Expedia Interview Questions: What to Expect and How to Prepare

Expedia Interview Process

At Expedia, the interview process begins with a detailed screening of your resume to assess your expertise and suitability for the role. Following this initial assessment, candidates may be required to complete Online Assessments (OAs) which test coding skills and problem-solving ability, ensuring readiness for the technical demands of the position.

The next steps often involve one or two phone screens focusing on technical questions and behavioral assessments. Successful candidates are then invited to participate in the onsite rounds, which can include multiple interviews with team members and senior engineers. These sessions are known to be rigorous, testing both technical acumen and the ability to collaborate and fit into the company culture.

Initial Screen

Expedia initially screens resumes to assess your technical skills and experience relevance, particularly looking for strong proficiency in programming languages and problem-solving capabilities.

Following the resume review, selected candidates must complete an Online Assessment (OA), typically involving coding tests and algorithm questions designed to evaluate your practical coding skills.

Phone Screen

Expedia typically begins its hiring process with a phone screen. In this initial call, candidates should expect questions about their resume, past projects, and maybe a few technical questions to gauge their problem-solving abilities and coding skills.

Depending on the role and initial screening outcome, a candidate might encounter a second phone interview focused more on technical skills. This includes coding challenges or deeper discussions on specific technologies pertinent to the job description.

Onsite Rounds

For Expedia's onsite rounds, applicants typically undergo three to four interviews, each lasting about 45 minutes. The interview panel usually includes both peer software engineers and hiring managers, focusing predominately on coding challenges and system design questions.

In addition to technical assessments, there is often a behavioral interview aimed at understanding the candidate's fit within Expedia's culture and their performance in collaborative or challenging situations. This segment evaluates communication skills, problem-solving abilities, and adaptability.

Final Rounds, Negotiation, Offer

At Expedia, after completing the interview rounds, candidates may engage in final meetings with senior executives, followed by a session dedicated to negotiating the job offer and discussing team placement specifics.

Expedia Technical Interview Questions and Patterns

The Expedia interview is not known for testing algorithm mastery and difficult coding challenges, so it's crucial to focus on straightforward implementation problems to solve simulation problems. Additionally, while less common, topics like Dynamic Programming and Greedy algorithms could still appear within classical problems of easy-medium difficulty level, a particular example recently seen by Leetcode users being Jump Game II. Overall, the coding interview at Expedia is much easier compared to FAANG companies, so with fluent coding and communication skills there is a good opportunity to ace the coding interview at Expedia!

Frequently Asked Expedia Coding Questions

Problem + Solution	Patterns	Difficulty
Find the City With the Smallest Number of Neighbors at a Threshold Distance	Breadth-First Search, Dynamic Programming, Graph	Medium
Assign Cookies	Basic DSA, Misc., Two Pointers	Easy
Minimum Number of Swaps to Make the String Balanced	Misc., Two Pointers	Medium
Pairs of Songs With Total Durations Divisible by 60	Basic DSA	Medium
Validate IP Address	Basic DSA	Medium
Minimum Knight Moves	Breadth-First Search	Medium
Minimum Absolute Difference	Basic DSA	Easy
Car Pooling	Basic DSA, Heap, Simulation, Two Pointers	Medium
Count Number of Pairs With Absolute Difference K	Basic DSA	Easy
Least Number of Unique Integers after K Removals	Basic DSA, Misc.	Medium

Sample Classical Behavioral Questions and Answers

Tell me about a time when you had to work with a difficult or uncooperative colleague. How did you handle the situation?

• Focus on highlighting communication skills, empathy, and problem-solving strategies. Elaborate on how you maintained professionalism, understood the colleague’s perspective, and found a mutual solution or compromise to ensure progress in the project.

Describe a situation where you had to adapt quickly to a significant change in a project. What did you do?

• Emphasize adaptability and resilience. Detail the steps taken to understand the new requirements, realign priorities, and communicate effectively with the team to meet project objectives despite the change.

Can you provide an example of a project where you implemented a new technology or process? What challenges did you face and how did you overcome them?

• Showcase your initiative and technical skills. Discuss the research and analysis done to choose the appropriate technology or process, the steps taken to implement it, challenges faced, and the strategies used to overcome those challenges, including any teamwork or leadership skills exercised.

Sample Teamwork Behavioral Questions and Answers

Describe a time when you had to work with a team to overcome a significant technical challenge. What was your role, and how did you ensure the team's success?

• Focus on explaining the specific technical issue, your role in addressing it, and the collaborative tools or methodologies you used. Highlight the importance of communication and how your contributions helped achieve a positive outcome for the team.

Can you tell us about a project where you and your team had differing opinions on a solution? How did you handle the situation to move forward?

• Discuss your approach to conflict resolution and consensus-building. Emphasize your ability to listen, process diverse viewpoints, and negotiate a solution that met the project requirements while maintaining team cohesion.

Expedia relies heavily on team collaboration to innovate and improve its travel platforms. Can you provide an example of how you have contributed to a team environment in a way that sparked innovation or improved a product?

• Highlight a specific instance where your input or initiative directly led to a creative solution or notable improvement in a project. Detail the context, your approach, and the impact your innovation had on the product and the team’s performance.

Sample Role Specifc Behavioral Questions and Answers

Describe a time when you had to innovate to solve a problem. What was the challenge, and what solution did you develop?

• Focus on a specific technical problem where you implemented a creative or unorthodox solution that improved functionality or user experience. Highlight your problem-solving skills, and ability to innovate under pressure.

Expedia thrives on improving user experience. Can you share a project where you significantly enhanced an application’s performance or user interface?

• Discuss a relevant project where your contributions led to significant performance enhancements or usability improvements. Explain the technologies used, the challenges faced, and the impact of your work on the end-users.

Tell us about a time when you had to work with a team under a tight deadline. How did you ensure your team met its goals?

• Share an experience that showcases your ability to lead or collaborate within a team to meet deadlines. Emphasize your communication skills, leadership in coordinating tasks, and any agile or scrum techniques used to streamline the workflow and successfully deliver the project on time.