I applied online and got rejected with a form letter at the first stage.

I'm writing this since I didn't think much of it and to maybe save someone else some time:

First stage was 1 CV, 1 cover letter, and 3 questions:

• 1 simple
• 2 complicated

The two complicated questions were the sort that would normally be asked in a 45-90 minute in-person technical interview. As such, to answer them well takes in the thousands of words.

In a way, this means they've merged what I normally experience as two separate stages into a single stage – a CV screen and a technical interview.

This makes it more efficient for them, but it means that applicants waste a lot of time at this first stage writing technical answers that I suspect are never read because their CV didn't pass.

In hindsight, I would not have bothered applying at all. I spent a full afternoon on this application, and as far as I could tell, my efforts were not worth a single word of human-written reply to them.

Almost all companies I apply to have a much more personable experience.

The questions asked at this stage are visible to the public by clicking Apply Now from their job site. They differ by role.