I applied through a recruiter. I interviewed at DigitalOcean
Interview
I was first contacted by an "external" recruiter, followed by a brief interview with an "internal" recruiter. Then I had a technical interview with a senior engineer. The next phase involved a series interviews with various individual contributors to determine a culture fit. Lastly I was interviewed by several managers and higher level leadership.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
I don't recall the specifics of the questions, but they were fairly typical, such as: how do I handle difficult circumstances; how do I juggle a variety of seemingly-conflicting priorities; how do I help under-performing engineers. I was surprised at how little I was asked about specific technical details, but on the other hand the interviews tipped the balance of questions toward my management approach/style.
I applied online. The process took 3 weeks. I interviewed at DigitalOcean in Aug 2021
Interview
The process had several sets of interviews:
phone screen, one hour with hiring manager, one hour with senior developer, one hour with three developers from the team, one hour with a senior manager, one hour with a director and one hour with an HR manager.
I applied online. The process took 2 weeks. I interviewed at DigitalOcean (New York, NY) in July 2021
Interview
I had 2 initial interviews with the recruiter and hiring manager, then 4 second round interviews on various topics from technical acumen to people management to strategic management to production management. The process was clear and timely. Everyone was really friendly and one interviewer even said they hoped they would get to talk with me again.
Then I didn't hear back on anything for a week, then two, then three. I contacted the recruiter weekly to try to get a response. After 3 weeks, I finally got a vague email saying they "decided to go a different direction." I was surprised at the ghosting behavior from people who had seemed so nice before.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
In addition to standard questions, I received a couple written case studies where I was asked to give my thoughts on how to proceed. Another person asked me for feedback on their team structure. Interesting questions, but fairly unusual.
I applied through a recruiter. The process took 5 weeks. I interviewed at DigitalOcean (Ottawa, ON) in July 2021
Interview
Very easy process, the recruiter was there the whole time. He offered multiple times to speak with me even after hours. He provided me with the right tools to evaluate the offer and what it meant to me and my family. I would really like to commend him for doing such a great job from start to finish.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
Mostly technical but more of a cultural fit. It made me feel comfortable to be able to be myself and present myself in a positive light.