Katkat

real interview stories, told over a cup of tea ♡

Interview Experiences

3935 interview stories from candidates at 857 companies: how each round went, what was asked and how it ended. Every company page links to practice questions in the same style.

3935
Experiences
857
Companies
532
Offers

3935 results

  • Great Feedback, Then the Role Vanished in a Re-orgDoorDash · Software Engineer · Onsite · May 2026

    Hey everyone, I went through the DoorDash loop around two months ago. It ended up bittersweet, but I still count it as a win for me. Application A referral got me in for the Software Engineer, Product role (E4), and the recruiter got back to me about what came next. Technical screen The opening round was what they call a code craft round. They hand you a practical problem and you solve it with al…

  • HackerRank OA, Then a Three-Round SuperdayJ.P. Morgan · Software Engineer · Onsite · May 2026
    Offer

    Hi everyone, I began preparing in January 2026 while holding down a full-time backend job. I had big plans, but the start was rough. Amazon and Google both turned me down early in the process. It stung a lot, though looking back it showed me exactly where I was weak. A JPMorgan Chase recruiter found me through my Naukri profile and contacted me about an Experienced Software Engineer opening. We f…

  • Half-Hour Online Round of Code Review and Design QuestionsMercor · Software Engineer · Technical Screen · May 2026
    In progress

    Writing up an earlier Mercor fullstack round. It was online, about half an hour, and after I passed I got an onsite. It was mostly reading code to find problems and talking about design. I'm putting this together from my notes, so the order may not match what actually happened. Payment API Code that first calls an external provider to charge the customer, then writes a record to our own database.…

  • Headway Software Engineer interview with a three-part virtual onsiteHeadway · Software Engineer · Technical Screen · May 2026

    After an initial recruiter conversation, the process moved into a technical screen and then a virtual onsite. The recruiter call stood out because it walked me through what would happen next and helped set expectations for the final loop. The technical screen focused on live problem solving with algorithms and data structures. I was expected to finish the task and communicate clearly as I worked.…

  • HubSpot Account Executive: mock cold call and manager role playsHubSpot · Account Executive · HR Screen · May 2026

    I interviewed for the HubSpot Account Executive role. The process was generally straightforward and well explained, with a consistent focus on sales execution over roughly three to four weeks. The recruiter screen was a short call about my background and motivation, along with high-level questions about KPIs, daily work, perks, compensation, and the interview flow. The mock cold call or role play…

  • HubSpot Solutions Engineer: CodeSignal round followed by a long waitHubSpot · Solutions Engineer · HR Screen · May 2026
    Rejected

    After an initial screening, I moved into a CodeSignal round, and the process felt quick. The recruitment team was responsive, and it didn't take long to get from the first screen to the CodeSignal stage. The experience felt smooth overall, but I never reached a later stage and eventually received a rejection. On my second attempt, the recruiter asked general questions along with questions about m…

  • IC4 Rejection, IC3 Downgrade, and RelocationOracle · Software Engineer · Onsite · May 2026
    Withdrew

    Because the interview happened several months ago, I do not remember the exact timeline very clearly. Phone Screen Implement a service that supports: generate(token_id, time): create a token whose TTL expires at time. renew(token_id, time): refresh the token's TTL so that it expires at time. count(time): return the number of tokens that have not expired at time. BQ1: Tell me about a time when sim…

  • Klaviyo Data Scientist interview after a referral and team reassignmentKlaviyo · Data Scientist · May 2026

    I applied online with a referral, and a recruiter contacted me shortly afterward. The timing felt a little unusual because I’d just interviewed with another team, and it seemed that the result of that process influenced what happened next. My impression was that they’d decided internally that I might be a better fit for a different team, even though nobody from the first team had the authority to…

  • Klaviyo Software Engineer interview, CodeSignal unlock sequenceKlaviyo · Software Engineer · Online Assessment · May 2026

    I applied, and the recruiter reached out quickly by email and through the candidate portal. The recruiter call was easy and straightforward, and they accommodated my timeline so I could move directly to an assessment through CodeSignal. The assessment worked like an online unlock sequence. Getting a full score on one problem allowed me to move to the next. I didn’t pass overall, but I was told th…

  • Klaviyo Software Engineer interview: CodeSignal assessment and production-focused final roundKlaviyo · Software Engineer · Online Assessment · May 2026

    My interview process started with a recruiter call and then moved to a CodeSignal assessment. I found the assessment manageable as long as I had practiced the kinds of tasks used in these formats. It focused more on realistic coding than strict LeetCode patterns. The recruiter screen was straightforward. The final interview moved away from pure DSA questions and focused on the day-to-day work of…

