How do you onboard new team members?
Why This Is Asked
Interviewers want to see that you have a deliberate, repeatable process for ramping people up. They're looking for evidence that you reduce time-to-productivity, set clear expectations, and create psychological safety so new hires can ask questions and contribute quickly.
Key Points to Cover
- Having a structured onboarding plan (docs, systems access, first tasks)
- Assigning a buddy or mentor for the first weeks
- Setting clear milestones and check-ins (30/60/90 days)
- Creating feedback loops to improve the process over time
STAR Method Answer Template
Describe the context - what was happening, what team/company, what was at stake
What was your specific responsibility or challenge?
What specific steps did you take? Be detailed about YOUR actions
What was the outcome? Use metrics where possible. What did you learn?
đź’ˇ Tips
- Mention specific artifacts you use (runbooks, architecture docs, first-PR guides)
- Share how you've iterated on onboarding based on feedback from new hires
✍️ Example Response
STAR formatSituation: At a Series B startup, we were growing from 15 to 40 engineers in a year. New hires were taking 6–8 weeks to ship their first meaningful PR, and several had reported feeling lost. We had no formal onboarding—it was ad hoc, and it showed. I led a team that was absorbing 3 new engineers in 2 months.
Task: I needed to create a structured, repeatable onboarding process that reduced time-to-productivity and created psychological safety for new hires.
Action: I designed a 30/60/90 plan. Days 1–5: systems access, intro meetings, architecture overview doc, and a "first PR" guide (small, well-scoped task with a buddy). Days 6–30: shadow a few code reviews, complete 2–3 PRs, attend team rituals. By day 30, they should ship something independently. Days 31–60: own a small feature, present in a team meeting. Days 61–90: full ownership, 360 feedback. I assigned each new hire a buddy for the first month and held weekly check-ins. I created an onboarding runbook and architecture doc that we kept updated. I also ran a retro with recent hires to improve the process—they said the first week felt overwhelming, so we spread it out.
Result: Time-to-first-PR dropped from 6 weeks to 2 weeks. New hire satisfaction scores improved. Two engineers who'd joined said the structure made them feel supported. I learned that onboarding is an investment—rushing it creates long-term drag. And that feedback from new hires is the best way to improve it.
🏢 Companies Known to Ask This
| Company | Variation / Focus |
|---|---|
| Amazon | Hire & Develop the Best — "How do you onboard new engineers?" |
| Collaboration, learning agility | |
| Meta | Building high-performing teams |
| Microsoft | Growth mindset, collaboration |
| Professional growth, learning agility | |
| Stripe | Moving fast, technical judgment |