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Software Engineer Interview Experience

February 1, 2016
Negative ExperienceNo Offer

Process

I had submitted my resume at some point in the past, and a recruiter got back to me a few months later and asked if I was still interested. I said yes, and they set me up with a coding challenge.

It was very simple, traversing a 2D matrix, with no difficult algorithmic components – something you could do after an intro to CS course. I solved it easily and cleaned and commented my code as best as possible. The next day, I was told I wasn't being moved forward in the process, which was very confusing since usually these first coding tests are normally not very strict.

I asked for feedback on the decision, and they told me my code was too complicated and redundant in parts. I built my solution in a way that it could be easily tested and changed by decoupling some functions, which led to some redundant code but increased readability and extensibility. I asked some friends more proficient in Python than me if it was okay, and they said it could be cleaner, but it wasn't that big of a deal. Specifically, the biggest problem was in one function where I returned an enum and parsed that into a vector, instead of simply returning the vector. In a timed coding challenge, I didn't think that would be a big deal.

Regardless of the reason for rejection, I felt the process was unfair and did not accurately test my skills as a programmer or my fit into the company. I was left to guess for myself how to style my code. I know tech companies heavily prefer false-negatives to false-positives, but this experience left me feeling defeated and misunderstood, whereas I have been quite successful interviewing elsewhere.

I will note that my recruiter was very nice and compliant with my questions. The issue is with this "coding challenge" itself, and its evaluation.

Questions

Simple problem traversing a 2D array. No advanced algorithmic knowledge is needed.

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Interview Statistics

The following metrics were computed from 100 interview experiences for the Asana Software Engineer role in United States.

Success Rate

9%
Pass Rate

Asana's interview process for their Software Engineer roles in the United States is extremely selective, failing the vast majority of engineers.

Experience Rating

Positive45%
Neutral19%
Negative36%

Candidates reported having mixed feelings for Asana's Software Engineer interview process in United States.

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