Applied for Anthropic and was invited to do Codesignal. Took it two weeks ago, and it was very tough. Nothing complicated coding wise, but you have to code VERY FAST. Task is to write a bunch of APIs for reading/writing from an in-memory "database". 4 progressive rounds in 90 mins - first two were short, third took the bulk of the time. Only left with a few minutes for the last round. I think if I had 3 more minutes, I could have finished the final round. Just got an automated rejection email shortly after. My advice is to code very very fast and not to worry about anything else other than passing test cases. I don't think anyone will look at your code - just the score. This means probably no one cares about how readable or well written your code is. Also, no need to optimize your code - this is not a DS/A interview - just about practical coding and speed. I almost started out with a trie data structure to be optimal (lol), and then realized I could do everything with a simple but less optimal data structure instead. Good luck to others! Hope this can help prepare other people to avoid the mistake I made with trying to write well-written code at the expense of time.
In memory database? You mean a hashmap or sqlite?
The content we actually come here for!
Thanks for sharing! I still couldn't understand why companies would use coding speed as a metric to hire.
Can new grads also apply for that role? What’s your yoe and tc?
I did that, liked the problem a lot
How long after code signal pre-screen did you hear from recruiter
How long did it take to get the code signal email after applying? Just applied this weekend and not sure if I got auto filtered.
Got mine the next day
Thanks a ton for sharing your experience. I am due to give the code-signal interview, and have been struggling to find resources to prep form. This is really helpful, and gives me some perspective. Would love to get your advice on how best to prep for such an interview. Any online resources you'd recommend?
Did you have to code only in python??
+1 on this. Just did the code signal and wow what a doozy indeed. Not so hard, but the time constraint is the difficult part and reading a huge question every time.
Did you manage to complete it on time? Also any tips on how to prepare?
How long after code signal pre-screen did you hear from recruiter
Thanks for sharing your experience!