this phase will be skipped and you will proceed directly to a coding exercise before moving to the Life Story Interview phase.

Tips for Passing the Assessment Test

Here are tips you can use to be successful in the test:

Work out an answer strategy before the test starts.
Get some practice! Practice will help you to achieve better results at the test.
Review all the steps provided before the test and remember them.
Take notes during the test on what to do next and any questions that you have.
Don’t be nervous! Remember that a good answer strategy is vital in order to succeed in the test.

Shopify Interview Process

The interview process may consist of an initial phone call and an on-site interview. The phone interview will be at least 30 minutes long and the actual interview process could be as much as one day.

The Phone Interview

The initial phone interview will consist of a quick introduction to Shopify, their corporate culture, their people and the job role you are applying for.

The interviewing manager or a hiring manager will conduct the interview. In some cases, you may be asked to provide an online test in order to assess your problem solving ability and communication skills.

Life Story Interview

After you complete the assessment test, you will be invited to a Life Story Interview with a full-time staff member. The interview consists of four phases:

What’s important to me?
What do I want to be in the next five years?
Why Shopify?
What questions do you have for me?

After the interview, your interviewer will prepare a report about your results and send it to the recruitment team for final assessment.

The recruitment team will contact you by e-mail when they decide whether or not to move you forward to the next stage of the hiring process.

Meet the Team/Problem Solving

You’ll meet with each likely coworker for up to an hour. You may be asked how you would address a problem and convey it to the team, depending on the job.

Tips for Passing the Interview

Here are some tips you can apply to help you pass the interview:

Prepare for the interview by reviewing what you will be asked about, such as experience and why you’re interested in Shopify.
Prepare at least two questions to ask at the end of your interview.
Take notes during the interview, including details of key points that are discussed and examples given by your interviewer(s).
Remember that a good answer strategy is very important in order to succeed at the interview.

Shopify Interview Questions and Answers

Here are some of the frequently asked questions on Shopify interviews (and suggested answers):

What’s your greatest strength?

My greatest strength is my ability to conceptualize and improve the quality of software in order to meet business needs.

2. What’s your greatest weakness?

My greatest weakness is my inability to see things that are too complex or abstract to others.

3. How would your colleagues describe you?

My colleagues would describe me as a very hard-working and positive employee. I am known for getting things done in a timely manner, and I’m always eager to learn more.

4. What is your biggest pet peeve?

My biggest pet peeve is not getting technical support or customer service issues resolved.

5. Where’s the best place you’ve ever traveled?

The best place I’ve ever traveled is Kathmandu, Nepal.

How Long Does Shopify Hiring Process Take?

According to Glassdoor, the recruiting process at Shopify takes an average of 31 days when 333 user-submitted interviews across all job categories are taken into account.

Candidates applying for software developer posts had the shortest hiring process (on average 20 days), while product designer roles had the longest hiring process (on average 40 days).

Major Shopify Careers and Jobs Available

Here are some of the major careers and job available at Shopify that you can apply to:

Product Designer

Description: The primary objective of this role is to design and deliver superior user experiences and interfaces. You’ll conceptualize, visualize, specify, and document everything from micro-interactions to multi-screen applications.

Software Developer

Description: You’ll develop software that the public can interact with in order to achieve specific business goals. You’ll work with a team of professionals on projects in an agile environment using modern technologies and platforms. Any given day could include working on databases, APIs, or machine learning.

Business Analyst

Description: You’ll be the business expert on a development team that builds and releases software. You’ll be responsible for ensuring the quality of the application, setting acceptance criteria, and communicating with stakeholders. You’ll work with Product Managers in a collaborative way to understand the Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC) and develop User Stories, Feature Trees, UML diagrams, Data Diagrams, Use Cases and more.

Site Reliability Engineer

Description: You’ll work closely with developers and product managers to ensure that Shopify has a stable, reliable, high-performance and scalable platform. You’ll help to solve technical problems that may arise when deploying new features or adhering to high availability demands, as well as helping maintain the infrastructure of the Shopify platform.

Software Engineer

Description: You’ll be responsible for building and maintaining the products Shopify offers to its users. You’ll use your knowledge of software engineering principles and development practices to develop high quality, reliable software solutions that meet the company’s business goals. You work with the full range of engineers to implement new features, improve existing features, and make sure that bugs are fixed timely.

What to Expect Working at Shopify

Shopify offers benefits like dental and medical insurance, 4 weeks of paid vacation, a wellness program, and a personal development fund.

At Shopify, you’ll have the opportunity to work in an office located right next to downtown Ottawa with a beautiful view of the Parliament Buildings.

You’ll have the chance to meet with coworkers and executives at events like company picnics, town hall meetings, hackathons, company celebrations and more.

What Employees Dislike about Working at Shopify

Some employees dislike working in an independent team and have to spend time both on the Shopify Team page and liking posts on Facebook.

Some fear that because they work for a Canadian based company, there will be an increased workload as it is hard for some people to switch their focus between the US and Canada.

Some also dislike the amount of travelling they have to do..