Spotify is arguably the best place to work if you are a music fan with technical skills and a keen interest in unlocking human creative potential.
- Spotify is one of the largest music streaming platforms globally, with over 433 million active users as of 2022
- Spotify has over 6,617 employees worldwide working in various roles ranging from engineering to programming, marketing, and research.
- Spotify has been on a worldwide expansion path and is constantly introducing new streaming products besides its traditional music and podcast offerings; as a result, the company is hiring more technical employees.
- Spotify’s most in-demand tech roles include data security analysts, data scientists, software developers, machine learning experts, web developers, mobile applications developers, and tech researchers.
Getting a job at Spotify is incredibly challenging owing to the fact that the company only hires less than a thousand employees annually from over 60,000 applications every month. Spotify is on an aggressive expansion drive which is reflected in its rising annual revenue surpassing 12 billion for the 2021 financial year.
While there’s no single predefined path that an applicant can take which guarantees them their dream job at Spotify, there are a few steps one can take to improve their chance of landing a job at Spotify. These include researching for the role they are applying for, ensuring that it fits their values, qualifications, and experience, and practicing for the phone almond on-site interviews.
Let’s take a look at how to get a job at Spotify, why a position at the firm is so lucrative, and some of the available tech jobs at Spotify.
Spotify background
Spotify’s audio streaming and media services company was founded in 2006 by Martin Lorentzon and Daniel EK. The company headquarters are in Stockholm, Sweden, although it’s listed on the New York Stock Exchange.
Spotify has regional offices in 16 countries, serving over 188 million paying customers and 256 million free subscription users.
With over 82 million copyright-restricted songs and over 4 million podcast episodes, Spotify is now one of the largest streaming services globally and is available in 180 countries.
What’s it like to work at Spotify?
The work culture at Spotify is positive, and the company ranks as one of the best places to work, with a high employee satisfaction rate. Spotify is structured in such a way that employees can advance their careers.
Spotify is known for offering high employee wages, even for entry-level positions. The compensation rate gets adjusted to reflect the most competitive rates in the market. The firm also gives paid six-month maternity leave on top of the annual paid leave.
Spotify frequently hosts live performances at its offices as part of its efforts to promote a music-centered working environment.
How to get a job at Spotify music industry
As Spotify pushes on with its diversification plans across its platforms, it needs to hire new talent. However, getting a job at Spotify is incredibly hard as you are competing with thousands of applicants for a few dozen roles.
Most of the open positions at Spotify are in their largest offices in Stockholm, London, and New York. Thankfully the company does offer great relocation packages to settle out-of-state employees and their families.
Let’s break down the job application process at Spotify and how you can improve your chances of landing a job at Spotify;
Research for the dream job you are applying for
When looking for a job to apply for, you must confirm that the position is available, visit Spotify’s career page and go through the available roles. You should then ask yourself whether the position you want to apply for matches your expertise and interests. These pistons also list the required qualifications that you need to fulfil to become eligible for the role.
Remember, just because your academic qualifications match the job description doesn’t mean it’s the right position for you. Ask yourself what gets you excited, what challenges you, and what you would want your impact to be on the company.
Draft the perfect resume
The only way recruiters are going to notice you from the thousands of applications they go through each day is by making them see how great you are. Draft a new resume that’s straight to the point and easy to read. It should clearly state your best achievements and the qualities that best fit the role you are applying for.
Remember to use bullet points when listing accomplishments and summarizing your accomplishments in previous positions. The perfect resume should communicate who you are, your accomplishments and capabilities, and your future career goals.
Prepare for the interviews.
While preparing for the Spotify interviews, you will need to get to know the company. Start by researching the job descriptions and band manifesto, which outlines the company’s mission, culture, beliefs, and values. The company also puts a lot of emphasis on diversity and employees feeling that they belong at the company.
You will also need to learn how Spotify hires its employees. This involves reading about what it takes to be a great culture add to the company and what it means to be good at what you do. Make sure that these values align with your life aspirations, personality, and values.
During Spotify’s hiring process, you may be asked how you prioritize your sources of joy, so it won’t hurt to do some introspection beforehand as part of the interview preparations.
Pass the interviews
After reviewing all applications, the Spotify recruiters will contact qualifying candidates via phone call, Linkedin message, or email to invite them to the first round of interviews. The only way to progress beyond this point is by putting your best foot forward and acing the interviews.
As with most technical roles, there’s no winging it; how much you practice will determine how well you get to articulate your story and answer the questions. While you may have rehearsed your story, you have to be authentic dont paint a conny picture of life.
Video or telephone interview and portfolio review
The initial video or telephone interview process with a Sptofy recruiter is all about going through your resume to ascertain that you are who you claim to be. The interview is more of a chat about you, your background, portfolio review, and the role you are applying for.
