I’ve been talking to a prospective candidate who has been inquiring about the best way to prepare for the interview. I was surprised to see that his first email was sent in May 2022. His most recent question pertained to the interview process, and this was my response (with some additions):

Disclaimer: Much of this work is handled by our Engineering Manager and HR department as they are the leads in this process. My response is based on what I recall.

Our interview format varies depending on the level of the position. Occasionally, we may modify the process to suit a particular candidate, though this is rare.

Generally, there are there four stages:

  1. Discovery call
  2. Skills Assessment
  3. First Interview
  4. Second Interview

To keep things simple, let’s outline the procedure for Level 1 to Level 3 positions. Please note that this is based on my recollection and there may be slight inaccuracies:

  1. Apply through jobs.lever.co/coingecko

    We’ll ask you a series of questions, including some technical ones to gauge your basic knowledge of web development. It’s not uncommon for candidates to be disqualified at this stage, so be sure to answer each question thoroughly. If you don’t know the answer, invest some time in research instead of responding, “I don’t know.” Your efforts here could make all the difference.

  2. An HR representative will call you to ask a few general questions and get to know you better. We call this discovery call and I’ve seen the Engineer Manager (EM) call the candidate instead of the HR. This is more on get to know you better.

  3. Based on your application and HR interview, our Head of Engineering will decide whether to proceed with an assignment. At times, other engineers may also provide feedback. If these engineers become involved, they’ll typically stay on your panel throughout the interview stages.

    If approved, you’ll be assigned a task to complete within two weeks. I cannot emphasize enough the importance of doing well on this assignment.

  4. After submitting your assignment, we’ll review it and note our feedback internally to prepare for a video interview. Given the effort candidates put into this stage, we rarely reject anyone here.

  5. The video call will involve discussing your assignment and answering numerous technical questions. Usually, the panel will consist of four engineers, including the Head of Engineering, one Lead/Principal, and two Engineers of varying levels.

    This interview will last about two hours. The first hour will focus on your assignment and technical knowledge, while the next 45 minutes will delve into your current work and past experiences. You’ll have an opportunity to ask us any questions in the final 15 minutes. Live coding will not be required.

  6. After the interview, we’ll debrief and make a decision based on our established guidelines. The possible outcomes are: 1) Strong no hire 2) No hire 3) Hire 4) Strong hire. As you can see, the decision is binary; we either proceed or we don’t. If we decide to hire you, we’ll also discuss some of the onboarding plans and which team you will be in.

  7. Should we decide to proceed, you’ll engage in a conversation with one of our founders. This stage will not involve any technical questions. From my experience, there has been only one instance where a candidate was rejected at this juncture, making it a rare occurrence.

  8. Once he gives the go-ahead, HR will conduct their due diligence, such as reference checks. After these are completed, you’ll receive your offer letter.

By the way, all proceedings are documented in our Lever application. Thus, once onboard, the candidate can access all previous feedback.