Earnest Software Engineer Interview Questions
& Process

The interview process is a bit different. First, you have an informal chat on-site with the CTO. Then, there's another interview with two parts: a technical part and a "cultural fit" part, each with two engineers. The tech interview involves describing your own project, which wasn't too hard, but one interviewer had a difficult personality. It felt like the senior engineers weren't very high-level, making the interview unnecessarily tense, maybe because they felt threatened. The second "cultural" part (with two junior engineers) was strange. The company is really focused on "diversity," almost suspiciously so. I was asked how I felt about working with people of a specific sexual orientation, which I found inappropriate. I think hiring should be based on skills and ability, not race, religion, or sexual orientation. The company seems to have many developers from code bootcamps and a strong "hipster" vibe.

The interview process with Earnest was a really positive experience, even though I didn't end up getting the job. It started with a chat with a recruiter, then a call with the hiring manager. After that, there was a one-hour coding phone screen with two engineers. The final stage was a half-day onsite where I met with various people, including architects, engineers, people ops, and even the CTO. The onsite included an extended version of the coding exercise from the phone screen. I learned a lot about where I need to improve my studying, especially in algorithms, data structures, and coding patterns. They were really nice throughout, and the rejection call was professional and courteous, leaving the door open for future possibilities. It was a genuinely nice experience, despite the outcome.

It started with a chat with the recruiter, then an email problem, followed by a phone interview to discuss the solution. The onsite interview had 4-5 rounds. The solution to the problem was key, as it was discussed or needed enhancement at the onsite too. The recruiter was friendly and helpful, and I enjoyed the process. All interviewers were respectful. The technical questions were relevant to their work, not random leet code stuff. A minor issue was the misleading location advertisement (San Francisco and Santa Clara, when there's no Santa Clara office), but they've since corrected it.