Anaplan software engineer candidates report a recruiter call, a hiring manager interview, a programming or take-home technical round, and in one case a culture interview. Here is what to prepare for each stage.
$165K
Avg. Base Comp
$190K
Avg. Total Comp
3-4 rounds
Typical Rounds
Not reported
Process Length
Anaplan software engineer candidates describe a process built around a take-home or home-assessment exercise that is then discussed live. A Senior Software Engineer reports building a basic solution on their own time and then extending it during the interview. A Software Engineer reports that the technical round centered on a home assessment and spent the time discussing the submitted work. So prepare to explain your design choices, and be ready to change the solution on the spot.
Both of those candidates describe the process as starting with a recruiter or phone screen and then a hiring manager interview. The Software Engineer's recruiter call covered motivation for the role and expectations of the company. The hiring manager round in that account was mostly behavioral, including a question about resolving a conflict within the team, so have a specific story ready with the situation, your actions and the result. The Senior Software Engineer describes the hiring manager round as covering a range of role-relevant topics.
The Software Engineer also reports a final culture interview with general questions about company culture, a stage the Senior Software Engineer did not mention.
The Senior Software Engineer received an offer, and the Software Engineer received one and declined it. The Senior Software Engineer describes interviewers who worked to get the best out of them and a programming exercise that felt collaborative rather than high-pressure, so communicate your reasoning as you work. The evidence is limited to a few reports, so expect some variation.
Synthesized from 3 candidate reports by our editorial team.
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Real interview reports from people who went through the Anaplan process.
The process started with an initial phone screening followed by an interview with the hiring manager which covered a range of topics. The final step was a really interesting programming exercise that involved developing the basic solution in your own time and then extending the system during the interview.
I felt that the interview process was challenging but the interviewers always worked to get the best out of me. The first conversation kicked off with questions about my prior experience, which gave me a chance to set context before diving into technical material. The hiring manager round was thorough—they asked substantive questions relevant to the role and seemed genuinely interested in understanding both my background and how I'd approach problems on their team.
The programming exercise was the most memorable part. I was given time to develop a basic solution on my own beforehand, then came into the interview to extend and improve the system in real time. It felt like a collaborative problem-solving session rather than a high-pressure coding test—the interviewers were invested in seeing how I'd think through design tradeoffs and iterate.
Throughout the process I was supported by Mark Wilkins who was really great to work with. He kept me really well informed throughout the process and was really supportive and helpful. The entire experience felt well-organized and professional, from initial scheduling through offer notification. One of the best recruiters I have worked with.
Prep tip from this candidate
Be ready for a take-home programming exercise followed by an in-interview extension round—prepare by designing a clean, extensible solution and practice articulating your design choices when asked to improve it on the spot.
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Sourced from candidate reports and verified by our team.
Topics based on recent interview experiences.
Featured question at Anaplan
What do you tell an interviewer when they ask you what your strengths and weaknesses are?
| Question | |
|---|---|
| 2nd Highest Salary | |
| Empty Neighborhoods | |
| Top Three Salaries | |
| Merge Sorted Lists | |
| Closest SAT Scores | |
| Subscription Overlap | |
| Monthly Customer Report | |
| Rolling Bank Transactions | |
| Random SQL Sample | |
| Prime to N | |
| String Shift | |
| Top 3 Users | |
| Find the Missing Number | |
| Raining in Seattle | |
| Customer Orders | |
| Comments Histogram | |
| Find the First Non-Repeating Character in a String | |
| Minimum Change | |
| Scrambled Tickets | |
| Flight Records | |
| Google Maps Improvement | |
| Download Facts | |
| Over 100 Dollars | |
| Upsell Transactions | |
| The Brackets Problem | |
| Bagging vs Boosting | |
| Daily Retention Summary | |
| Rectangle Overlap | |
| First Touch Attribution |
Synthesized from candidate reports. Individual experiences may vary.
Candidates report an opening recruiter or phone conversation. One Software Engineer says it focused on motivation for the role and expectations of the company, and a Senior Software Engineer says it began with questions about prior experience. Prepare a clear reason for wanting to join Anaplan and a concise summary of your background.
Both software engineer candidates describe a hiring manager interview. One calls it mostly behavioral, with a question about resolving a conflict within the team. The other describes substantive, role-relevant questions about background and approach. Prepare a resolved team-conflict story and examples of how you approach problems.
Candidates report completing an exercise on their own time before the technical interview. The Senior Software Engineer describes developing a basic solution first. Keep the design clean and extensible, and be prepared to explain your decisions, since the live round may build directly on your submission.
The Senior Software Engineer reports extending the system during the interview, while the Software Engineer reports a technical round spent discussing the submitted assessment. The Senior Software Engineer describes the session as collaborative, so talk through your tradeoffs and how you would improve the design.
One Software Engineer reports a final culture interview with general questions about the company's culture. This stage may not appear in every process, because the Senior Software Engineer did not mention it. Prepare to talk about how you like to work with teams and why Anaplan's environment appeals to you.
