I was given a Java back-end engineering assignment to complete and send out attached to their interviewers for review.

I received some expectations on the number of hours that they would like me to spend on it, but these were meant to be just recommendations and guidelines rather than hard requirements. I submitted my solution a few weeks later—half of the time in between I was actually sick at home, and the other half I actively worked on it, in the evenings after finishing work.

Assuming you pass this phase, which is quite challenging, you get scheduled a video interview that takes place online. It consists of two major parts:

• One that focuses on general CS knowledge and competence.
• One that is a detailed discussion on the solution you had submitted (presumably done by people who had reviewed it), which aims to show that you understand it really well, including its shortcomings, bugs, and imperfections. Some of these you are expected to fix during the interview.

So you should be prepared to fill any gaps in your original submission and make them work in front of your interviewers. This requires some good research beforehand.

From the very first time the recruiting staff contacted me, I had a really awesome and respectful application experience. I was the subject of personal attention, got a lot of dedicated time to get all my questions answered and clarified, and to have the homework assignment and the expectations from it properly explained. They were indeed friendly all the time, much more so than my previous experiences with top-tier IT companies. They also made sure the live interviews were scheduled at times that were appropriate to my time zone, very different from the Sydney one.

During the whole process, I always got proper, detailed, and super positive replies to all my emails. The recruiters literally acted as my advocates and wanted to make sure I performed as well as possible. They also built a very strong case around my solution and made sure I got the best possible feedback and offer that I could hope for.

Unfortunately, in the end, I had to give up the opportunity due to some unforeseen personal circumstances that prevented me from relocating to Sydney. But this candidacy definitely remains the best one I've ever had. I hope they manage to keep the great experience for candidates throughout their expected intense growth period. Just check their blog to get a feel for their culture and values, which are catered to please and facilitate all employees towards making this tech unicorn thrive even more.