I applied online. I interviewed at Asana in Oct 2023
Interview
Oh boy.
The recruiter was great. Scheduled a phone screen titled "systems interview". It's not systems. It was data structure and algorithms which is fine. Nothing about systems or scale. The interviewer was very rigid and not collaborative at all. Pretty sure he assumed my attempts at collaborations were me not knowing what I was talking about. I was seeking to course correct and clarify but alas. The one feedback I'd give Asana is to not have staff engineers be interviewed by someone with less years of experience. It really shows in the interviewers skills as I mentioned above.
The question was okay. If you know your DS&A you can go through it just fine.
I applied online. I interviewed at Asana in May 2026
Interview
Initial screening went well and I felt genuinely excited about the opportunity. The technical interview itself was different from what the preparation PDF described — less collaborative, minimal engagement from the interviewer's side. I didn't receive any feedback after the session; the interviewer went on sick leave and I waited several weeks before receiving a rejection email.
I'm fine with rejection — that's part of the process. What was harder was the uncertainty and the lack of feedback. The prep materials set clear expectations around collaboration and communication, and the actual experience didn't match that.
Overall, it was a good experience. There was one interviewer who acted standoff-ish and strange. But, for the most part, it was conducted very professionally.
What I didn't like was the Systems interview question, which is a very specific modelling problem and unless you've worked on building such a feature, it's unlikely that you'll recognize such a pattern and come up with a decent solution. And for a mid-level position, it's quite surprising. But I guess they gotta justify the high comps somehow. Also, infrastructure knowledge is not tested at all in this interview, which is atypical.
The coding interviews were great. Study typical LLD problems. Leetcode is minimal and simple. Focus on understanding patterns and not memorizing solutions.
The HM interview was great. He probed in ways typical EMs have never done before, and it gave me a really good impression of the company and his team, despite also not passing this interview, which I take full responsibility for.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
Tell me about a time you experienced mentorship, as a mentor or a mentee
classic lc style medium question, and some basic intro be havioral in technical. good inter viewers. made sure the ex perience is pleasant for interviewee. did not get offer tho.