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Honest advice to ace the hardest remote work interview (at Toptal)

Carlos Roso on May 01, 2020

A few years ago, I wrote an article on how I got into the most exclusive remote work platforms and it got a fair amount of attention. Since then, I...
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Emma Goto 🍙

I was curious and took a look at some of the developers available for hire in my country on Toptal and some of them are actually working full-time at companies, and I suppose must be doing this part-time on the side.

Do you know how well that would work in practice? Do companies allow you to only work nights and weekends?

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Carlos Roso

Yeah, right. It all depends on the type of contract you want.

You can set your availability to full time, part-time or hourly. I, for instance, have had all kinds of engagements. Right now I'm working an hourly job, needed to get some rest, but the last 2 years I worked full time on one of them.

You can definitely find companies that allow you to work only at nights or on weekends.

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Emma Goto 🍙

Nice! I am slightly intrigued, maybe I will give the interview a go some day.

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Carlos Roso

Absolutely! Good luck :D

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Ankit Brahmbhatt

I just gave the codility test and 5 minutes later I recieved an email from a technical screener with initial lines
"The next step in the process is to schedule some time to conduct a technical interview and validate your results" .
Did i just clear the codility test ? or the line "validate your result" means that it will be declared in the next interview ?

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Carlos Roso

It means you cleared the first step, you got it! Now you'll go onto the next phase which is the live screening where they will ask you about the algorithms you implemented in the codility test and will ask you 2 more algorithms. Good luck!

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sjamr10

Thanks Carlos, I really apprecciate the advice you give us. Let me also add codewars.com, I think that's one of the best sites to improve your knowledge of different languages. And I recommend Python as a language to do the coding tests, it's probably the best given its concise sintax (less time typing, more time to think).

A good roadmap would be something like:

  • Become proficient with a language (Python is a very good option) using Codewars
  • Become an expert in Algorithms and Data Structures using Leetcode and/or Hackerrank (Codewars will also help you with that though)

I also reccommend Project Euler if you want to improve with math problems, that sometimes you get.

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Carlos Roso

Thanks for the recommendation. I'll definitely start recommending codewars for this purpose.

+1 for Python and Project Euler too!

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András Novoszáth

Hi Carlos,

Nice article, thanks!

I was wondering about your thoughts on codility lessons. How do the 'Painless' and 'Respectable' lessons compare to the Hackerrank's 'easy' ones you mention?

Are the Toptal tests substantially different from these specific lessons?

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Joseph Lozano

What are the benefits of working with Toptal?

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Carlos Roso

I'd summarize them as:

  • Pre-vetted clients. You get to work for well-established companies. They don't only filter applicants, but companies as well so you get legit work.
  • High rates, much better than the majority of remote work platforms. You can actually set your own rate.
  • Flexibility in the type of contract. You can choose whether to work full time, part-time, or hourly.
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Odilon Jonathan Kröger

Amazing article! Very informative. :D
Thanks!

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Carlos Roso

Glad you found it helpful!

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Hamza Ataboh

I have my technical interview for Toptal on Wednesday. Hope I ace it :D