I applied through a recruiter. The process took 1 week. I interviewed at Deutsche Telekom
Interview
1) Talk with company recruiter
2) Online Test
3) First technical round
4) Second technical round
I was initially excited about the interview as it was German - I expected the work culture to be good. But it instead seems terrible.
The interaction with the recruiter was really good. The first technical round with the junior dev raised a few red flags. The interviewer seemed exhausted, and seemed to be following a interviewing process he didn't believe in.
During the 2nd technical round, I'd decided I didn't want to work at this company within the first 3 minutes, but finished the interview out of common courtesy. I refused to extend the interview beyond the 1 hour though, as it'd be a waste of time.
The company's tech culture seems authoritarian, and low-trust. It seemed like working there would entail being talked-down-to every day.
The first interviewer seemed tired, hesitant, and scared, but also helpful. Seemed like a red flag. He gave me a leetcode question, acknowledged that usually those types of problems aren't involved in the day-to-day work, but also said that product-companies usually ask these types of questions in interviews.
The second interviewer(Lead Engineer) acted like Salman Khan in front of a low-rung hindi villian. He was very rude, authoritarian, and pretty much clearly said "We don't trust that you won't cheat" even after I offered to show him the room that there's no one else there, and no other tech equipment in the room.
I'd mentioned that it's weird being on a one-way video interview, and if we can proceed with the videos off, or if he could turn the video on as well. He said he couldn't turn his video on, but it's necessary for me to do so to ensure I'm not cheating. I offered to show him around the room, but he refused. At that point I turned off my video, and was about to tell him we can stop the interview here, but he asked if I'd be comfortable giving the interview if he turned his video on as well, and I'd mentioned yes. He then turned his video on.
It was a bygone conclusion by then though - I'd decided I didn't want to work at the company by this point.
Interview questions [7]
Question 1
Algorithmic question - printing a matrix in a spiral format.
Implement a multi-threaded application which prints 1...N, where each thread prints only 1 number, before waiting for another thread to print another number.
Hello and thank you for the evaluation. We would like to get in contact with you, please contact us via Email: karrierenews@telekom.de. Wish you all the best for your future. Best, Mariella G.
Other Software Engineer Interview Reviews for Deutsche Telekom
I applied online. I interviewed at Deutsche Telekom
Interview
I had a disappointing experience with this company’s hiring process. Kavita Verma reached out to me herself, expressing interest in my profile for a frontend role. I acknowledged the message the same day and was genuinely interested in moving forward.
However, after that initial outreach, there has been complete silence. For the past 15 days, I have been consistently following up, but there has been no response at all—not even a basic acknowledgment.
It’s highly unprofessional to approach candidates proactively, raise expectations, and then completely ignore them. If there is no intention to proceed, the least a company can do is communicate clearly instead of giving false hope.
Respecting candidates’ time and effort is a basic expectation. Unfortunately, this experience reflects a lack of professionalism and poor communication practices in the hiring process.
Not that difficult interview. With some preparation anyone can clear it. Not too difficult, not too easy — just balanced. The interviewers were polite and focused mainly on core concepts, real-world problem-solving, and communication skills. Overall, a good and fair experience.
I applied online. The process took 2 weeks. I interviewed at Deutsche Telekom (Berlin) in May 2025
Interview
smooth and simple good communication from the team to schedule, i was impressed with how easy it was to schedule dates and times for follow up meetings and they communicated next steps well
