Applied by email and heard back after a few weeks. Had a text chat interview in a private Slack channel, then received an exercise. Had a couple more chats about my exercise. Received a rejection email with good feedback.
The whole process maybe took a month.
Good things: I liked being interviewed in chat; I'm more comfortable typing than speaking face-to-face. I learned how WordPress plugin development works. I was reminded about commitment and attention to detail.
What could be better? I think they expected too much from me. I'm a developer with a full-time job, and fixing all the issues in a broken WordPress plugin during my free time wasn't easy. If I were a plugin developer or applying for that role, it would be fine, but for someone without that experience, it's a lot to expect. I envy those who can pass that test, but for the rest of us, it's easier to just skip Automattic.
As others mentioned, it's a long process. Some days or weeks passed between the time I sent my assignment and the interviewer got back to me. I understand they are busy like any other company, but it causes too much stress for applicants to wait for such a long time.
My advice is to get hands-on experience with WordPress and its plugin development before applying.
How would you improve this plugin?
The following metrics were computed from 1 interview experience for the Automattic Javascript Developer role in New York, New York.
Automattic's interview process for their Javascript Developer roles in New York, New York is extremely selective, failing the vast majority of engineers.
Candidates reported having very negative feelings for Automattic's Javascript Developer interview process in New York, New York.