I applied through a recruiter. The process took 3 weeks. I interviewed at Polarsteps (Amsterdam) in Nov 2024
Interview
The process was first a call with the recruiter, then a technical interview, then a day of working at the office (on-site or remote) where you get a task in the morning and present it by the end of the day.
Overall all my interviewers were very pleasant and it was a very enjoyable experience.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
What you'd expect from a backend role. Discussed many topics between concurrency, multithreading, databases, system design, scaling challenges, troubleshooting challenges, etc...
Four stages, exactly as described on their website. The whole process, from first interview to offer, took less than a month.
Communication was fast and consistent throughout, never left wondering where things stood. Everyone I met was warm and genuinely interested in getting to know me beyond my CV.
The technical interview was an in-depth conversation covering real-life backend challenges. The day assignment was a full day of hands-on work on a real problem, with access to the team throughout, intense, but a great way to experience the work. The values interview was a relaxed conversation with two people from different parts of the team, exploring how you work, what drives you, and how you align with their culture.
One of the best hiring experiences I've had.
I applied online. The process took 2 months. I interviewed at Polarsteps in May 2024
Interview
The process was as explained on the website: recruiter call, tech interview with questions and discussions, values/behavioral interview and a one-day project with discussion afterwards. In my case the whole process took 2 months which is probably longer than usual and partly influenced by holidays and internal priorities. I enjoyed the process and tasks, they appear well thought out and closely related to the day-to-day work.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
Setup specific endpoints for a simplified version of their service given a PostgreSQL database with mock data