Even Interview Questions
& Process

The interview process was pretty long. I had two phone interviews and a competency test for their chat engine, which both went okay. Then, I flew out to California for a super long interview with the whole team – it was 6 hours with 5 rounds, 2 people each round. They even flew me out for it! The last interview was with the CEO, and it was really racist and prejudice. He kept asking me questions about me being black and how that would fit in their company culture. He also asked me if I happened to meet their only African employee in the office. The CEO was cursing the whole time. It was wild! The third interview round was supposed to be 'relaxing' with lunch, but they were still asking me questions, though they said I didn't have to answer right then, which was confusing. I have no idea why they flew me all the way to California just to be subjected to a lengthy, racist interview. It was definitely not a good experience for me, and it was clear they don't interact with Black people much or educate themselves on other cultures. It was uncomfortable. The CEO was really unprofessional, cursing in the interview room. He assumed I came from a struggling background because I'm black and asked me about being successful as a Black person. I told him I've always been around successful Black people, but I wasn't sure what he was getting at. After the interview, they emailed saying I wasn't a good fit for the culture. Then, 3 days later, back in North Carolina, another recruiter contacted me from the same company asking me to interview again. I told him no, I would never go through that again. The whole thing took about 3 and a half weeks, with the initial interviews and test at home, then flying out for that 5-round interview in California, only to face racism!

So I interviewed for a Software Engineer role. The process started with a phone screen, no Leetcode here. Then there was a 1-hour coding interview where I had to find and fix bugs in a repo. The final round had four interviews. A few days before, I had a prep call to ask questions. The interviews were: 1. A 1-hour coding session to implement a new feature in a given repo. 2. A 1-hour system design interview. They emailed me saying it was front-end design, but on the prep call, they clarified it was more about front-end components. However, the interview turned out to be a standard backend system architecture/API question. The interviewer explained they hire seniors and thus focus on backend system design, calling the frontend expectation a miscommunication, which was odd given the short time between the call and interview. 3. A 45-minute behavioral interview focused on company values, using questions from a prep document. 4. A 30-minute behavioral chat with the head of engineering or similar, which was pretty relaxed, asking about a project I did and maybe more company values questions. I liked that the interviews were practical and didn't need excessive prep. They were also fast because I had an offer deadline. But the system design miscommunication needs fixing, especially for junior roles where it's tough to prep for.

The interview process at Even typically involves several stages. While not everyone's experience is identical, it usually goes something like this: First, a Phone Interview where content varies by interviewer; definitely do your homework on the company and check out the Even blog. Then, a Second Phone Interview follows, with the same advice as the first. Next, you'll encounter a Short Answer Questionnaire. When answering, just be yourself and keep it concise. It's also a good idea to have someone else proofread your grammar and punctuation before submitting. After that, there's a Customer Support Test. For this part, you'll respond to Even Member support inquiries on Slack as if you were an Even Advisor. It's a simulated environment with made-up customers and issues, but the questions are based on real team experiences. This stage is designed to assess your preparation and performance under pressure, so reviewing the provided documentation beforehand is crucial. Finally, expect an On-site Interview. This day is usually quite long, likely involving about five different 1:1 or Panel interviews, each lasting around an hour. Remember, this is a two-way street; it's as much about you assessing Even as it is about them assessing you, so be sure to prepare plenty of questions.

The whole process was super transparent, which was great. I also liked the anonymity in the first few steps. First, you submit written answers to a questionnaire. This shows off your writing and grammar and tells them about you without revealing who you are. Then, there's an Advisor Chat Challenge. It's like a real-world day as a Member Advisor, where you answer common questions and deal with a typical customer situation. After that, a phone interview, and then an on-site interview.