I applied online. I interviewed at Toptal in Apr 2021
Interview
I had a horrible and completely time-wasting experience with their hiring process.
I passed the initial interview, the online test and the online coding session. At the last step I was given a project to finish in two weeks which in real-life would take months multiple developers. Having a full-time job, I spared my next week for this task and scheduled the last interview to 1 week later. Somehow their "system" messed up and they made me reschedule it for some other time. Considering that I could not spend any more time for the project, I chose the earliest possible time. The last interviewer disregarded my efforts completely, expecting a production-level, fully-functioning project after a single week. It was my problem that I didn't have the luxury to spend two full weeks for their project. Their interview is not just difficut, they try to have their candidates work for them for unreasonable amount of time.
I applied online. The process took 2 weeks. I interviewed at Toptal (Cape Town) in Jun 2026
Interview
The interview process has been structured and professional so far. It started with the initial application and screening, followed by an online coding assessment with algorithm-style questions focused on correctness, edge cases, and problem solving under time pressure. After completing that stage, I was invited to schedule a live technical interview. Communication has been clear, with detailed instructions about the interview format, environment requirements, screen sharing, and expectations around working without external assistance. The process feels rigorous and time-sensitive,.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
Write a function to return the maximum number of words in a sentence from a given string containing letters, spaces, and sentence-ending punctuation.
Tech screening and then tech interview, leetcode style questions. Then there was a take home project.. not in-person. all done remotely and online. Good interviewers, helpful, easy process and good communication
I applied to Toptal and I'm having an interview days later. What can I prepare for now? I wanna get some details or tips from you. Please help me with your toptal screening interview experience.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
What was the last project you have worked on and what did you do in that project?