I applied online. The process took 3 days. I interviewed at Toptal in Sep 2022
Interview
I had a very disappointing interview experience. Despite my relevant experience and strong CV, it seemed to matter little to them. The technical interview felt more like an interrogation than a professional discussion. They assigned me a task with strict instructions not to use Google, which I found unrealistic and off-putting. When I did use Google to complete the task, the interviewer treated me as if I had committed a serious offense and subsequently banned me from further consideration.
Newsflash: Engineers use Google every day as part of their job. We aren't expected to memorize everything because it's not an efficient way to work. Relying on resources and tools is essential in engineering. This company should seriously reconsider their interview policies, as they are out of touch with practical engineering practices.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
Have you used google to complete this assignement?
I applied online. I interviewed at Toptal in Mar 2026
Interview
For me it was first general introduction which went fine and then they immediately invited me for the next step, which is coding where you are not allowed to take any external help includign Google. This step also went fine, cause I was gridning SQL and python. I got 2 SQL questions, quite easy and an algorithm, which I completed but with not the optimal solution. Still got a callback for the third interview, which is live coding, it requires to have the environment ready, According to my interviewer I'm about to expect data-related problems which I should solve with either Python, SQL or PySpark. That's all that I know so far.
I applied online. The process took 4 weeks. I interviewed at Toptal in Apr 2025
Interview
-> Screening (just to know you, ask about your experience, etc.)
-> Problem solving (1 SQL problem, 2 Python, first one was to regarding characters in string, second one was to solve a bug in already Python code)
-> Live coding (so far in the email he has just mentioned to setup both Python and SQL setup)
-> Project (no clue right now)
It was a 3 or 4 stage process which has various types of interviews. One among them pre screening round, and another is online test, and one more is video interview, etc