During the initial technical and cultural phone interviews, I found that each was handled more like a conversation than a perfunctory check on skills. I asked many questions and had them answered in detail, and I was encouraged to go beyond simply proving a skill, but to extemporize in a creative discussion about how the skill could be applied in the Reddit ecosystem.

The onsite/in-person interviews were great as well. They were scheduled in such a way that a very in-depth technical interview would lead into a cultural interview (even a great AMA session, in which I was able to ask all my interest and curiosity questions about Reddit, how it has evolved, where it finds itself now, and what the leadership vision is for tomorrow) and then back to more demanding technical interactions.

This format and pacing made it possible to stay focused and engaged with each interview throughout, while avoiding the typical fatigue/burn-out that can come at the end of several hours of very focused thought.

All in all, it was a process conducted by people who seemed to know exactly who and what they were looking for and had found their own unique way of leading an applicant through a process to do just that.

Questions rarely were limited to simple skills demonstration. More often, things were phrased like, "It is obvious that you have a great deal of skill and experience with X in doing Y. How would you tailor or extrapolate that experience with X in addressing a requirement unique to Reddit?"