Navigating the Complex Tech Interview Process: Lessons from a Multi-Billion Dollar Unicorn

How a multi-stage interview process has changed the way I look at the hiring processes holistically.

Kristjan Hiis
5 min readAug 18, 2024
Photo by Tim Gouw on Unsplash

Technology companies are notorious for having multiple stages within their hiring pipelines; to some, it might feel like overcomplicating the overall process; to some, they are the stages for shining. Here are my gatherings from my past few years going through the pipelines of multi-billion dollar evaluation unicorns, small but fierce FinTechs, and then some.

The Unicorn Interview Experience

Recently I had the chance to go through the interview process of a multi-billion dollar company — in the startup world, these kinds of companies are called unicorns. Mostly recognized for their somewhat tedious hiring processes to make sure that the person is willing to commit to a fast work pace and would be a cultural fit with the company. This time around, I had 6 interviews that were with the team, with the direct hiring manager, some peer interviews, and a technical design interview. This all ran for about a month and a half — totaling up to one interview per week.

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