Here are the usual steps:

  1. First, you’ll do a non-technical phone screen.
  2. Then, you’ll do one or a few technical phone interviews.
  3. Finally, the last step is an onsite interview.

Some companies also throw in a take-home code test—sometimes before the technical phone interviews, sometimes after.

Let’s walk through each of these steps.

The non-technical phone screen

This first step is a quick call with a recruiter—usually just 10–20 minutes. It's very casual.

Don’t expect technical questions. The recruiter probably won’t be a programmer.

The main goal is to gather info about your job search. Stuff like:

  1. Your timeline. Do you need to sign an offer in the next week? Or are you trying to start your new job in three months?
  2. What’s most important to you in your next job. Great team? Flexible hours? Interesting technical challenges? Room to grow into a more senior role?
  3. What stuff you’re most interested in working on. Front end? Back end? Machine learning?

Be honest about all this stuff—that’ll make it easier for the recruiter to get you what you want.

One exception to that rule: If the recruiter asks you about your salary expectations on this call, best not to answer. Just say you’d rather talk about compensation after figuring out if you and the company are a good fit. This’ll put you in a better negotiating position later on.

The technical phone interview(s)

The next step is usually one or more hour-long technical phone interviews.

Your interviewer will call you on the phone or tell you to join them on Skype or Google Hangouts. Make sure you can take the interview in a quiet place with a great internet connection. Consider grabbing a set of headphones with a good microphone or a bluetooth earpiece. Always test your hardware beforehand!

The interviewer will want to watch you code in real time. Usually that means using a web-based code editor like Coderpad or collabedit. Run some practice problems in these tools ahead of time, to get used to them. Some companies will just ask you to share your screen through Google Hangouts or Skype.

Turn off notifications on your computer before you get started—especially if you’re sharing your screen!