I applied online. The process took 6 months. I interviewed at Canonical in Jun 2025
Interview
20 written questions, followed by 6x 1 hour interviews?! No thank you! And this is even before they tell you the salary! They need to urgently re-think their cult-like hiring strategy if they want to attract top tier talent.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
What was your High School English and Math results?
(Why is this even relevant 20 years after graduating?!)
The interview process is extremely lengthy, and involves around 10 interviews ca. 1 hour each, cognitive tests, written answers to a lot of questions, final presentation recording. I reached the last stage where I was interviewed by the Global Head of SDR, VP of Marketing, Head of Sales. None of them watched the recording of my presentation, although I spent quite some time to do it and they had to do it, based on the recruitment process. I think VP of Marketing blocked me. He did not like the fact that I could not tell the difference between the 2 logos of Canonical that I used in my presentation (he had a look at the presentation but did not listen to the recording). I could not tell the difference right away, and he did not like it. Needless to say that I took both logos from the current Canonical website. You can see how absurd the interview process is. After the 4 months of selection process I only got a formal email saying I was not chosen. Btw, if you are not based in the UK (and maybe Spain), they only offer you an independent contractor contract, so you can be let go any time and you have no social guarantees. Also, they do not give you a company pc and if you are lucky to get an offer, you will need to use your own pc. Stay away!
I applied online. I interviewed at Canonical in Nov 2025
Interview
The interview process is extremely lengthy and involves around 10 interviews (approximately one hour each), cognitive tests, extensive written responses, and a final recorded presentation.
I reached the final stage and interviewed with senior leadership, including the Global Head of SDR, VP of Marketing, and Head of Sales. Submitting a recorded presentation is a required step, but it was clear during the interviews that not all interviewers had reviewed it, despite the significant time investment expected from candidates.
A notable part of the discussion focused on the logos used in my presentation. I was asked to explain the difference between two Canonical logos I had included and was not able to answer immediately. This became a key point of criticism, even though both logos were taken directly from the current Canonical website.
After approximately four months in the process, I received a standard rejection email with no meaningful feedback.
For candidates outside of the UK (and possibly Spain), the role is offered as an independent contractor position rather than a standard employment contract. A company laptop is not provided — you are required to use your personal computer.
Overall, this is a highly time-intensive process with limited feedback and expectations that may not always align with the evaluation approach.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
- 30+ written questions on how you manage teams / your school grades.
- tell me what is the difference between the logo you used on slide 2 and the logo you used on slide 4
- asked me to send them my high school graduatuon certificates (and I graduated 15+ years ago + have a masters degree! Yet they still wanted to see the high school results.