Mixed Signals. The process began with a recruiter call where they asked the typical questions. After that, there was a one-hour call with a manager or engineering manager, where they used the usual STAR method to explore past experiences.
Next came the live coding interview. In this interview, they asked me to implement a small feature in an application that had a somewhat messy codebase, with a mix of Swift concurrency and non-concurrency code. The focus here was on delivering the functionality rather than refactoring the entire app.
After that, there was the cultural fit interview. This interview also used the STAR method, but the interviewers were particularly pushy. They pressed hard for specific details about how I handle processes at work. They asked who I met with, how I planned a feature, how I responded to mistakes—insisting on additional detail for everything.
Then there was the system design interview, where they asked me to design a feature in an existing app. This was interesting because it limited how much you could expand on your own ideas, and it required careful listening to their suggestions. In my experience, they took it very seriously if I didn’t immediately apply their suggestions. For example, when defining a JSON property I said, “Hey, that’s a good idea, but I think my proposal also works for this scenario.” That kind of response was not appreciated.
At the end of the process, I passed all the stages. I had good chemistry with all the interviewers, completed everything they asked of me, and generally felt positive about each round. However, they ultimately rejected me, saying there were mixed signals about my performance, without pointing to any specific issue. One piece of feedback was that I might not have fully listened to their suggestions, which I disagree with because I did take them into account.
In my opinion, there was some hidden bias or I didn’t tick some internal box they were looking for, which felt unfair considering how well I performed on paper. It was disappointing because overall, I thought the process was successful.
I have to highlight that the recruiter was excellent, very proactive in sharing feedback as soon as he got it. I also appreciated that Monzo never asked weird LeetCode questions or algorithmic exercises, which I really admire and respect about their process.