I applied online. I interviewed at Canonical (Amsterdam) in Nov 2025
Interview
I applied for an Events Marketing Manager role and regret the time I invested.
The process was wildly disproportionate for a mid–senior events role, and completely one-sided.
My process:
• Long online form with:
• Detailed work history
• Bizarre education questions (high school ranking, individual subjects, old grading systems)
• A mandatory pledge not to use any AI or “generated content” in my CV or answers
• No option to upload a cover letter, but very clearly an expectation of long-form writing
• Follow-up email outlining:
• A written interview with ~20 questions (marketing, technology, context, education)
• Standardised aptitude tests
• “Technical assessments and interviews”
• Potential panel interview
All of this before they share even a rough salary indication.
When I asked politely for a salary range before spending days on the written assignment, I was told:
• The role is actually a contractor arrangement, not a normal employment contract
• Compensation would only be discussed after they assessed where I might fit in the organisation
In other words: lots of unpaid work, very intrusive questions and multiple tests, with zero transparency on pay or contract type upfront.
I’m a senior events professional with 20+ years of experience in Europe. My CV and LinkedIn make that obvious. At this level, basic clarity on employment set-up and a ballpark range is standard. Here, it was refused.
AI hypocrisy
One detail that really stood out: candidates must swear not to use any AI or “generated content,” while Canonical itself actively markets Ubuntu as a platform for AI and ML workloads.
So AI is celebrated in their products, but treated as unacceptable if a candidate uses modern tools to draft or polish text. That contradiction says a lot about how dated their view of real-world work is.
Advice to other candidates:
Before you invest serious time, ask very direct questions about:
• Salary range for your location and seniority
• Whether the role is an employee contract or a contractor arrangement
• How many stages and how much written work they expect before making a decision
If you do not get clear answers, think very hard about whether this process – and this culture – is worth your energy. I chose to withdraw my application and would not recommend this experience to other senior candidates.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
They sent a 20 question written interview with the most bizarre education background questions.
“This written interview will be read by me and my colleagues to give them a sense of your interest, ambition and achievements to date before they sit down with you. We’re looking to get a sense of who you are, what’s important to you, and how you communicate.
For your submission please write in your own words and allow us to understand specific examples that highlight your skills and experience. We will refer back to this submission during the interview process to explore your listed experience further. Please note that AI generated responses cannot be accepted.”
Marketing experience
Please respond to at least 2 of the marketing experience questions most related to the role you're applying for:
How would you decide on the most appropriate marketing mix?
How has your communication practice changed to leverage social media influencers
What do you think relationships between sales and marketing should be like?
What's the marketing automation project you're most proud of?
What's your preferred attribution method for LinkedIn paid ads?
How do you measure the ROI of marketing activities?
Technology
Describe your personal interest in technology and in the enterprise market
Outline your thoughts on marketing open source software in the enterprise?
Context
Who are competitors to Canonical, and what does Canonical need to change to be a more effective competitor?
Why do you most want to work for Canonical?
Which Canonical products and services would you most like to work on?
Education
Whether you have had a long career or are new to the workplace, we ask all candidates to give us a sense of their academic credentials and strengths for fairness reasons.
How did you rank in your final year of high school in mathematics? Were you a top student? On what basis would you say that?
How did you rank in your final year of high school, in your home language? Were you a top student? On what basis would you say that?
Please state your high school graduation results or university entrance results, and explain the grading system used. For example, in the US, you might give your SAT or ACT scores. In Germany, you might give your scores out of a grading system of 1-5, with 1 being the best.
Can you make a case that you are in the top 5% in your academic year, or top 1%, or even higher? If so please outline that case. Make reference where possible to standardised testing results at regional or national level, or university entrance results. Please explain any specific grading system used.
What sort of high school student were you? Outside of class, what were your interests and hobbies? What would your high school peers remember you for?
Which university and degree did you choose?
What other universities did you consider, and why did you select that one?
Overall, what was your degree result and how did that reflect on your ability? Please help us understand the grading system for your results.
During all of your education years, from high school to university, can you describe any achievements that were truly exceptional?
What leadership roles did you take on during your education? Did you conceive of, and drive to completion, any initiatives outside of your required classwork?
Please take the opportunity to re-read your submission and make sure your have put your best case of exceptional ability forward. We would like to ask you to submit your written interview within 14 days.