I work at Shopify and referred two friends.

My initial call with the recruiter was a nice conversation. After that, there was a tech task – a simple coding task similar to the "Roomba" problem, involving iterations, adding obstacles, and considering infinite scenarios.

The next stage was a personal growth interview. This is where both my friends finished their process, without understanding why this conversation was the end.

Both friends prepared well (reading the material provided about Shopify). No explanation was provided, neither to them nor to me, just a rejection stating their experience was "not a match." Both candidates have 5+ and 15+ years of experience.

I've heard very similar feedback from other colleagues who were referring candidates. It just looks like positions are open, but hiring is not really happening.

Design a robot that moves with the "move" command, and turns left or right.

Next step: Add obstacles.