I applied through a recruiter. I interviewed at Etsy in May 2023
Interview
A recruiter reached out to me directly about a role they felt was aligned with my background. I had an intro call with them and they walked me through the interview process, culture at Etsy, etc. The recruiter was very friendly and transparent, which I appreciated.
Ultimately, we both decided it wasn't an ideal fit. However they kept the line of communication open for future job openings that might be more aligned.
The interview process itself was fairly straightforward, and everyone I met during the interviews was kind and professional. The most frustrating aspect of the experience was the communication from the recruiter. Throughout the process, she was often unresponsive and provided very little guidance or follow-up.
I ultimately made it to the final round, completing seven interviews and a take-home assignment that took four hours to finish. After that, I never received an update on the outcome of my candidacy. I followed up three separate times via email and eventually had to search for the recruiter’s phone number and call her directly to learn that the role had been offered to someone else.
I understand that not every candidate will receive an offer, but clear and timely communication is a basic expectation, especially after such a significant investment of time from both sides. For a company whose mission is to “Keep Commerce Human,” I expected a more thoughtful and humane approach to candidate communication. Being left without any update after reaching the final stage was disappointing and did not reflect the candidate experience I had hoped for.
I applied online. I interviewed at Etsy (New York, NY) in Mar 2026
Interview
Process was actually very informative, nice and overall smooth. The recruiter kept me informed and stayed connected throughout the process. Interviews were all back to back with the hiring manager first and then 5 additional interviews at the end.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
Working with a diverse group and diversity as a whole was one of the questions that I haven’t heard being asked in an interview for a while but didn’t come as a surprise knowing Etsy’s culture.