Medium Software Engineer Interview Questions
& Process

The interview experience was pretty good and felt empathetic. It started with a phone screen with the hiring manager, then an online coding assessment that was practical and interesting, followed by an onsite interview. The onsite involved a coding question that was quite easy and mainly checked for code cleanliness, and a systems design question which was good and practical, though I felt it was a bit vague about their expectations. The whole process was good, the only downside was the 4-week wait to hear back. I didn't get an offer, probably because my systems design interview wasn't strong enough, but I have no hard feelings and would interview again.

I was really excited about Medium since I use it everyday and decided to apply. The recruiter reached out and we started the process. They first asked me to do a technical screen on-site because I was nearby, which I thought would be great. That screen went well, and I met some really cool people. Then came the main on-site interview. I had read their engineering blogs about their interview process, and it sounded awesome and different from traditional interviews. I felt a real connection to the company and its culture and was eager to learn more. But it turned out to be misleading. They asked me two technical questions (tic-tac-toe, hangman) and a system design question (design an elevator?), which wasn't what I expected based on their blogs. I did my best, but a week later, I got a generic rejection saying they found someone better. I never even got to talk to the recruiter before, during, or after the interview. Usually, companies give feedback on how to improve, but not at Medium. I'm disappointed with the whole experience; it felt like a lot of talk but no substance.

So, the first step was a recruiter phone screen, just to see if I was a good fit. The person was nice and answered my questions. Then I had a take-home exercise which was relevant to the actual job and had automated tests. I passed that. Next, I spoke with the person who would be my manager about my background and culture fit, with typical STAR questions. I passed that too. After that was a 5-hour virtual onsite, which I could have split over two days but chose not to. This included behavioral interviews with the VP of Engineering, a Product Manager, and my potential direct manager. There was also a live coding session in Coderpad, which was part solo coding and part pair programming, and I solved both problems within the time limit, using Google for documentation as needed. The problems were relevant to the work. Finally, there was a Systems Design interview where I had to design a typical feature. The problems were fair and the people were great. I was rejected in the end, but that's fine. However, when I asked for feedback to improve, I was told they don't provide any. If they had given even a little feedback, especially after I spent so much time on the interviews and take-home, I would have rated the experience better. I will think twice about applying again because I don't want to invest over 12 hours just to get a generic rejection.