I've started writing a book to give an "inside out" view on the tech interview process. I still remember when I was doing my first interviews, not really knowing what to expect. Then, how I read up what the interview format is like at places like Facebook and different unicorns - going through lots of blog posts, some that contradicted each others.
Right now I'm a hiring manager and I've done hundreds of interviews the past years at large tech companies and startups. And when I talk with people about the interview process, they usually find it fascinating when I explain how recruiters work - and what their motivation is -, why coding itself is not the only thing you want to optimize for, ways people often fail the recruiter screen or how you can (and should) negotiate when you have an offer.
If you had access to a great tech recruiter, a hiring manager, and a technical interviewer, what questions would you ask them? What would you like to know more about, to help more both with your preparation, and your confidence in understanding the process, "behind the scenes"?
Top comments (2)
Each company has their own interview process: but most are pretty similar in their elements that you can prepare for. This is based on both my experience working at different companies, talking with multiple tech recruiters who have worked at dozens at different companies (from the FANG ones to unicorns, startups or at non-tech companies hiring developers), and taking with agencies who advise companies on their recruitment processes.
Most developer interview processes consist of an CV review, an initial phone screen (recruiter or hiring manager), a technical phone screen and the on-site with 2-6 interviews. The one thing that is a variable is a take home and/or coding challenge before the onsite, at different parts in some companies’ process.
I’d love to hear your experience with the interview process though. Do you see any similarities between processes or do they all seem different?
I’d love to hear what your experience is - happy to chat directly as well.
I get my numbers from the 15+ tech recruiters and hiring managers I’ve talked with who recruited for 100+ companies across the US, Europe (Spain, UK, Italy, France, Netherlands, Germany, Hungary, Bulgaria, Greece), India, for the “big” ones (Google, Facebook, Amazon, Microsoft etc), for unicorns, for banks, for non-tech companies (eg automotive, pharma, manufacturing), for startups big and small and for 10-100 dev local companies outside tech hubs I never heard up until I looked them up.
I am sure this is not 100% representative for the whole industry, and I’d love to learn how other companies approach hiring.