I applied through a staffing agency. The process took 4 months. I interviewed at ByteDance in May 2019
Interview
ByteDance contacted me through a staffing agency. They needed an engineer for a Warsaw office. Overall there were 3 interviews (all remote via zoom): 1 with an engineer from Warsaw, another - with VP of engineering and the last one with a team lead from China. The interviews weren't really difficult. What's disappointing is that the whole process was very slow - I got an offer in September and the first interview was in May. The recruiter was very slow to respond.
The entire interview processes was a recruiter call plus three rounds of technical interviews. Interviewers were friendly. Technical coding questions and work related questions were asked based on your past work experiences. Each interview saved time for the candidate to ask questions.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
Technical questions related to past work experiences.
Scheduled with recruiter. Scheduled and interviewed. It was well organized. Interviewer are good. HR, manager, hiring manager. Some of the interview organized around 8pm. Some of the interview organized around 8pm.
The interview process was well-structured and relatively efficient. It typically consisted of multiple rounds:
Online assessment / initial screening: Focused on data structures and algorithms, with medium-to-hard LeetCode-style problems.
Technical interviews (2–3 rounds): Covered core computer science fundamentals (data structures, algorithms, system design basics), along with problem-solving and coding in real time. Interviewers also asked follow-up questions to evaluate depth of understanding and optimization.
Project discussion: Detailed discussion of past projects, including design decisions, trade-offs, and real-world impact.
HR / behavioral round: Focused on communication skills, teamwork, and cultural fit.
Overall, the process emphasized strong coding ability, solid fundamentals, and the ability to think clearly under pressure. Interviewers were generally professional, though the difficulty level was on the higher side, especially for algorithm questions.