Loom · Primly Community

Loom behavioral interview questions and values, what they actually ask

sam_recovering · 5 replies

I went through the Loom process a while back. Didn't end up taking the role for reasons unrelated to the interview, but the behavioral rounds actually felt pretty different from average so I wanted to share.

Loom has a set of company values and the behavioral interview is clearly structured around them, though they never explicitly name the value they're testing. The questions leaned toward: Situations where you had to give hard feedback upward. Not just to peers, but to a manager or to a decision above your level. Times you changed your mind publicly. They asked this in a few different ways: "describe a time you were wrong about something and how you handled it." How you've handled working on something that wasn't well-defined. The product video/async communication space is messy and I think they want people who are comfortable with ambiguity. Collaboration with folks outside engineering. Several questions were about design, sales, or customer feedback informing technical decisions.

They did NOT lean heavily into the classic Amazon LP style where the question is just a vehicle for STAR delivery. The interviewers were more conversational. They'd ask a follow-up that digs into the motivation, not just the action.

One thing I noticed: they asked about "async-first" ways of working. Which makes sense for a company building async communication tools. Questions like: how do you keep distributed teams aligned when you can't just call a meeting? It felt like they wanted people who genuinely believe in the mission, not just people who can interview well.

The bar for specific examples felt high. Vague answers got politely but clearly probed. "Tell me more about what you specifically did" came up a lot.

If you're prepping, I'd have 3-4 really sharp stories ready about: influencing without authority, adapting your communication style for async, handling ambiguous requirements, and pushing back constructively. Those four would cover most of what I got asked.

5 replies

recruiter_rita

The "async-first" angle makes a lot of sense. Companies building async tools often have a genuine internal belief in it and they screen for cultural fit with that specifically. Good flag to prep for.

ae_andre

Did they ask anything about customer empathy or understanding the end user? Or was it all internally focused stories?

sam_recovering

Yes, one question was about a time I used customer or user feedback to make a technical decision. I think it was framed as: "describe a time external feedback changed how you approached a problem." Not super deep but it was in there.

growth_gabe

What was the vibe like overall? Friendly pressure or more formal/evaluative?

sam_recovering

Friendly pressure is a pretty accurate description. Warm room but they clearly had a rubric they were working through. They asked follow-ups in a way that felt curious rather than adversarial.