I applied online. The process took 4 weeks. I interviewed at Palantir Technologies (Palo Alto, CA) in Dec 2013
Interview
Can you write code? Can you write code? OK, but can you write code? Yes, but can you write code?Their interviewing was extremely lopsided, which might be standard operating procedure for Silicon Valley tech companies, but that doesn't make it OK. Um, in addition to being a good coder, am I resourceful? Am I resilient? Can I think outside the box? Can I talk to customers in a supportive, non-technical way? Do I have an adequate amount of emotional intelligence? The interviewers never gave themselves the opportunity to form an opinion about any of these things. They didn't seem to understand that they are not simply hiring coders, they are hiring human beings who write code. It certainly did not occur to them that while they were evaluating me, I was evaluating them, and as someone who has interviewed hundreds of technical people over the years, I was not impressed.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
Why have NoSQL databases become so popular in recent years?
I applied through an employee referral. I interviewed at Palantir Technologies
Interview
I applied with a referral
Multiple rounds -
1. HR screen
2. decomposition round
3. onsite with 3 interviews (coding, learning, and decomposition)
4. hiring manager (didn't make it past this one)
Took them about 5 weeks after the hiring manager round to update me that I wasn't selected
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
The hiring manager round got really deep into my career motivations
I had behavioral interviews and then 4 in person interviews. The behavioral was straightforward. There was also a data query interview where they taught you a new "language" and had you execute basic queries in it. Then there was a system design interview. I had two of these. The last one they asked me if I was deployed to the moon to identify new species of alien what kind of system would I build.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
If you were deployed to the moon to identify new species of alien what kind of system would I build.
I applied through a recruiter. I interviewed at Palantir Technologies
Interview
The interview process consisted of an initial recruiter screening followed by a technical interview with an engineer. The technical round focused primarily on LeetCode-style coding questions and problem-solving. The recruiter was responsive and the interview process was straightforward.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
What is a technical project I have worked on recently.