Bestow Interview Questions
& Process

It kicked off with a recruiter reaching out via email, and then I had a hiring manager interview scheduled. Honestly, that interview was a preview of what was to come. The HM was super late, like 15-20 mins, so I bounced after 15 and then came back 10 mins later just to see if they'd show. They did. It was pretty standard, talking about my background, experience, and learning about the role. A bit weird and disorganized, but I figured it was just a one-off. After that, I had two technical interviews back-to-back. They weren't LeetCode style, more about implementation. One involved a SQL setup where I had to do some basic joins in Postgres and write a function to do a specific task. The next round was similar but more advanced. Then came the system design round, which was the usual setup, recognizable if you've used hellointerview. I actually tried to play it cool by 'discovering' some aspects instead of just stating them, which was a mistake. Better to just jump in and talk it through. The cross-functional round was also pretty much what I expected. The biggest issue was the massive delay in getting any feedback, over 3 weeks. During that time, I interviewed elsewhere, got offers, and even tried nudging them about my status. Basically, I got down-leveled, which apparently threw my application into chaos and caused confusion about where I'd fit. The whole thing dragged on forever, from early January to late February. I was genuinely interested and considered the down-level, but the prolonged, disjointed process made me doubt the company's overall organization. While I appreciate the recruiters trying to coordinate, a decision needs to be made.

The interview process was great up until the final (4th) interview. The first 3 rounds moved quickly and I got good feedback. The rejection was surprising. The 4th interview (a portfolio review) felt different. Maybe it was the presentation format, or the last-minute change in interviewers. It wasn't as warm or engaging, and they didn't ask many questions. The rejection email was generic, except for a comment about my storytelling and presentation not being what the team wanted. I admit it wasn't my best presentation, but it wasn't terrible either. This was a mid-level role, so I'm surprised by the high bar. I later got an offer for a principal-level role elsewhere, making this outcome strange. After 3 interviews, the team should know if a candidate is a fit. If things change drastically after a 4th interview, more specific feedback would be appreciated. The job posting was up for a while and reposted after my rejection, suggesting they might interview on a rolling basis. Despite the final round, the first 3 interviews were efficient and warm, and everyone was engaging. The design challenge was also handled well; it was a collaborative co-design session, not a take-home, and the prompt was unrelated to their product, focusing on problem-solving.

Applied for this role and the whole interview process took about a month. It started with a phone screen, then a chat with the engineering manager, followed by some questions on Woven. After that, there was an onsite interview which involved talking to 4-6 people, covering design, whiteboard exercises, coding, another chat with the manager, and a discussion with the CTO. The entire process felt like it was drawn out. I completed all the interviews and the recruiter seemed really enthusiastic. A few days later, I heard nothing back. Honestly, save your time and avoid this company.

The interview process was good and professional. The main issue was the technical assessment using Woven. It was a timed 90-minute challenge with fairly easy problems. I felt the time constraint wasn't realistic and I couldn't finish even though the problems were easy. In real software development, it's easy to make a mistake or get stuck, and the lack of a way to ask for clarification made it feel like a school test. I don't think they got a good sense of my technical skills from this. The technical interview with the dev manager was mostly high-level discussions about software development and processes, not very technical. I left feeling they didn't have a clear picture of my abilities. Despite this, everyone was friendly and it seems like a great company. I would interview again if given the chance.