The recruiting process is made up of many steps, aimed at evaluating both technical skills and the most personal and human ones. In particular, in my case, it consisted of:
1. HR Video-call Interview with two Empatica members.
2. Home technical assignment (to be completed in a maximum of seven days).
3. Aptitude tests.
4. In-office day, to get to know Empatica, the people who work there and the founders more closely, and to carry out other technical tasks.
The first step was more related to the personal interest in Empatica, to one's aspirations and one's mindset in specific situations. They were questions that tried to put in difficulty to understand how much the applicant was interested in and to evaluate the stress reaction. Not an easy impact, but it certainly leaves a lot to think about.
The second step consisted in carrying out some tasks to assess the technical skills about the applied position, both theoretically and in terms of coding skills. The theoretical question was aimed at understanding one's ability to set a problem, while the tasks were not trivial and required a thorough analysis before carrying out the coding task.
The aptitude tests were carried out before the In-Office day to understand the personal way of working, one’s approach to other people, and one’s preferences and principles. Very interesting to have had the opportunity to do them.
The day at the office was very intense, but it allowed me to personally evaluate the context, the people, and the possible type of work I would encounter in this role if I had been hired. This day included both technical tasks with future Data team colleagues and chats with the founders and the CEO of a more personal nature to understand if I were the right person to hire not only for the technical position but also for the human side and to ask my questions about the values and perspectives of Empatica.