Knotch Interview Questions
& Process

I applied to Knotch and was sent a request to answer a few questions before interviewing with/hearing from an actual person in the company. I declined due to the amount of scamming going around, but the recruiter offered to meet with me before doing the video to make more comfortable. The company knew what industries I worked on, and knew that they were looking for someone who had experience in industries I did not work in; yet they still pursued me after I declined doing the video. We scheduled time to speak over zoom and I ended up speaking with the recruiter AND their lawyer/DEI person. The entire time the recruiter did not speak a word, and I was only spoken at not spoken to, nor did I really have an opportunity to really speak. When the person was done talking, I finally just said I haven't sold into the industries that they were looking for; and was a deal breaker if you hadn't sold into those industries. It was a waste of time and terrible experience since they knew before they scheduled time that I did not have the experience they were looking for.

First, there was a recruiter screen, the usual one. Then, a manager interview, which was more about getting to know the team and the projects I'd be working on. After that, I had an interview with a VP. Following that was a Senior Software Engineer interview, which felt more like a behavioral interview than a technical one this time. Finally, there was a take-home assignment.

I applied on their website and about a week later got a call from the HR rep. The first call was about 35-40 mins, asking things like why I wanted to work at Knotch, and why content marketing. It was pretty conversational, and the rep, Alex, was great to talk to. He made sure I knew it was a serious interview though, and seemed really invested in whether I was a good fit for Knotch. He also made sure I had time to ask my own questions. He told me on the phone that I'd get a writing assignment, due in a week. After I sent it in, I was told I'd hear back in about a week. Unfortunately, I didn't get to move on to the next stage because they offered the job to someone else who accepted. Alex did mention beforehand that the next steps would have been a call with the head of communications, followed by an in-person interview with them. Even though I was bummed, I was also really impressed with how nice Alex was to work with and how the assignment helped me get a real feel for the job. I wish them the best!

I had several interviews with the technical team, all of whom were really helpful. There were 3 technical interviews, then one with the product manager, and one with the VP. After that, I got a take-home data science project which I submitted and then discussed with 3 people. I also interviewed with HR. They actually did a reference check. It was a really thorough process. What really stood out to me was that the initial interviews were more about getting to know me and my personality, rather than the typical intense technical interviews you'd expect for this kind of job. I've interviewed with other companies where the first meeting was a 30-minute CoderPad session just to see if I could write code I'd never use in a real job. If I passed that, I could move on, no matter who I was. Knotch was different. They first assessed if I'd fit their culture before moving to technical aspects. I appreciated their approach.