I applied online. The process took 3 weeks. I interviewed at CircleCI (London, England) in Jun 2024
Interview
The entire interview process took roughly 3 weeks. The first interview was with the internal recruiter, who asked me several questions about my experience and provided an overview of the company. The second interview was with the Hiring Manager which I enjoyed because it felt more like a conversation than an interview. They represented the company extremely well. The third interview was with an Engineering Manager and I also enjoyed this conversation, they were highly knowledgeable and a great communicator. The fourth interview was with another Engineering Manager and a representative from Product again, I enjoyed it and gained a better understanding of the company and their product. The final interview was with the CTO and was very informative, though a bit rushed as we only had half an hour, however they were such an inspirational person.
It's been a week since I heard anything back. It's disappointing not to hear anything either way after such a positive process. I've rated the experience negatively because the lack of communication reflects poorly on the People Team rather than on the engineering team
Initial screen with recruiter. 3x60m interviews with some recently promoted EMs. 1x60m scenario exercises with team members. 1x30m chat with CTO with some grilling on previous work situations.
After the last interviews I got an email telling me that "all the feedback I've read is very good". Then a few days after I was due to hear back I got a templated email telling me that they wouldn't be moving forward with an offer. I replied asking if there was any feedback but never got a response.
It's sad because 1) the actual interviewers were very likeable, smart people and 2) one email response with any semblance of feedback could have turned this around. Instead, I'm left feeling the same as the other EM interview reviewers below and not wanting to work for CircleCI in the future.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
How do you keep team members engaged in a distributed team?
I applied through a recruiter. The process took 2 weeks. I interviewed at CircleCI in Jun 2024
Interview
Talent Person: 30min intro
Hiring Manager Screen: 60-minute interview
Deep Dive Interviews: A series of two, 45-60 minute interviews
Team interview: A 60-minute interview with two engineers on the team
Leadership wrap-up: A 30-minute interview with a senior leader
The interview felt very one-sided, with the interviewers constantly firing questions at me without giving me much opportunity to inquire about the team or the company. When I finally managed to ask some questions during the first stage, the recruiter couldn't answer even basic queries about the team's size or the engineering department. During the second stage, the responses I received to my questions were vague and lacked substance. It felt like they didn't have a good grasp of how they're working and why.
Overall, it was a disappointing experience. I was initially excited to speak with a company whose product I have extensively used and appreciated as a developer. However, this interaction has made me question their culture and the direction in which they are heading.
