What to Expect From The Anansi Technical Interview Process

We’re building out our engineering team here at Anansi. Oftentimes we are asked what potential candidates can expect from the interview process, which we understand, as it can vary widely from company to company.

We like to be transparent about our process and what you can expect when interviewing with us. So, if you’re considering applying to join the team or you have an interview coming up, read on!

The process itself is pretty simple: 3 steps, all done remotely usually via Zoom.

In this post, we’ll cover each interview and explain why we do it, who you’ll speak to and how it works. As well as some preparation tips.

• Interview 1 — Getting to know you 

Why do we do it?

The first stage in joining Anansi is an informal chat. The purpose of this call is primarily a chance to say hello, get to know each other, and discuss any initial questions you might have about the product, tech and whether the way we work aligns with one another. It’s also a chance to discuss expectations around timelines, location and salary up front.

Who will I speak to?

This call will be with one of the founding team, and for engineering roles, that’s Ana Martins de Carvalho who is a Co-founder and CTO.  Here’s an earlier blog introducing Ana and getting to know her. 

How does it work?

This interview is 20 – 30 minutes long, done remotely over a Zoom call, and is structured as follows:

• Brief introductions on both sides – we’re always particularly keen to hear how you came across us and what prompted you to apply!
• Questions from you – perhaps about the product, the team, our culture, our tech stack or the interview process itself. Whatever’s on your mind.
• Questions from us – Based on your CV and the discussion to this point, we may have a few quick questions such as how you like to work and your experience.
• Next steps – assuming you’re still keen to move forward (which we hope you are) we’ll talk about the next steps!

Tips on how to prepare

• Think about whether you would enjoy working in a small, fast paced start-up.
• Think about what questions you may have about working in a start-up or working remotely with us.
• If you want to learn more about us and the role before we chat, make sure you’ve re-read the job description. Also, take a look at the website and some of our YouTube videos. Is this a team you’d want to be a part of, and a product you’d be excited to build?

Interview 2 — Technical Discussion & Coding Challenge

Why do we do it?

Fingers crossed your first interview went great! In which case, we’ll be working together a lot.

The purpose of this interview is to learn more about your technical abilities and to see those abilities in practice. We’re looking to find out about your problem solving skills and how you like to design and build products.

Who will I speak to?

This interview is again with the CTO, Ana, who you will have met before plus one of our engineering team, most likely our senior software engineer, Vasco. 

How does it work?

The second interview will be split into two parts. Each part will be roughly 30 minutes.

In the first part of the interview we are looking to learn about your technical abilities and to find out more about your knowledge on things like testing, development practices, production issues and databases.

The second part of the interview is practical based. This will consist of a 30 minute live coding exercise in order for us to see how you manage problem solving.

Tips to prepare

• Come with an open mind and please don’t be nervous, we are not testing you, we simply want to be able to see your skills in practice.
• Answer honestly and from your own perspective. We want to hear how you think and what you care about.
• Be prepared to ask any questions about us and how we work.

Interview 3 — Culture Fit

Why do we do it?

We’ve already covered the technical bit and if you’ve got this far then it’s safe to say we’re impressed by your abilities in terms of product and engineering.

There’s a lot more to the team we’re building here at Anansi and this final interview is a chance to have a two way conversation about the culture of Anansi, the current team and to dig into whether this is somewhere you’d really love to work.

Who will I speak to?

We’re a start-up so up until this point you’ll have met our CTO, Ana and possibly one or two others in the engineering team.

This interview is a chance for you to meet Megan Bingham-Walker, our CEO, which means you’ll have met both of our incredible co-founders. 

How does it work?

This interview won’t follow a strict structure, we’re simply looking to have a chat on a few topics relating to the culture side of the company. We’re expecting you to come with questions of your own, so don’t hold back. This interview is a great chance for you to ask us about the things that matter to you.

A few topics we might cover include:

• Motivation – what gives you energy? What drives you day to day? And how can we give you more of that?
• Feedback – what does great feedback look like for you? How do you personally like to receive feedback?
• Culture – is there anything you love to see from a company culture? Why? Does our culture feel like a good fit for you?
• Conflict – disagreement can be good, how do you manage conflict? How do you feel we can keep it healthy and learn from it going forward?

Tips to prepare

• Reflect on what you want from your job, what does that look like for you? Refer to past roles to work out aspects you enjoyed or didn’t and why. 
• Were there any times in your career which were particularly formative for you? Why?
• Think of a time when you had difficult conversations with your team or manager, what was the reaction? What did you learn?

And that’s a wrap!

We believe, as with any start-up, our success is based on the people in our team.

Interviewing is a key part of building that amazing team which is why we spend a lot of time making sure our interviews work both ways and each party has an opportunity to evaluate one another. It’s important for us that our candidates consider whether we are a good fit for them as well. 

Hopefully by sharing this kind of information openly, we can demystify our interview process and make it more accessible to the people we want to hire.

Could that be you? If you think so, check out our roles – we look forward to meeting you!