I actually interviewed with GitLab twice. The first time I ended up declining their offer, not for any reason related to GitLab, but for circumstances outside their control.
So almost two years later, when they reached out to me again about a similar role, I was ecstatic. I had always wondered "what if", and I think that their willingness to reconsider me provided me with a rare opportunity, for which I am exceedingly grateful.
The recruiter reached out to me via LinkedIn, I confirmed I was interested in exploring the opportunity again, and I was promptly contacted by their internal hiring team. I had two or three interviews scheduled within a week.
I think something that struck me about the process was how closely they followed their own rules. You can go search for GitLab hiring processes and read through the entire internal handbook on hiring, and verify for yourself that they follow their process pretty much to the letter.
Moreover, I think the hiring process is as equitable as any hiring process could be. Here's a specific example of what I mean: I was coming up on the end of a 30 minute interview with a team member. I told them I had more time to continue, as we were in the middle of a good conversation. They told me they appreciated it, but they had to stick to the time limit, so as not to give extra time to any candidates.
Contrast that dedication to time frames with other organizations that have often gone 10-15 minutes over on calls with me. That's usually a good sign for me, but the extra time is an advantage I get over other candidates who aren't as outgoing, talkative, or maybe interviewers don't relate to in the same way (i.e. based on our appearance, background, etc.). GitLab's dedication to sticking to the time limit is something that really walks the walk on their commitment to inclusion and diversity, in my opinion.
Speaking of walking the walk, you can also look up GitLab's hiring statistics. They maintain reports of time-to-hire, how many people accept offers when they get them, and a variety of other vital signs. I think that's exceptional, and it's a great way to demonstrate their transparency value.
Interview with GitLab if you can. I think they model how tech interviewing ought to be done. The more people that experience this kind of interview, the more companies that will model their own processes after GitLab.
I'm trying to think of constructive criticism, but nothing comes to mind. I did get the job, and I start soon, so I imagine I'm somewhat biased through my excitement. Their platform did have some Zoom issues during my final round, which had to get rescheduled, but that's not necessarily within the company's control.
