When you apply and are selected for an interview at Cybersoft Digital, it kicks off a four-part process conducted via Google Meet, Slack, Trial Work, Offer. It gives you (and us) a chance to see what it would be like if you worked here – and it means that by the time you’re hired, you’re familiar with how we do things and can hit the ground running.

1. Interview · Interviews are conducted via Slack – they’re text-only. That’s how we work day-to-day, so we want to interact with you in that medium. The initial interview is a 90-minute chat (which we’ve found is the equivalent of a 60-minute face-to-face interview) with an engineer, which covers subjects like motivation, technical depth, problem solving, and managing complexity. You’ll have plenty of opportunity to ask questions, too.

2. Coding challenge · If the interview goes well, the next stage is a take-home coding challenge with a near-real-world piece of code that closely replicates our normal work. We use it to evaluate your abilities around security, performance, and problem solving, as well as how you communicate and adapt to an unfamiliar codebase.

This exercise should take no more than 4-6 hours of actual coding time. We generally allow a week to complete this stage, though it’s fine if you need more time — just let us know. We timebox this part of the process so that you have clear expectations around how much time to spend, and because we know that you have other obligations in your life. Unlike a whiteboarding interview, you can do this at your own pace and with your own tools.

3. Trial · Here’s where you really get to see what it’s like to work at Automattic. Trial projects help both of us to determine mutual compatibility and let us evaluate your work, communication, and effectiveness. This work is paid, part-time, and designed to last between two and eight weeks, for a total of around 40 hours of work. This is very flexible, and we’ll craft it to work with your schedule – both when you can start and what your availability is. If you’re able to work full-time on the project, great. If you can only work two hours on alternate Tuesdays, that’s fine, too.

4. Offer · This is the point at which we discuss salary and start date. We can be very flexible about start dates, in order to accommodate things like notice to previous employers or time off prior to commencing employment with Automattic.