  • L4 Onsite, Rejected After Falling Back to Brute ForceGoogle · Software Engineer · Onsite · May 2026
    Rejected

    I interviewed for Google L4 a few months ago and got rejected after the onsite coding rounds. Sharing it here as a reference for anyone coming after me. R1: Merge two nodes (each node has three fields: name, value, children). The core rule is to use t1's node order but t2's node values. 1. In the merged node, name comes from t1 and value comes from t2. 2. Children with the same name are matched o…

  • Load Balancer Deep-Dive and a One-Week OfferReddit · Backend Engineer · Technical Screen · May 2026
    Offer

    General coding 1: the Report Chain problem General coding 2: the Tennis Game problem — afterward the interviewer also chatted with me a bit about the strategy pattern Backend programming: the Load Balancer problem: It's split into four parts, and they give you a codebase. Part 1: The load balancer keeps getting error code 500. You need to find the cause — the cause is that the LB has the hostname…

  • Lockheed Martin Software Engineer interview about project work and resume experienceLockheed Martin · Software Engineer · Other · May 2026

    My first step was a conversation with a recruiter who set expectations and kept things simple. The recruiter asked basic questions about eligibility, went over my relevant experience, and introduced the business unit and the project work I'd be involved with. The atmosphere was calm, and it felt like the time was meant to help me get comfortable before moving on. After that introduction, the proc…

  • Lockheed Martin Software Engineer interview with a months-long virtual processLockheed Martin · Software Engineer · Other · May 2026

    I interviewed for a specific program and was genuinely excited because the company was one of my top choices. The interview was virtual and included multiple interviewers, but the atmosphere was uneven and made it hard to feel comfortable. Some interviewers seemed disengaged. One reacted dismissively while I was answering and kept looking elsewhere, which immediately put me off. The full process…

  • Lucid Motors Software Engineer interview: PyTorch attention and C++ codingLucid Motors · Software Engineer · Technical Screen · May 2026

    My process started with an initial coding round in PyTorch. I had to implement multi-head attention from scratch, which was more hands-on than I expected. After that, I moved into a panel-style stage with two technical interviews and two C++ LeetCode-style medium coding rounds. The pace was brisk, and the difficulty felt fairly consistent across the coding and technical discussions. Overall, it f…

  • Mempool Block-Mining Problem in the First Technical RoundCoinbase · Software Engineer · Technical Screen · May 2026

    A former coworker referred me, and HR contacted me about three weeks later. The first round was technical. Part one Cryptocurrency "mining" is the operation where a "miner" places "transactions" in a candidate "block". Each block has a fixed size B = 100. At any point in time there is a set of transactions available for mining in an unordered array called the mempool. A transaction can be describ…

  • Mercor Software Engineer interview with a five-hour virtual super dayMercor · Software Engineer · Other · May 2026
    Rejected

    My process started with a recruiter call, followed by an AI-driven stage where I answered LeetCode-style questions and additional technical prompts. After that, I went through a longer "super day" style setup. Mine was virtual and lasted about five hours in total, combining system design, coding, and what they called vibe coding on the same day. It was on the harder side, although I also felt lik…

  • Mercor Software Engineer interview: 30-minute data structures and algorithms screenMercor · Software Engineer · May 2026

    My first step was a phone screen with the team. It was a tightly structured, 30-minute Q&A focused mainly on data structures, algorithms, and code optimization. What stood out was how closely it stayed to fundamentals and reasoning. I left feeling that it tested whether I could think through tradeoffs clearly and tighten up implementations under time pressure. Given the short format, it still fel…

  • Micro1 Backend Engineer interview: AI-driven screen with Node.js and MongoDBMicro1 · Backend Engineer · Technical Screen · May 2026

    I went through an AI-driven process that still felt supportive, and it ended with encouragement to continue. During the initial technical screen, I discussed my backend experience with Node.js and MongoDB. The interviewer seemed satisfied but asked me to refine some technical details. I didn't receive an offer from this step. My takeaway was that strong backend examples can still earn genuine pos…

  • Micro1 Software Engineer interview: AI coding session with escalating follow-upsMicro1 · Software Engineer · Other · May 2026

    My AI interview felt like a stressful, high-focus testing session. The system asked questions tied to a specific language area before moving into a coding exercise. The whole environment was recorded, including my webcam, microphone, and screen, so I felt like everything was being scrutinized. The questions began at a high level, focusing more on architecture and performance design than on writin…

