The Complete Guide to Lever Interview Questions in 2023

Lever makes some of the best recruitment software and is known for coming up with new ideas like the Lever Talent Relationship Management (TRM) platform. This system makes hiring easier by combining important recruitment tasks like tracking, sourcing, scheduling interviews, managing offers, and analytics into a single, unified suite.

With a growing clientele of fast-paced, high-growth companies, Lever is often the recruitment platform of choice for hot startups and tech giants alike. So it’s no surprise that interviews at Lever are highly competitive. This article provides a comprehensive overview of the Lever interview process and typical Lever interview questions candidates can expect.

Overview of the Lever Interview Process

The standard Lever interview process consists of the following key stages:

1. Initial Phone Screen with a Recruiter (30 minutes) – This preliminary screening focuses on assessing your resume background skills, and overall fit for the role. Expect questions about your experience, interest in Lever, salary expectations, and availability.

2. Technical Interview (1 hour) – For engineering roles, this video call will contain coding challenges and questions testing your technical proficiency in languages like Java, Python, JavaScript etc. Be ready to discuss previous projects and demonstrate problem-solving skills.

3. Culture Fit Interview (1 hour) – A conversation with future peers/team members to evaluate your alignment with Lever’s values like transparency diversity, innovation etc. Questions will assess your work style motivations, and ability to collaborate.

4. Manager Interview (1 hour) – Typically the hiring manager will conduct this interview to gauge your leadership potential, domain expertise, and qualifications for the specific role. Case studies and situational questions are common.

5. Executive Interview (1 hour): For high-level jobs, applicants may need to meet with a CXO or VP-level executive. This discusses your accomplishments, vision, and ability to drive results.

Some roles may also involve additional interviews like project presentations, mock sales calls etc. The entire process is well-coordinated by the recruiter and usually completed within 3-4 weeks.

25 Common Lever Interview Questions

Here are the top 25 most frequently asked Lever interview questions that candidates should prepare for:

Motivation and Fit

1. Why do you want to work at Lever? What interests you about this role?

2. How does this position align with your career goals?

3. What do you know about Lever’s products, mission, and team culture?

4. Why should we hire you over other candidates? What makes you uniquely qualified for this role?

5. How does your previous experience relate to the requirements of this position?

Technical Expertise

1. What coding languages/frameworks are you proficient in? Can you walk me through your experience with [X,Y,Z]?

2. How would you approach [technical problem relevant to role]?

3. Tell me about a technical project or achievement you are most proud of. What was your contribution?

4. How do you stay updated on the latest developments and best practices in your field?

5. What expertise could you bring to our product development/engineering efforts?

Leadership and Collaboration

1. How would your peers and managers describe your leadership style?

2. Tell me about a time you influenced a team without formal authority. How did you gain buy-in?

3. Describe a conflict you faced on a team. How did you resolve it?

4. What is your approach to developing talent and mentoring junior team members?

5. How do you prioritize tasks when managing multiple projects and deadlines?

Sales and Business Acumen

1. What strategies have you used to identify, qualify, and close enterprise deals?

2. How would you position Lever against competitor X? What differentiates our solutions?

3. Tell me about a time you overcame a major objection and closed a difficult sale.

4. How do you develop relationships and ensure client satisfaction post-sale?

5. How would you go about developing our business in [target market or region]?

Creative Thinking and Innovation

1. Tell me about a time when you came up with an innovative solution to a problem.

2. How do you stay creative and open to new ideas even when pressured to deliver results quickly?

3. What processes or tools have you used to drive innovation in your team or company?

4. When have you taken initiative to implement a new process, product feature, or program?

5. What do you think is the #1 opportunity for us to innovate and improve our product?

The key to mastering Lever interview questions is showcasing specific examples and metrics that highlight your relevant skills, domain expertise, leadership ability, and cultural fit. Prepare 2-3 strong stories for each major competency area and practice articulating them clearly and concisely. With some prep, you’ll be ready to ace your Lever interviews!

How to Effectively Answer the Top Lever Interview Questions

Now let’s explore examples and strategies for answering some of the most critical Lever interview questions:

Question: Why do you want to work at Lever? What interests you about this role?

Strong Answer: I’m excited by the opportunity to work at Lever because you are pioneers in revolutionizing talent acquisition through products like your innovative Talent Relationship Management platform. I’m drawn to this company because of your mission to transform hiring through automation, collaboration, and data-driven insights.

Specifically, this role appeals to me because it aligns well with my background in recruitment operations and my passion for leveraging technology to enhance candidate experience and hiring outcomes. I’m inspired by the chance to collaborate with an industry leader like Lever that is shaping the future of recruiting.

Question: How does your previous experience relate to the requirements of this position?

Strong Answer: My previous experience makes me uniquely suited for this role in several ways:

• 5+ years in talent acquisition roles has equipped me with deep expertise in full-cycle recruiting, hiring process management, and candidate relationship-building. This aligns well with the need for someone who can oversee high-volume, quality hiring.

• My background in implementing various ATS and HR systems has given me hands-on experience with recruitment technology platforms. This will allow me to rapidly onboard and utilize Lever to enhance our hiring.

• In my current role, I spearheaded development of recruitment analytics reporting that reduced time-to-fill by 15%. This demonstrates my ability to leverage data-driven insights, which is a critical need in this position.

• I have experience managing campus recruiting programs and establishing early talent pipelines. This directly relates to this role’s requirements around university recruiting and graduate hiring.

Question: How would you position Lever against competitor X? What differentiates our solutions?

Strong Answer: Lever’s solutions stand out from [Competitor X] in three key ways:

Firstly, Lever offers an end-to-end talent relationship management platform versus [Competitor X’s] point solutions approach. Lever brings together sourcing, tracking, interview scheduling, referrals, analytics, and more in one unified offering. This consolidation provides significant efficiency gains.

Secondly, Lever’s interface and UX are superior and optimized for collaboration. Features like candidate queues, @mentions, and interaction timelines allow seamless communication between recruiters, hiring managers, and candidates. [Competitor X] lacks these collaboration tools.

Finally, Lever Analytics provides rich, real-time visibility into the hiring process through interactive dashboards. This enables data-driven decision making. In contrast, [Competitor X] only offers basic historical reporting.

Question: Tell me about a time you overcame a major objection and closed a difficult sale.

Strong Answer: I faced a challenging sales scenario last year when a long-term client raised an objection about price during renewal contract negotiations. This client accounted for 12% of our revenue so losing them would’ve been a major blow.

To overcome their objection, I took time to probe and understand their concerns about value relative to cost. I then quantified our offering’s ROI by demonstrating how it had reduced their time-to-hire by 30% and improved quality of hire by 20% over the past year.

I proposed a custom bundle offering additional recruiting services at a discount, which addressed their need for cost efficiencies. I also offered evidence of major product enhancements planned for the next year.

This tailored solution mitigated the client’s concerns around value. They were pleased we took effort to understand their needs and ultimately signed a renewed 3-year contract with expanded scope. This experience demonstrated my ability to listen, negotiate effectively, and reframe objections into opportunities.

Question: What is the #1 opportunity for us to innovate and improve our product?

Strong Answer: The number one innovation opportunity I see for Lever lies in expanding your platform’s capabilities around diversity hiring and inclusive talent attraction.

There is growing demand from your enterprise clients for better ways to embed diversity, equity and inclusion into their talent acquisition efforts. However, many existing solutions only offer piecemeal or bolt-on DEI functional