XCNT's selection process was a 5 step process. Step 1 - Introductory interview I had a video call with the founding member of the company where I was asked to introduce myself and my background and why I would like to apply for the job. In turn he explained what the company is doing and what are the kind of things they are working on and what they are looking for. It was a pleasant conversation which gave me a clarity on expectations form XCNT's side. Step 2 - Coding Challenge At the end of the interview I was sent a coding challenge to work on a simple application that did what the document asked for. It was a simple yet challenging one for me. There were 14 days given to complete it and was asked to mail for more days if required. The actual coding took about a 4-5 hours of work, the research for the task about another 5 hours, mostly to find the right architecture. Step 3 - Code Review and Discussion This is where I was expected to explain the code I had written using VS Code Live Share. The questions were from almost all aspects of the code, the reasons for the architecture, the reasons for why an API endpoint is in a specific way, the reasons for opting one method over another. At one point I was even asked to explain the HTTP Request Response flow with the code that I had written. At the end of which, they did a code review and gave me feedback which were genuine and useful. I definitely got something out of that one hour. Step 4 - HR Interview Since I hadn't been in Europe before, they wanted do a HR interview before inviting me to their office in Berlin. The interview was just casual chat and to get to know me I guess. This step might not happen for others. I don't know. The conversation was fun, offered a chance to talk about the non-technical things like living in Berlin, the language situation..etc., Step 5 - In person interview This was perhaps the biggest thing about the entire process. I made an all expense paid two day trip from Chennai, India to Berlin. It's not just the all expense part that made a big impact on me. It was the document that they sent me to help me prepare for the day. It had everything things that I should expect on the interview to public transport details, taxi services and how to handle hotel receipts. The amount of thought they put into it was outstanding. I had to complete two tasks before that day: 1. Prepare a presentation on a passion topic of mine (anything under the sun) 2. Take the Gallant Personality test The interview itself is for a full day. There were two important discussions: - About my Gallant personality profile - About XCNT's values and my views on it These were deep discussions which really dug into who I as a person is. Also gave a clear picture of what the company needed. Then there were two performance tasks: 1. The passion topic presentation 2. A small session where I had to explain a technical topic to a non-technical person. I had lunch with the entire team that afternoon in a cool restaurant and discussed a lot of things including language, society, culture, and history. One thing that is very clear from the interaction is every one of the founders are well travelled, read and socially aware. The company is definitely not run by a bunch of typical tech bros who have no social awareness. If there is one think that I feel bad about not getting the job, that would definitely be the team more than anything else. At the end of the day, all 4 of them gave individual feedback on how the day went and what stood out to them and what were the points that bothered them. The final answer itself was conveyed over an email after a week.