  • Navan Account Executive interview with a 2 to 3 week case-study processNavan · Account Executive · HR Screen · May 2026
    Offer

    After a recruiter call, I moved into a manager interview about a week later, followed by a couple more conversations with sales leaders. The process lasted about 2 to 3 weeks rather than dragging on, and I spoke with several people on the sales side. Most of the questions focused on personality and fit. Themes like "tell me about yourself" came up alongside standard sales questions. For the final…

  • Navan Software Engineer hiring manager conversationNavan · Software Engineer · Other · May 2026

    My experience started with a conversation with the hiring manager, and it immediately felt off. I was asked to walk through my experience, but as soon as I began describing projects, she wanted to hear about a different project from my resume. I tried to adjust, but she seemed impatient and kept interrupting instead of letting me finish. As the call went on, I felt increasingly uncomfortable, lik…

  • Navan Software Engineer interview with CoderPad live coding and a one-hour manager roundNavan · Software Engineer · Technical Screen · May 2026

    After a recruiter call, I had about a week before the next step, which was a technical screen. It was a live coding session on CoderPad, where I worked through a LeetCode-style problem. The setup felt like solving the problem live while the clock was running, so I focused on reaching a correct solution instead of trying to make it fancy. I then moved to a hiring manager round that lasted about an…

  • Northrop Grumman Systems Engineer interview with panel questionsNorthrop Grumman · Systems Engineer · Other · May 2026
    Offer

    My process felt more substantial than many of the earlier easy screens I'd done. It combined technical and behavioral questions in a structured way. It started with a Microsoft Teams session where I answered questions in front of a panel. Some prompts followed the STAR format, while the technical questions connected to my past work. The technical portion included theory along with practical expla…

  • Online Round, One Onsite Day of Eliminations, SMTS Offer Two Days LaterSalesforce · Software Engineer · Senior+ · Onsite · May 2026
    Offer

    A bit about me: I have 6+ years of experience, and I got laid off from my previous company in February 2026. Right after that I started brushing up on DSA and system design. After roughly 3-4 weeks of studying I felt ready to begin interviewing. In March I reached out to a Salesforce recruiter directly, since a friend of mine had passed along the contact. Here is how the process went. Online asse…

  • Onsite Loop with a Paginated Fetch Design and a Job SchedulerLyft · Software Engineer · Onsite · May 2026

    Onsite. They gave me a long chunk of existing code and asked me to implement a function based on it. Essentially there's a fetch(page) function that returns the items on that page along with the next page's nextPage. We needed to implement fetch_n as a method on another class, so that we could pull n elements continuously. Each call continues extracting from wherever the last call left off, so th…

  • Onsite With Three Coding Rounds Dressed Up as Delivery ProblemsDoorDash · Software Engineer · Onsite · May 2026

    Posting my DoorDash interview experience. My overall impression is that this company's questions are very tied to the business — almost every question comes wrapped in a food-delivery scenario, even when the core is just a template problem. The upside is it's not boring to talk through; the downside is you have to unwrap the packaging first and figure out what the core problem actually is — get t…

  • Oura Ring Software Engineer interview: TypeScript assessment and take-home projectOura Ring · Software Engineer · Technical Screen · May 2026

    I went through a harder interview loop than I expected. After I applied, the recruiter took a while to get back to me, but once we connected, scheduling moved quickly. The process centered on technical evaluation, including whiteboarding, live coding, and a take-home component in the later stages. The coding parts felt strict and focused on actual expertise, with a high bar for getting the detail…

  • Oura Software Engineer interview: TypeScript assessment and take-home deep diveOura · Software Engineer · Online Assessment · May 2026

    The most stressful part of my process was the coding work, which started right away with an online assessment. I received an email for a TypeScript assessment, but I hadn't been told it would specifically use TypeScript before committing, so I was somewhat underprepared for the language details. The grading felt strict about expertise, which made the experience feel high stakes. The process then…

  • Phone Screens Plus a Four-Part AI-Team Onsite Building a Live LLM ChatbotRippling · Software Engineer · Senior+ · Onsite · May 2026

    I interviewed with Rippling's new AI department, which has 3 teams and an already-launched product. Their main product is an internal chat agent system that can integrate with hundreds of integrations on top of employee data to answer all kinds of questions. Recruiter - 30 minutes. Talked about which project of mine stood out to them, my involvement in it, and whether I had led any projects of my…