RealSelf Software Engineer Interview Questions
& Process

The interview process was really organized, clear, and straightforward. The recruiter was consistently communicating with me throughout each step, explaining the steps and how to prepare. I felt really comfortable with each part and knew what to expect. Overall there were about 4 steps. 1. Solo coding challenge. I was given about an hour to complete your typical coderpad challenge. I felt that they judged my solution fairly and cared about my comments, not just the performance of my code. 2. Phone call with recruiter. The recruiter was so friendly and asked thoughtful questions about my values. RealSelf not only cares about your ability as an engineer, but whether or not you fit into their core value system. 3. Technical phone interview. Zoom video call with two senior engineers where I was presented with a coding problem. They were really considerate and helpful. They seemed to genuinely care about my performance and were interested in how I was solving the problem. I found the problem to be very fair, maybe a bit on the easy side, but overall a good problem for someone who is already nervous trying to perform in front of other people. 4. Interview loop. This took about 5 hours and I met with a total of 8 people. They all seemed excited and interested in me, it was really refreshing and honestly a fun day. It was tiring of course, but I enjoyed speaking with the different groups of people and felt they all asked great questions. They also gave me a month after giving me an offer to decide what I wanted to do. I had some other interviews/offers, as we all do when we're job hunting, so I needed some time to work out my decision. The way RealSelf presented themselves during this entire interview is part of what sold me on working for them. They treat you like a real human and not just a candidate with a number. I feel that reflects on them as a company; not only do they talk the talk but they also walk the walk.

I applied online and heard back from a recruiter after a few days. She was really nice and easy to talk to. Then I had a call with the hiring manager who mostly asked about my past projects and experience. After that, I got a coding challenge to finish and submit. I did that and sent it in on time. But then there was silence for a couple of days, even when I followed up. After about two weeks, I suddenly got an email saying the position had already been filled. It felt really unprofessional.

I applied online and the whole thing took about 6 weeks which included some holidays. Initially, I chatted with a technical recruiter about my background and career goals. After that, I was sent a coding problem via email to solve and submit online, which took me about 2 hours. The problem was quite challenging and allowed for some creativity. Then, I had a culture fit discussion with a senior software engineer. This wasn't heavily technical but involved a good conversation. The final stage was a 4-hour session with four people: a Product Manager, a Senior Software Engineer focusing on design, the VP of Engineering, and the CTO. It was a positive experience overall; everyone was polite and fostered a lot of discussion.