Wow! That was quite an intense and exhausting 3 hours!
I just finished my (virtual) final round interviews for Lyft.
I had 3 back-to-back interviews; the first one on coding, the second on experience and team fit (with manager) and then the third on ML domain knowledge. What did not help was the huge time difference: I started my interviews at 5:30 PM, and it went all the way to 8:30 PM Toronto time. Also, today was Halloween, so I ate a LOT of sweet and sugary foods which really crashed my energy levels near the end.
How I think I did:
Coding interview: did pretty well, although it was a little awkward since my interviewer thought I was coming in person. The problem statement was also underspecified, which funnily meant that for a long time I was solving a (pretty) different problem than what the interviewer wanted me to solve.
Experience interview: thought I connected pretty well with the engineering manager
ML domain interview: even though I pride myself as being strongest in this area, I was really feeling the effects of coffee crash. At this point, I was sipping coffee, but was at the point where my hands were getting sweaty and I had to go to the washroom. While the coffee really helps, your body can only sustain so much caffeine, and by the 3rd cup of coffee in 3 hours, I think the marginal effect was vanishing (even 0). However, I still think I did decently on this part.
Let’s just say I’m glad the coding interview was first, since I think trying to solve a coding challenge as the last interview would be tough!
Some reflections: Having a whiteboard helps, even for virtual interviews Actually, I want to say that virtual interviews are STRICTLY inferior to in-person interviews. Although most people hate whiteboarding, I think it is a decently effective tool for just getting to explore and poke around someone’s mind. And it REALLY helps to draw things out on the board, when thinking.
My predictions: I am feeling OK for the interview feedback. Hoping to hear back soon.
Happy Halloween!