Overall, the interview process with Flatiron Health was one of the best I have experienced. I applied online, and three days later I received an email requesting my availability to schedule the technical phone screen. This was a little odd to me since most companies first schedule a call with a recruiter. In the confirmation email of my scheduled technical phone screen, I was provided a document with what to expect during the phone screen and tips on how to prepare.
My phone screen went as most technical phone screens do. The interviewer laid out the schedule for our call, there was some discussion about himself and Flatiron as a company, I gave a bit of background about myself, and then I was given a technical coding exercise. The problem was not terribly difficult, I provided my solution, and we discussed the time complexity, including any optimizations I could make. The next day I received an email requesting my availability for an on-site.
After confirming the date and time of my on-site, I was asked for my availability to have a brief call with a recruiter to provide details about the on-site. This call is the reason why this interview process was above and beyond other software engineer interviews. The call with the recruiter lasted about 15 minutes, and the recruiter gave me a complete breakdown of my on-site interview schedule, including who my interviewers would be, their positions and teams in the company, the type of interview it would be, and tips on how to prepare. Because of this, I knew exactly what I needed to study in order to perform my best during the interview.
My on-site interview consisted of the following:
- 1 hour general coding
- 1 hour algorithms
- 30 minute break
- 1 hour object-oriented design
- 1 hour behavioral
- 15 minute debrief with the recruiter
In the general coding section, I was asked to solve a fairly simple algorithm problem. The emphasis of this section was my overall coding ability.
In the algorithms section, I was asked to solve a more difficult algorithm problem. The emphasis of this section was my approach to the problem.
For the 30 minute break, I was paired with a software engineer who showed me around the office and just chatted with me. I was told this section was not graded.
In the object-oriented design section, I was given a more open-ended design question and asked to give a high-level overview of the classes and APIs that would comprise the system.
In the behavioral section, I was asked a series of questions about my previous work experiences, especially in regards to collaboration and difficult projects.
The debrief with the recruiter was a simple follow-up on how the day went and what the next steps would be.
Three days after my on-site I was sent an email letting me know that they decided not to continue with my candidacy. I replied and asked for the feedback so that I could improve for future interviews, and the recruiter provided a brief explanation that my algorithms section was not as strong as they wanted, which I thought was a fair assessment.