x1 hr pairing - break with a go or no-go decision if you didn't do too well in the first stage x1 hr technical discussions x 0.5hr culture fit Felt good about the test and the developers who I was going to work with were great to pair with - I blanked on a basic percentage check but was able to roll through it and complete the task... all down to the professional and chill manner of the devs. The other stages are just general questions, ascertaining how you'd fit into the team, what your strengths and assets are etc. I consider myself a pretty honest and outgoing person, so that's why I was surprised at the feedback. There were some slip-ups on my part, but I felt were justified and I was given the impression that I had recovered from them... but apparently not. The feedback afterwards I had to ask for after the classic: "you're not right for this role", and even then, it was dreadful. No positives, only badly contextualised negatives. Example: When have you made a mistake and what would you do differently? My answer: I didn't rely on testing in a previous job ages ago, did the regression testing myself and didn't think to give it to a colleague to look over because there was a tight mvp and I just wanted to get it done since there had already been a lot of scope-creep. When it went down I was the first one to take responsibility and fix the problem. What I would do differently would have been to make sure it was fully tested, peer reviewed etc. Their feedback: He said there was a lack of other processes and did not actually take ownership of the mistake. There were tonnes of examples like this. Ultimately, 3 hour interviews are nerve-racking, and you're not going to get to know someone in that time, but their vague questions might be there to trick you out... it felt very natural at the time to openly talk about things, and be ok to jet off in tangents if the flow takes you... but apparently not. I'm a senior engineer in my current role, even going for Lead positions and have had good feedback. A very confusing and disingenuous process.