During the process of looking for a technical position in North America, OpenAI was one of the companies that I valued the most. Its interview process is rigorous and has high technical requirements, but the entire process is actually more like a systematic ability assessment rather than just a quiz competition. Here I share my OpenAI interview experience, hoping it will be helpful to students who are preparing to apply to OpenAI.
There were four stages in total: resume screening, a technical phone call, a take-home coding task, and then a final round, which could be onsite or remote depending on your situation. Like most candidates, I began with brushing up on algorithms on LeetCode. But I quickly noticed that OpenAI interviewers cared more about how I approached a problem rather than whether I got the “perfect” answer. They wanted to see how I broke down questions, explained trade-offs, and adapted when things didn’t go as planned.
One challenge for me, as an international student, was insufficient English expression ability . Coding is one thing, but being able to explain your logic quickly and clearly is another. In one of my interviews, I thought I nailed the problem, but the interviewer kept digging deeper: why did I choose that specific data structure? Had I thought about other ways to optimize it? That moment made me realize how important it is to write code and explain your choices confidently and logically.
I also learned that soft skills really matter. OpenAI interviewers paid close attention to how I responded to feedback, how I handled mistakes, and how I worked through uncertainty. I actually made an error in one round, admitted it, and talked through how I’d fix it. Rather than penalizing me, they seemed to value that I stayed calm and focused.
To prepare, I read a lot of interview stories from people who had gone through the process, especially those who had received offers. I picked up tips from their experiences and tried to figure out what I was missing in my own prep. I also practiced with friends—mock interviews helped me better explain myself under pressure, especially in English.
All in all, my OpenAI interview experience taught me a lot—not just about coding, but about communication, adaptability, and thinking clearly under stress. For fellow international students, it may take extra effort to prepare, especially with language and cultural differences, but it’s definitely doable. Just be consistent, stay curious, and treat each step as a learning opportunity.
Release time:2025-05-12
