u/caynab wrote (the comment Michael replied to):
Out of curiosity I know this their first time going this program but what’s the interview process like for the program. And what are the programming knowledge expectations. Still leetcoding out here but not the most confident at times lol
u/michaelnovati replied · ★ FEATURED
Hi, the application process is similar to the Formation interview process, with an additional requirement to submit a short video talking about yourself.
The benchmarking assessment is similar to normal Formation and is not meant so much as a test to rank people, but as a way to assess your starting point.
It's a combination of practical coding questions (which require little specific DS&A) and multiple choice debugging and knowledge questions which require much more advanced knowledge.
We are not looking for the strongest "leetcoders" at all, but you have to have a good starting point of DS&A and problem solving skills. The biggest advice I give about the benchmarking is to focus on speed, because it's a lot for the time aloted. The assessment is difficult to study for because it's trying to assess your general starting point and if you could cram for a few days and do meaningfully better, that would defeat the point a bit.