Substantial Interview Questions
& Process

The interview process dragged on for over two months, even with a hiring pause in between. After restarting, I went through four separate interview rounds, each lasting an hour and seeming quite unprepared. I ended up asking more questions than the interviewers! It also felt like they were intimidated by me being the only technical person on the team. It was a terrible and unstructured process overall. BEWARE

Applied online for a remote position, but it was posted for months, which was a red flag. Took a week to get a response, and the phone screen happened 2.5 weeks later. The company mentioned expanding remote roles but hadn't figured out the details like travel, communication plans, or remote in-person interviews. I gave them the benefit of the doubt, thinking 'startup' issues. They mentioned a 'code challenge' would follow, another red flag. Two weeks later, the moderately complex code challenge arrived. I spent 3-4 hours coding and sent it back. A week later, they said the team was looking at it. Another week passed with no response, so I asked about it, but they ignored my email for a week. They ghosted me for over two weeks after I sent the code. I assumed they weren't interested and moved on. A week later, they emailed saying my code was good, but they decided the role shouldn't be remote and they wanted local candidates instead, which they had been considering during the process without telling me. This was surprising since the role had been remote for 9 months. It seems like they started hiring before figuring out the job details. Companies should be clear about their needs before posting jobs and asking candidates to do unpaid work, especially when the job's remote status is uncertain. Pros: culture seemed cool, people were polite and fun, work looked interesting, company felt like a fun 'boutique' place. Cons: hiring process showed confusion about direction and needs, like a ship without navigation. They seem to post jobs without being sure of what they want or need. It appears they've gotten ahead of themselves. It's a shame because the company looks promising, but I'd ask lots of questions and ensure they are certain about their needs before investing time. Everything seems fluid and uncertain, which isn't good. I wish them luck, but improving communication, organizing hiring, clarifying needs, and planning before recruiting would help their future success and reputation.

The interview process was great. I had the initial phone interview with the director of development and connected instantly. From there I was asked to do a small coding project at home (2-4 hours). It was easy enough to complete quickly, but challenging enough to show off your skills as a developer. Once they reviewed my code, I was invited to their office for a half-day of interviews. We got to spend more time on the code I had written and added features. Since I was from out of town, the offer came really quickly. Overall, I was pleased.

I had to do a coding challenge where I ranked soccer league scores. Then there was a bunch of interviews. I talked to the company founder, two devs who reviewed and improved my code, and two designers. We brainstormed an idea for a kids' web browser. Some engineers also took me to lunch to chat.