Chapter 5: Interviewing at a startup

At Y Combinator , we tell our founders to share details about their interview process with candidates. This brings transparency and a better job hunting experience for job seekers. It also helps candidates do better on the interview, which benefits everyone.

If a company doesn’t have an interview brief, you can ask to see if they can provide more detail about what to expect in the interview process – how many rounds, what types of interviews, and even who you might be meeting. Smaller companies are less likely to have this, but it’s worth asking.

YC's job board ?lets job seekers filter by companies that share their interview process – who they'll meet, the types of questions being asked and what else to expect. There are 130+ startups with interview descriptions provided on the platform, and more being added every week.

Common types of startup interviews

The most common types of interviews to expect at YC startups include:

• Phone screen. Come prepared to talk about your background and prior experiences. Make sure you also talk about why you're excited about the company and what you'll bring to the table / add to the team.
• Technical interview.?There are many types of coding interviews – algorithms, system design, frontend/full stack, and many more.?This guide by Triplebyte ?does a comprehensive job of surveying the types of interviews you could expect. We tell our founders to keep the questions relevant to the type of work you’ll be doing, and we hope you see that throughout their interview process.
• In-person project.?The best interview processes are as much like a work simulation as possible. This means sitting down together to work on a mini-project together. It’s typically a self-contained problem or codebase (not used by the actual business) where you’re asked to build a feature or enhancement.
• Take-home assessment.?Some candidates prefer to work on their own time, so companies offer the project as a take-home. We recommend that founders designate a set number of hours, and compensate you for your time.
• Contract/trial.?The best way to evaluate mutual fit is to work together for a short period. Not all candidates have this flexibility, so founders often offer it as an option but not a requirement.

Preparing for the interviews

On the candidate’s part, we think preparing in a few key ways will help you make a strong impression. Coming prepared makes a huge difference in how the companies views you as a candidate.

Do your research on the company

The number one thing a founder will want to know is, “What interests you in this company?” To answer this well, do research on the business and the product, and even what features or go to market ideas you have. Dig into the company's website, press releases, and even team members' LinkedIns/Twitters to learn more.

This will also get you more excited about what the company is doing. (And if it doesn’t, maybe you shouldn’t be interviewing there.)

Ask great questions

Most interviewers leave time for you to ask questions. This is a great opportunity to learn more about your potential role, the work to be done or even your teammates. But we hear from founders that candidates often don’t ask any insightful questions, and as a result seem like they’re not particularly excited or engaged. So prepare good questions that dive into the role and even your interviewer’s relevant background.

Prepare a small project or presentation

Showing your abilities from the start is helpful – if it means doing a small code sample on public APIs or analysis in Excel on a new business opportunity. It shows what you’re good at, and it can reframe the conversation on what you already know or what you've researched.

If you want to?browse jobs/companies that share their interview processes , check the "Has interview process" filter on the lefthand side (once logged in). You can then save interesting jobs for later — just click the star. ?