Interview Experience at Toptal

My first time applying to Toptal was during my university years. I didn't know much about the platform at the time. A recruiter scheduled an interview, but I soon discovered that Toptal required at least a B.Sc. degree to apply. I emailed the recruiter to let them know I was still a student and hadn't yet graduated.

The recruiter replied professionally, explaining that I wasn't eligible at the moment but that they'd be happy to interview me once I completed my degree.

I applied again about a year after graduating. This time, my profile was rejected immediately — no reason given, just a note to reapply after six months. Frustrated, I emailed them asking why. They explained that I didn't have enough experience and that they required a minimum of two years (though I'm not sure if that's still the case). At least that gave me some clarity and direction.

Six months later, I applied again and finally made it to the first round — the language and personality test. The format was conversational: an interviewer assessed whether my communication skills met Toptal's standards. I was a little nervous since I didn't have much experience speaking English with others at the time, even though I was confident in the language itself. Alhamdulillah, I passed.

The second round was the online coding round. I was given a link to an online assessment with two to three problems to solve within 90 minutes, as far as I remember. Alhamdulillah, I was able to work through them quickly — the difficulty felt manageable.

That qualified me for the live coding round. At the start of the session, the interviewer asked about my experience. When I mentioned I had about 1.5 years, he told me I'd need to wait another six months to continue, since Toptal required at least two years. It was a bit disheartening, but I understood.

Six months later, I returned for the live coding round. This time, I had to solve two problems in real time with an interviewer, under a strict time limit. My competitive programming background helped a lot here, and Alhamdulillah, I was able to solve them without much trouble. The difficulty was moderate.

The final stage was the project build round. I was given a project to build from scratch within one week. This was the round I was most anxious about — I didn't have much experience in software development at the time. But it turned out to be a genuinely enriching challenge. I learned a great deal from it, and Alhamdulillah, by the grace of Allah, I completed it successfully.

Overall, the experience was solid. Every interviewer and the email support team were professional, patient, and helpful throughout. It remains one of the best interview experiences I've had.