In-house interview process
Candidates who pass the telephone interview get invited for the second round of interviews, which are often conducted face to face with two talent acquisition team members. Depending on the role, you may have to go through multiple in-house interviews with several band members across the Spotify business.
During the interview, you can expect questions that test whether your values align with Spotify’s values and how you take ownership of your work. The panel will also gauge how adaptable, collaborative, and self-driven you are.
Decision step of the hiring process
After the final interview in Spotify’s hiring process, successful applicants can expect to hear back from the hiring managers after a few days. Your recruiter will contact you and send you the job offer unlocking the negotiations phase.
Spotify offers flexible share incentives, global parental leave, employee assistance programs, flexible public holidays, and extensive learning opportunities to all employees.
Tech jobs at Spotify
Senior data scientist
National median wage (2021): $100,910
Data scientists rely on data to explain trends and phenomena in the data to draw useful insights that help a company make better decisions.
Spotify relies on data scientists to understand how the music streaming business is performing and understanding what its subscribers like. The insights garnered from data science help the platform to serve the right content to its subscribers and develop key products for future growth.
Spotify uses a data-based decision-making process to create the best experience for its creators and listeners. Data scientists also work alongside the project manager and marketing department to gather and analyze data points in demographics, perceptions, attitudes, and economics to target potential customers with the best-fitting content.
A strong coding background is required for a data scientist role with deep knowledge in Python, Scala, Java, C++, or R. A bachelor’s degree in computer science or a related field will also improve your chances during the hiring process. Completing a coding bootcamp in visualization tools such as Data Studio, D3 or Tableau will also put you ahead of the competition.
Backend engineers
National median wage (2021): $115,550
Backend engineers design, build and maintain server-side web apps and proprietary software structures on which a company’s online services run. Back-end developers work with the software development teams to code server scripts, APIs, and business logic.
Spotify is constantly hiring backend engineers to provide solutions and expertise in securing its server-end technology environment and optimizing service delivery. This role also involves building protocols for flexible flows across various device architectures and scaling highly distributed systems.
Besides a bachelor’s degree in computer science or relevant fields, the backend engineer role requires strong coding skills in Python, Java, or Scala. Demonstrable experience building scalable backend systems and data pipelines is also a must-have.
Android and iOS engineers
National median wage (2021): $109,020
Spotify’s largest user base is on Android and iOS devices, so it needs Android and iOS engineers to design and develop the mobile apps for these platforms.
Beyond writing the code for the smartphone apps, a software engineer also works on the recommendation and personalization systems that deliver unique content to each listener.
iOS and Android engineers play a critical role in the teams that build Home user interfaces and improve user experience on the platform. This role also involves building new features and extending continuous development and integration systems on supported mobile devices at scale.
A deep understanding of iOS and Android development tools is a must if you want to apply for the role. You will also need to demonstrate your fluency in coding during the hiring process, especially in Java, C++, and Objective-C programming languages. iOS and Android engineers also need experience in testing, debugging, and monitoring the performance of mobile apps.
Machine learning engineers
National median wage (2021): $131,490
Machine learning engineers research and artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms that automate predictive models. Companies that deal with large data sets often require machine learning to analyze the data and make insightful predictions.
The Spotify listening experience relies heavily on machine learning to find what every listener prefers and deliver content recommendations that are perfect for each listener.
Spotify’s advertising team also relies on machine learning to understand what’s being said in the audio content to serve ads that align with the content the user is listening to.
Getting a machine learning engineering role at Spotify requires hands-on experience working with PyTorch, Tensorflow, and scaling machine learning systems in Python. Expertise in natural language understanding (NLU) and agile software development practices using deep learning algorithms is also highly recommended.
Web developers
National median wage (2021): $100,670
Web developers design and build websites that are visually appealing and responsive. Back-end web developers write code and create the structure of websites. They also manage access points for all users with permission to manage the website’s content.
Front-0end web developers work on the visitor-facing side of the website, where they mostly code and optimize the interface’s visual and interactive parts. On the other hand, full-stack developers work on both front-end and back-end development and are often hired to work on projects that don’t require both teams.
Spotify web developers work on web solutions that integrate into the platform and provide large-scale web-based technologies. Web developers work alongside multi-functional engineering teams and designers to build -backend and frontend services. This job at Spotify requires deep knowledge of CSS, HTML and using development tools in TypeScript and Node.js.
Conclusion
Spotify is one of the best places to work if you are a tech graduate, but the fundamental question is how to get a job at Spotify. Due to the high demand for jobs at Spotify and the large number of job seekers, the chances of landing a job at Spotify are low, and the Spotify hiring process is stringent. The best way to improve your chances includes customizing your cover letter and resume to show your best qualities and expertise in the role you are applying for.
Potential Spotify employees must also show their love for the tech and music industry, as that’s what you will be dealing with for the most part. Spotify offers great salary benefits to its employees, and its work culture fully supports career growth.