The interview process began with a screening interview, which had some questions that seemed rather basic for the role - for instance, inquiring about my ability to automate tasks using Python. Following the screening, I had a positive interaction with the hiring manager. We discussed the company culture, my past experiences, and more. However, the communication post this discussion was not seamless. I had to follow up on my own to learn about the next steps. The main part of the interview process comprised three technical interviews, focusing on system design, coding, and appsec. The structure felt rigid, with interviewers working off a prepared list of questions that appeared quite elementary. I found it challenging as the process seemed more like a quiz testing tool familiarity rather than problem-solving abilities. Moreover, there seemed to be a disconnection between the expectation of responses and my understanding of the queries. This aspect of the process made it seem as if I was expected to 'guess' the 'correct' answer. The coding interview was a better experience as it was straightforward and more aligned with my expectations. Some simple problems were presented which I had to solve using Python. In summary, I had a mixed experience. The process was overly focused on basic technical knowledge rather than problem-solving skills, and communication was not as prompt as it could have been. If you are going to interview with Okta, don't try to show your general security knowledge, instead use specific terms for things like AWS policies, tool names, etc.
