Outschool Interview Questions
& Process

It was a 5-interview process. Started with the recruiter, then the hiring manager, followed by some team members, and finished with the hiring manager again. I had to create a presentation about a marketing strategy. The instructions were very brief, not really specifying what they wanted to see. I put a lot of time into the presentation and interviews, over 10 hours total. They barely talked about the presentation in the meeting, maybe 5 minutes max. It felt like a long process, but the company seems great. The recruiter was good.

First interview was with an Engineering manager (not for the team I was interviewing for). We talked about my background, what I look for in a job, salary expectations, and why I was interested in Outschool. Then there was a technical assessment. They said it would be a practical problem their teams had faced, but it turned out to be an interval intersection question, just using their business terms. It was a LeetCode-style problem, not the React implementation I was expecting. I didn't do well on this part because I wasn't ready for that kind of question. I asked for feedback on how to improve, but they didn't give any.

So the process starts with a chat with the hiring manager, who really grills you. Then, they offer you a paid design exercise, which is work directly related to the team you'd be joining (search and discovery). They pay $500 for it, but honestly, I think they're fishing for ideas that are worth way more than that, which is just my opinion. I finished it faster than they expected and felt like I really nailed it. The recruiter ghosted me after, and even though I emailed the hiring manager after the exercise, I got a generic rejection. This was after they seemed to connect with me for over an hour in our first 1:1, which felt misleading. I'd avoid this place; it feels like a disingenuous way to get new ideas on the cheap. They've been 'hiring' for this role forever, and it seems like they just use standard templates to pay people for these exercises. They're preying on designers in this tough market.

My application and in-house interview process with Outschool was top-notch. I heard back quickly, communication was clear, and everyone I met was pleasant and professional. The team was organized and coordinated; no questions were repeated, and each interview was valuable for both me and them. Outschool treated me well and let me interview them too. I highly recommend them. The process involved: Application, Phone interview with Recruiter, a block of 2nd stage interviews (product demo, with Head of People Ops, with relevant colleagues, technical exercises, and a Recruiter wrap-up), and a Final stage interview with the CEO. I received a Letter of Interest the same day as the final interview.