Very Interview Questions
& Process

The interview process was pretty wild. I was glad to be considered, but the initial HR call was abrupt, with no greeting and straight into questions. It improved when I talked to the hiring manager. They gave me a take-home assignment to create a 90-day plan. My plan wasn't what they were looking for, as we discussed on Zoom. I thought my strategy was sound, but the manager disagreed. Oh well, I lost the competition fair and square and was happy to reach the final stage. What was disappointing was not getting a thank you from the manager for the plan I worked on. I only received a generic HR email. The HR person's lack of basic pleasantries might reflect the company culture. They also don't have a sales team, which they seem proud of, yet they aim to scale. Currently, the CEO handles all leads, which isn't scalable. Still, I wish them success.

The whole thing took about 3 weeks and had a few steps. It was pretty quick and HR kept in touch to let me know what was up. First, a 30-min HR recruiter call to check if my skills matched the job. Then, a 30-min technical pre-screen with someone from the tech management team to dig into skills and see if I'd fit in. After that, a 1-hr technical interview with my future peers. Before this, I had to do a take-home project that they reviewed. They said it'd take a few hours, but to do it well, I ended up spending 10-15 hours on it. This interview had some behavioral questions and then a deep dive into the project, with lots of good back-and-forth discussion. Next was a 1-hr presentation interview where I had to talk about a past project. Prep time varies depending on your experience, but I'd guess a few hours. You get uninterrupted time to present, then Q&A. The team was friendly. Finally, if all went well, a 1-hr interview with the C-suite for those last challenging behavioral questions. The leaders were engaging.

The interview process was really straightforward and well-organized. It was broken down into four stages, and they were very transparent about what each of the interviews would entail. This transparency made the whole experience much easier to navigate and less intimidating, as I knew what to expect from each new interview. I also appreciated the constant communication the team maintained throughout the process, so I was never left in the dark about my status.

Saw job posting on LinkedIn, applied, I actually aligned really well. They had a few similar job titles with the same description. HR interview was a day after applying, VP was next and that happened two days after HR. This was odd, they asked me which role I was best suited for, then that original title changed to something else. I vibed well with both, they said the interview process was as follows: HR VP/Manager Technical Interview with Team Presentation to Executive Committee Interview with CEO Every stage of interviews kept saying how fast they were growing, and how desperately they needed folks. After the VP interview, HR sent out a design project and technical interview invite right after. It was the Friday afternoon before a 3-Day weekend, and they scheduled this on Tuesday during lunch. I asked to move it back a couple days since I was out of town - that was no problem on their end. The design project they sent was titled for an entry level position, and was outdated. Stating to spend 2-4hrs on it. I asked if this was even correct and they said yes. I went above and beyond on the project, delivered on every "nice to have" they asked for. The interview itself was also very basic. I study 30 generic questions for technical interviews, and only saw 3, which I know I answered correctly. Once again the position I was interviewing for was a new one. Everything seemed great, we laughed, we cried, nailed it, right? I asked what the next steps were, they didn't know exactly (based on the incorrect job title). 5AM the next morning I get an email saying they're pursuing others. Shocked, I asked for feedback, on where I fell short. Never got it, for a company that seemed to pride itself on making a "family" and finding the right people ... they can't even return the favor. Probably dodged a bullet, I kept asking about their projects and products, each time I got "oh, we're in IoT."