Reedsy Software Engineer Interview Questions
& Process

So Reedsy's hiring process is pretty automated, kinda not personal. First, you have a quick 15-min chat with a recruiter, they ask basic stuff but don't seem super techy. It's like a quick check, and if they like you, you get a coding test. This test is to build a Ruby on Rails app with three APIs, but it's really open-ended, you're not sure what they want. It's like a black box, and how they judge it depends on the reviewer. They usually get back the next day with pros and cons, but even small cons can get you rejected, no matter the good stuff. Honestly, it feels like a lot of effort for something that usually ends with an automated email instead of a real chat. They seem like a friendly company online, but the hiring process feels really robotic and not very human.

I was contacted through a startup website. First, they asked me some questions about the company, then I was sent a challenge. If hired, they said I'd be paid €500 for it. I received everything via email. I spent 3 days on the challenge and sent it back with extra features. The next business day, they emailed back in a really bad tone, focusing on how I made the app more complete than asked for. They also said I made serious errors with fonts and shadows, even though I was replicating a .png image. It felt like a waste of time and was in bad taste. After looking into the company, I saw a former employee said they post fake job openings to get insights from applicants. I don't get how that's allowed, but I hope it doesn't happen to others.

I was contacted via AngelList. Before anything else, I had to complete some unpaid tasks and build a small app, which took about 2 days. After that, I met the CEO and some future colleagues. This first call was followed by a second one soon after, where I spoke with the CTO and another potential teammate. I never heard back after the second call. I had to schedule all the calls myself, which was a bit weird but fine. The CEO was evasive when I asked about vacation and overtime, saying it was too early to discuss. What really got me was that they didn't even send a rejection email.