TLDR; Experience was average, online assessment was not ideal for replicating a true API response format, and inconsistency with their expectations in the process. Interview may be difficult if you struggle to debug issues without the help of error messages.
This was my second time interviewing for HubSpot and it was vastly different than it was a couple years ago.
Both times were the same in regards to the order of things: Recruiter Call -> Online Assessment -> Rejected
This time around, the recruiter call was fine. The recruiter from a couple years ago was much more willing to help guide me through the process. This recruiter just made me feel more like I was just a number.
I don't recall how the first code assessment went, but this second time, it was a take home assessment. This assessment was to be completed on your own time within a week, but one you start, you get 3 hours to complete. They give you a token to use for an API they created. You use the GET API to retrieve the data, then translate into another format, and use a POST API to post the new format, which they will verify and return a response. Once you get the correct response, it will return as a success and you get emailed.
In theory, this is a great way to assess skills, but the responses for failed format were the worst messages I've seen an API return. The messages about what was wrong with the response were very vague to the point where you had no idea how to fix the issue. I had to print out my response and read through the whole thing to find 1 or 2 little mistakes hidden in the 1000s of records that were being re-formatted. Very very time consuming. I would expect an engineering assessment to have better API responses to help guide you, especially as this is a take-home and you cannot collaborate with other engineers.
This unfortunately was my stopping point because they believed that the assessment is a good way to determine if the person is a good fit for their engineering team (their words) despite the fact that they initially provided a link to a video where it explains the online assessment and states that even though you may not pass the assessment, that you may still proceed forward if your code is well thought out.
So, in summary, I feel there has been a decline in their overall interviewing process and I think if you are interviewing, be mindful that the assessment may be difficult if you struggle with debugging without helpful error messages.