I spoke to recruiter and I was scheduled for the technical panel round (coding challenge + talk through a project) accidentally, rather than the technical screening first. I found out a day before the panel interview that I was mistakenly scheduled for the panel, and I did not realize as the panel and screening are both technical. I ran out of time to complete the technical panel challenge, but I verbalized what I would do if I had more time. I found out later that day that I passed the technical panel and next was the behavioral panel. I reminded the recruiter that I didn't do the technical screening and had to follow up as it took a few days to get a response. I was finally scheduled for the technical screening which was a coding challenge that builds upon each question, which I was able to finish. I didn't hear back so I followed up, and the recruiter promised an update, but never provided one. It's ironic that my process was chaotic (final panel round, then go back to screening, plus unreliable response times) when the product is supposed to improve the recruitment process for others.

Recruiter, technical challenge, pair programming, project interview, etc. I dropped out after pair programming interview. This seems like a great place to work, just beware that they are pretty CS-driven, so if you're from a non-traditional SWE background, you might struggle. My interviewers were pretty condescending after I couldn't solve a super abstract problem (I'm mostly on the frontend so not a Leetcode expert by any means). One of them asked "so what do you do at your current SWE job?", clearly surprised I even had one because I couldn't solve the problem. The other asked "have you ever done one of these before?" (i.e. technicals), because apparently failing a very specific whiteboarding test must mean I have no idea about technical interviewing otherwise (I do, it's just a crapshoot for me ¯\_(ツ)_/¯). Not gonna lie, I walked away feeling pretty crappy and shamed. I'm not saying there's no merit to CS-driven interviewing or that I don't have a ton to learn, I just wish the industry was more accepting and empathetic of diverse technical backgrounds, especially if they're hoping to increase diversity. By all means, don't hire me. But don't treat me like I'm completely clueless or don't belong in this industry, because that's just not true.

TLDR; my experience was fantastic to the point that I didn't know much about Lever before applying and by the end I really wanted in on what they have created! The communication was prioritized throughout and when things were not communicated there was ownership and empathy. I cannot speak highly enough of this interview process. I normally stress a lot when it comes to interviewing especially technical interviews - it's like my brain freezes up. To start off after I applied a recruiter reached out where they explained what they were looking for as well as finding what I was looking for and I left that initial call feeling great as my recruiter was really easy to chat with. Then I was scheduled for a technical interview by their coordinator at a time that suited me. My interviewer was sick and I hadn't been given the heads up, however, I reached out to the coordinator / my recruiter by email as I was worried I had the wrong zoom link. They got back to me promptly. The technical interview was really cool in that you get given a heads up prior on what it will be about (if you don't just ask your recruiter). There is a problem given which is pretty easy to solve but the cool part is maintenance comes into play as you get more constraints/requirements that you have to get to work without breaking prior stuff - main thing to remember here is to try to explain your thought process throughout and ask questions (communication is huge). I then heard back from my recruiter that I would be moving forward to the virtual onsite and my availabilities were requested. The coordinator reached out with my schedule as well as a brilliant PDF explaining what each interview was about, what they are looking for etc. This really took a lot of my stress away. The virtual onsite consisted of a pair programming - similar to the first technical interview, a code review where we discussed my approach to reviewing code as well as went over a feature that a junior had done, how would you test it etc. Then there was a project interview where you discuss a project you have worked on in the past and roles you played with it. The final interview of the virtual onsite is with your recruiter where they are seeing where your goals and aspirations are for the future. The team then gets together and if you are moved forward you will speak with a dev manager where they explain the role/s available and find out a little about yourself. The key to remember is to communicate your thoughts throughout each interview and to see if the company is a match for you just as much as they are seeing if you match. Come with questions to ask to help you understand how the company works and if your values align. If I had any feedback I would say to potentially have a take home project as part of it as you can learn a lot from commits on take homes and they aren't as stressful as on the clock test based technical interviews.