Linear, a software startup valued above a billion dollars with fewer than eighty employees, hires without a single whiteboard puzzle. Its final interview is a paid work trial: two to five days embedded with the real team, working on an actual project with access to the codebase and internal tools. Candidates are paid for the time.
After the trial, teammates submit written feedback and cast blind votes before any group discussion, so the loudest voice cannot steer the room. The company hires on slope — rate of learning — not credentials, and discusses compensation on the first call.
Four years in, that process holds a 96% retention rate. The trial runs as a two-way evaluation: the candidate is deciding on Linear as much as Linear is deciding on them.