I was very impressed with the structure and interview process here (enough to write a review about my XP). Although it didn't work out, I still found the whole experience refreshing. It's usually been the same: Hey dude, it's nice to talk, here is an info dump on what we're looking for, what we do, and what we want, how does that sound? Good. Ready for a long-winded coding exercise that's completely irrelevant to my job? Great. Given the amount of interviews developers complete when job searching, you think the people on the other side would recognize this and change their game plan to sell and appeal more to a candidate. I was reached out to by the CFO on Angel.co. He sent me a short message and I didn't reply at first. Having never heard of the company before, I was tentative to reply, but I received a second email from the recruiter and gave it a shot since it doesn't hurt hearing about new opportunities. A scheduler/admin followed up a day or two after to get me scheduled in right away. I was expecting the typical content dump about the role, team and company and "why this is such a great place to work" speech. Instead, the recruiter prefaced the call with a general outline of the "boring stuff" and asked to get to know me first before diving into them. I was not expecting this format of talking first, so I ran through my entire work history. She was attentive and asked followup questions about my jobs, the types of projects I worked on, the team sizes, my responsibilities, but also what I did and didn't enjoy about each one. It felt like a natural conversation the whole time and I didn't feel like I was in a interview. She got me to open up about what I was looking for in my next role and the unsatisfactory parts that I was facing in my current job. She was able to also answer most of my technical-heavy questions about the technologies used, the platform, even the product roadmap; down to the micro details of how they're planned and structured. She was so much more knowledgeable than other recruiters I have spoke with, who tended to only speak to higher levels and requirements of the role and platform. The call lasted almost an hour and at the end had sold me on the great team and really cool product. She set me up with a technical interview with the hiring manager for the role. Instead of doing a take-home challenge, it was a live pair-programming problem via google hangout. He was equally professional and attentive. It was a consistent and pleasant experience throughout the process. While things didn't work out on my end due to timing, this company is one that I will keep in consideration for the future. If all introductory calls were more authentic and genuine, most companies wouldn't have issues finding the right candidate. Everyone I spoke to was so kind and informative. This was an exceptional example of how recruiting should be executed at companies.