TLDR; The experience was average. The online assessment was not ideal for replicating a true API response format, and there was inconsistency with their expectations in the process. The interview may be difficult if you struggle to debug issues without the help of error messages.

This was my second time interviewing for HubSpot, and it was vastly different than it was a couple years ago.

Both times were the same regarding the order of things:

• Recruiter Call
• Online Assessment
• Rejected

This time around, the recruiter call was fine. The recruiter from a couple years ago was much more willing to help guide me through the process. This recruiter just made me feel more like I was just a number.

I don't recall how the first code assessment went, but this second time, it was a take-home assessment. This assessment was to be completed on your own time within a week, but once you start, you get 3 hours to complete. They give you a token to use for an API they created. You use the GET API to retrieve the data, then translate it into another format, and use a POST API to post the new format, which they will verify and return a response. Once you get the correct response, it will return as a success, and you get emailed.

In theory, this is a great way to assess skills, but the responses for failed formats were the worst messages I've seen an API return. The messages about what was wrong with the response were very vague, to the point where you had no idea how to fix the issue. I had to print out my response and read through the whole thing to find one or two little mistakes hidden in the thousands of records that were being reformatted. This was very, very time-consuming. I would expect an engineering assessment to have better API responses to help guide you, especially as this is a take-home and you cannot collaborate with other engineers.

This unfortunately was my stopping point because they believed that the assessment is a good way to determine if the person is a good fit for their engineering team (their words), despite the fact that they initially provided a link to a video that explains the online assessment and states that even though you may not pass the assessment, you may still proceed forward if your code is well thought out.

So, in summary, I feel there has been a decline in their overall interviewing process, and I think if you are interviewing, be mindful that the assessment may be difficult if you struggle with debugging without helpful error messages.

The recruiter asked typical questions about my experience.