The interview process with Ellation is very similar to other tech companies in the Bay Area:
1) Informal email/outreach followed by a brief phone conversation/phone screen.
2) If that goes well, submit your job application/resume and you will get scheduled for a tech phone screen.
3) After the tech phone screen, you will get a technical problem to solve. The type of problem and the amount of time is probably subject to change. I was offered my choice of an Ops oriented challenge or a Dev oriented challenge and took both. (The more the merrier!)
4) Your problem challenge answers will be reviewed and if they are accepted, you will be invited in for an onsite interview. (This role was based out of San Francisco, CA, so it was onsite for me.)
5) The onsite interview takes the normal 1-2 people at a time session and about 45 minutes per session with there being 3 or more sessions with a lunch break and a tour of the SF offices.
6) After the onsite interview, you will be notified whether the process will move forward or not.
7) Assuming the process moves forward, you would talk about compensation and get an offer letter.
8) Become a happy employee!
While my breakdown listed above is very "just the facts", I have to say that my interview at Ellation has been one of the most compelling experiences in a long time.
Some things that Ellation seriously does right when hiring:
* Amazing contact maintenance and follow-through. Their talent team is just amazing and gets a 10/10 from me for their continued patience with my questions, their professional friendliness, and the sheer passion they radiate for their job and the company.
* The tech challenge questions have both specifics and generics incorporated and does a good job of probing a candidate's ability to get the job done.
* The interview process was very friendly and isn't a high pressure style of interviewing. The questioning style begins with a distinct starting point and followup questions probe out a candidate's experience level and understanding of the issues at hand.
* Did I mention that their talent team's follow through is amazing!?
* The people I talked with at the SF office were very passionate about the genre(Anime/Manga) and if you love garage kits and super cute plushies... this is the working environment for you. There is even a corgi in the office... A CORGIE!!! *sigh*
For me, I really enjoyed the entire interview and hiring process. Everyone(Tiffany, you rock, btw!) was super friendly and I felt that the only issue which prevented me from joining this amazing team was the commute(I live in SouthBay) and had gotten a very generous offer from another company. :(
If you live in SF, are passionate about Anime/Manga/etc., would love to work with passionate and active people, and want to work at an office that's located right next door to an entire Westfield Mall, and the nearest BART station is just across the street.... this is the place for you!