I applied through a recruiter. The process took 2 weeks. I interviewed at Pencil in Mar 2022
Interview
First they sent me a quiz on the MEAN stack which was 80% Angular. Then there was a take-home programming assignment to create a MongoDB and NodeJS API endpoint to query questions pertaining to specific topics. The time limit was 4 days.
The example output in the assignment pertained to Physics but the data they provided pertained to Biology so I didn't know what the correct output was. I asked the e-mailer about this and they said they'd talk to their team and get back to me. I never got a response so I submitted my solution to not breach the deadline.
I hosted the API on my desktop and gave them an IP they could use to reach it as well as the GIT repo link to my code. In the 10+ days I kept the API running, not once did I see an IP hit the endpoint which tells me they didn't even test my API.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
Store and create an index over question objects in MongoDB, and write a NodeJS + Express based server that exposes a RESTful API to query the index and return questions that match the query.
I applied online. The process took 2 days. I interviewed at Pencil (Islamabad, Islamabad) in Jun 2024
Interview
The interview was smooth and well-structured. Each round tested different skills—technical, problem-solving, and communication. Interviewers were friendly and professional. Feedback was prompt, and the process felt fair and efficient. Overall, a positive and insightful experience into the company culture.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
Data Structures and Algorithms and Object Oriented Programming
