There was a screening call with a recruiter, a Google Hangout with the hiring manager, and then an assignment. Had I continued on in the process there would have been another Google Hangout with the team I would have been working with. The assignment, while very difficult (the position I was applying for did not require me to know the subject--but rather to learn it over time and then grow from there) was also very rewarding. I aced the assignment and handed it in with a good feeling about the job. Then, I received a bill from DigitalOcean for taking the assignment. While it was a small amount, this left a bad taste in my mouth. When I had to set up an account for DO to take the assignment I was taken aback that my credit card information was asked for, and had to think twice before handing that information over. Perhaps in the future DO should provide their recruits with a code so they are not left footing the bill. I felt this was very unprofessional. While the company sounds great "on paper", or rather, on the Internet, I found that my actual interactions with the people who worked there didn't quite line up. Online DigitalOcean seems like a very rewarding place to work, and that while they work hard on a very technical and difficult things, they keep an air of playfulness about themselves. The people I interviewed with, on the contrary, seemed...well, kind of miserable. Although at the time I tried to tell myself they were just very serious, focused people. I appreciated their lack of fluff, if you will, and I can understand that the work is challenging and they were most-likely pressed for time, but they almost seemed (one interviewer in particular) like they were forced to talk me, and would rather not have been. This attitude definitely did leave an odd impression with me. I feel that what's lost on company's like DO, or at least in my experience, is that when someone is interviewing for a job they want to feel valued instead of like an obligation. The company should also keep in mind that they are also being vetted by the potential employee. When the company did finally turn me down--almost a full 6 weeks after the process started--they did so in an impersonal email sent from a "no-reply" account. The recruiters who I had been in contact with throughout the process were not in the office at the time either--which leads me to believe that they had little or no input in the decision--but perhaps that is how it works? This email left me with another, final bad feeling about the company. I almost missed the email because it looked like spam. I feel that while DO seems like it has tons of potential, they really need to implement some upgraded basic practices in their interviewing process--if my experience is their norm.

I submitted my resume + cover letter, which was followed by a brief phone call with a recruiter. Next I was invited to join a Google Hangout with the hiring manager. This was followed by an open-book technical writing assignment. This involved answering a few simple(ish) questions about Linux commands and server management, as well as writing additional sections to finish the tutorial. A day or two after submitting my writing assignment, I was then invited to stop by the DigitalOcean office for a round of in-person interviews with members of the technical writing team. These were fairly relaxed and helped give a sense of DO's office environment. I also had the chance to take a tour of the DO offices and met with my recruiter before heading home. About a week later DO reached out to my references and I received an offer not long after that. It's clear that DigitalOcean puts a great deal of effort into making the interview process as painless as possible for their candidates. The recruiters I worked with were very communicative and quick to answer all my questions. A+ overall